NIXON LIBRARY NOTEBOOK : Misspelled Banner Still Gave the Right Message

The city went all out for Richard M. Nixon library festivities Thursday, displaying banners and signs everywhere in town. But one banner was prepared by someone who could have been a dropout from the current First Lady’s literacy campaign.

“Welcome Noxin,” the sign proclaimed.

It stayed up on the side of a building just long enough to be spotted by a few photographers. Then an embarrassed worker realized the error and whisked the banner away.

On a day so carefully planned, so heavy with speeches and ceremony, so full of Presidents, current and former, there were bound to be occasions that weren’t on the program. Here are just a few of them:

While most of the dedication’s events were on time, not everything ran like clockwork. When master of ceremonies and show biz veteran Johnny Grant told the audience to welcome Dr. and Mrs. Norman Vincent Peale to the stage, he turned around with a flourish only to find an empty stage.

“I’ve been told that when you’re in trouble, you can always turn to the Marines,” Grant said, “and that’s what I’m doing.” The Marine Corps Band from El Toro, in the best show business tradition, unhesitatingly filled the void by playing an unscheduled number.

When the four Presidents were supposed to come to the platform, there was another delay. As more music was played to fill the gap, a New York Times reporter joked in the press gallery: “I bet I know what’s causing the delay. I bet Jerry Ford is lost.”

Another reporter wondered aloud whether the delay would amount to “an 18 1/2-minute gap,” referring to the notorious erased portion of one of Nixon’s Watergate tapes.

It came close: 17 minutes.

Journalists did more than quip, they also contributed to the long lines--stretching as far as the eye could see--that the public had to stand in before going through a metal detector outside the library grounds entrance. One of the networks, CBS, caused problems when staffers left their television truck, parked near the library, locked and unoccupied. That made the Secret Service nervous, fearing that the truck contained something more ominous than a transmitter. For nearly an hour, the line didn’t move while security agents searched for the party with the key.

Gene La Blond’s RV got a thorough going-over when he parked it across the street from the library. La Blond, from La Habra, used the oversize vehicle to provide a bird’s eye view of the ceremony to friends, who climbed to the roof and watched the festivities with binoculars.

“The FBI came and went through it this morning with a fine-tooth comb but outside of that, we haven’t had any trouble at all,” La Blond said. “The only problem is you can’t get more than eight up there at a time, otherwise the roof will fall.”

Nixon supporters came in all ages. Pattye Byrd, 15, a sophomore at Troy High School in Fullerton, who was among students gathered at a nearby church at 1 a.m. to fill the 50,000 red, white and blue balloons that were released after the speeches, noted that she and her classmates were not born when Nixon resigned in 1974.

But many are supporters of the former President.

“Just ‘cuz he got caught doesn’t mean he’s bad, “ Pattye said.

The ceremony was top-heavy with big-name Republicans but one politician was conspicuously absent--U.S. Sen. and GOP gubernatorial candidate Pete Wilson. Was he ducking the event after calculating that an appearance with Nixon would hurt his campaign?

Not so, aides said.

“He had tickets, he wanted to come out,” campaign spokesman Bill Livingstone said. Sudden changes in the Senate schedule kept Wilson in Washington, Livingstone explained.

Indeed, the Senate had been expected to spend Thursday working on a major civil rights bill.

But the measure unexpectedly passed late Wednesday night, and Thursday morning, the senators moved to the 1990 farm bill, a piece of legislation with potentially major impact on California agriculture.

“It would have been nice” to have been there, said Livingstone, “although, frankly, with four Presidents there, it would be a little hard to get into the limelight.”

Gayle Wilson subbed for her husband at the dedication.

Good old American capitalism reigned outside the dedication ceremonies: T-shirts and buttons were hawked after the event; muffins, sweet rolls and parking spaces were on sale before.

Greg Friga, 40, turned his gas station into a parking lot, offering spaces for $15 a pop. It was only fair, he said, considering all the business he would lose.

The avid Nixon admirer was planning to attend a $250-a-plate dinner in the former President’s honor at the Century Plaza Hotel on Thursday night. “I don’t feel guilty,” Friga said about charging hapless souls for parking. “Besides, how do you think I’m paying for the dinner?”

Back at the dedication ceremony, George P. Shultz served as sort of an aide-de-camp to Henry A. Kissinger for a brief period before the Presidents’ speeches. Shortly after the two men arrived and were seated in the VIP area, Shultz could be seen passing programs from others in the VIP section to Kissinger for autographs. Kissinger obliged everyone. Few seemed interested in Shultz’s autograph.

In contrast to the misspelled sign, another banner not only got Nixon’s name right, it gave a warning to President Bush. The sign, posted across the street from the library, said: “Watch out, George. He’s Tan, Rested and Ready. Nixon in 1992!”

Staff writers Bill Billiter, Tammy Drummond, Ted Johnson, David Lauter, Tony Marcano, Maria Newman and David Reyes contributed to this story.