The Faithful See Rewards for Standing by Their Man

It was a moment some had spent more than a decade waiting to see: Richard M. Nixon standing once again behind the royal blue presidential seal, beaming widely as thousands of friends and admirers cheered.

“He’s meant a lot to some of us who are older,” said Margaret Chambers, 72, of Fullerton. “I used to work for him in Garden Grove going door to door.”

Lupe Westrup, an English teacher at a private school in Brea, also watched with history on her mind as the former President, arms at his sides, took the lectern and gratefully acknowledged a long ovation. In the presidential election of 1960, Westrup said, she was one of the only people in her neighborhood who backed Nixon against John F. Kennedy.

“They stoned my house, they punctured my tires and they egged my house,” she said. “Today, 30 years later, made it worthwhile.”

Though Nixon loyalists dominated Thursday’s crowd, they did not own it. Others braved long lines and the sweltering heat just for the chance to see the rare gathering of four Presidents on a single stage, and a few took advantage of the occasion to air their political grievances.

There were visitors who traveled thousands of miles to see the ceremony and visitors who camped overnight to secure prime seats. Once inside the library compound, everybody had to wait in line for up to an hour to shuffle through a security check that included metal detectors. Still, few seemed to leave disappointed.

“You’ll never see four Presidents all together like this,” said Pat Yates, a Tustin resident. “It’s history in the making.”

Thursday’s crowd of 50,000 was overwhelmingly supportive of Nixon and his fellow Republicans, but pockets of protesters were sprinkled throughout.

The demonstrators--whose causes ranged from AIDS to abortion rights, from the environment to Central America--clashed with Nixon backers in a few places, exchanging harsh words but stopping short of blows.

Although tempers occasionally flared and temperatures hit 90 degrees, Yorba Linda absorbed the huge crowd--more visitors than had ever descended on the city in a single day, local leaders figured--and handled it without serious incident.

“It’s all gone very smoothly from our perspective,” said Brea Police Lt. Chester Panique. “It was hot, but so far we’ve just had a couple of minor incidents and no arrests.”

During the speeches, while some visitors scambled up bleachers and flagpoles for a better look, children waded barefoot into the library fountain and the reflecting pool behind the library to take the edge off the heat. Dignitaries decked out in suits and silk dresses rolled up their sleeves and spent the morning fanning themselves with white programs.

The sun was a little easier to take for the Presidents and First Ladies, whose stage included several air conditioners that occasionally blew a few wisps of hair out of place.

Michael Steinkraus, a Red Cross emergency medical technician in charge of a first-aid tent behind the bleachers, on Thursday afternoon wearily tended to heat-stricken visitors who lay on cots or paused in the shade to sit on chairs and tables.

“It’s been like this all day,” Steinkraus said, adding that Red Cross workers had treated at least 100 people for minor heat exhaustion. Two--a pregnant woman and an elderly woman--were sent to the hospital.

“The biggest problem is that they (the dedication organizers) didn’t provide enough water for people to drink,” he said. “There were a lot of people here today, and unfortunately, we can’t supply water to 100,000 people.”

Police estimates ran lower than that, but the heat was made all the more oppressive by the huge number of visitors who attended Thursday’s dedication. Brea police, who handle Yorba Linda’s law enforcement duties, said the line of people trying to get into the event at one point stretched for two miles. Almost 40,000 visitors passed through the metal detectors, and police estimated that another 10,000 people came to town, took a look at the crowd and headed home.

That created long lines of traffic, as well as boom-town business for area merchants, some of whom had decorated their establishments for the occasion. Residents near the line outside the library sold muffins, rolls and orange juice, while area stores rented out parking spaces for as much as $20 each.

By early afternoon the streets were returning to normal and nearly all of the visitors had worked their way out of the city. On the way, many stopped long enough to scoop up Nixon T-shirts, hats, buttons and other memorabilia from vendors.

Orange County Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez, a longtime Nixon admirer whose 1988 speech at the Republican National Convention won high praise from the former President, picked his way back to his office Thursday afternoon and glowingly pronounced the day a historic success.

“This was really magnificent,” said Vasquez, who brought his 11-year-old son to Thursday’s event so the youngster could see Nixon in person. “To see the twinkle in President Nixon’s eye as he scanned the crowd. . . . There’s no words to describe it.”

Staff writers Sonni Efron, Ted Johnson, Eric Lichtblau, Maria Newman and David Reyes contributed to this report.