The Chequamegon Bay area is celebrating a visit by President John F. Kennedy 50 years after he flew over the Apostle Islands and Bad River Watershed.
Kennedy landed at the Ashland Airport on Sept. 24, 1963 and delivered an eight-minute speech about the need to conserve pristine areas for both recreational and economic reasons. Seven years later, the Apostle Islands became part of the National Park system.
Former U.S. Rep. Dave Obey helped shepherd that legislation through, along with Sen. Gaylord Nelson.
“They’re the crown jewels of the state of Wisconsin,” said Obey. “Visually they’re gorgeous, and when you actually get out there on that water there’s a certain sense of peace that comes over you almost instantly.”
Obey will speak at JFK Day along with Nelson’s daughter, Tia Nelson. Obey said the legacy of Kennedy’s visit is preservation of a pristine area and access for all people.
“It certainly prevented the area from being honky-tonked up,” said Obey. “When you have a beautiful place like that, there is always a temptation on the part of people with large amounts of resources to grab it for themselves.”
In his Ashland speech, Kennedy said land and water are of the greatest importance.
“If we do what is right now, in 1963, we must set aside substantial areas of our country for all the people who are going to live in it by the year 2000. Where 180 million Americans now live, by the year 2000, there will be 350 million of them. We have to provide for them as Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt and the others provided for us," he said.
Kennedy also said hard lessons of depleting natural resources in the past need to be remembered in the present.
