Grand Rapids Remembers Hometown Hero

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Express' Michael Grass, who grew up in Gerald Ford's hometown of Grand Rapids, Mich., reports from the Gerald R. Ford Museum in that city about reaction to the 38th president's death. (Mike's father, Michael W. Grass, wrote and produced one of the few comprehensive documentaries on Ford, "Time and Chance: Gerald Ford's Appointment with History," which aired on PBS stations two years ago.)

WHEN GERALD R. FORD's body is brought to its final resting place next to his presidential museum center on the banks of the Grand River, it will return to a hometown that Ford loved deeply. And this morning, in view of Grand Rapids' downtown skyline, his former 5th District constituents and other admirers came to pay their respects to the nation's 38th president, who passed away last night at his home in California at the age of 93.

At the fountain in front of the museum, pictured at right, tokens of appreciation — notes, candles and flowers, along with American and University of Michigan flags — were left. Inside, as museum officials disassembled Christmas decorations in advance of Ford's funeral, signatures started to fill up two books of condolences. Grand Rapids, Michigan's second-largest city, is awaiting its hometown hero, a modest man born Leslie King Jr., who is credited with healing the nation during the divisive days of Watergate. To many residents of this city, Ford was just an ordinary guy who found himself in extraordinary political circumstances.

Even among his devoted fans, however, there is still great debate over Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon. Earlier this morning at a coffeehouse in Eastown, a neighborhood adjacent to a few of Ford's boyhood homes in the prosperous, tightly knit neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown, this writer overheard a couple debating Ford's legacy.

"Ford is not the best ex-president. Yeah, he's a nice guy," one woman said to another over coffee. "Jimmy Carter is the best former president," the woman said, before getting into an argument over whether Bill Clinton's infamous relationship with Monica Lewinsky did more to scar the integrity of the executive branch than Ford's pardon of Nixon.

Although history isn't finished weighing in on Gerald Ford yet, the former president clearly has many fans in his hometown. Several people at the museum this morning echoed President Bush's praise of Ford's "common sense and kind instincts."

"He was a man of great faith in God and firm religious principle," said Kathy Goote, 55, of Grand Rapids. Goote said she appreciated Ford's moderate "goodness," a quality she said reflects Grand Rapids' core civic values.

The Ford family motto, "Work hard, tell the truth and come to dinner on time" is an ethic that scholars — and Ford himself — said not only reflects the late president's tenure in the White House but also the tone of this city. And today, Grand Rapids patiently awaits for Ford's final return.

Photo by Michael Grass/Express