Walter Cronkite passes

[Kevin Vahey]

I have one Walter Cronkite story and it goes back to 1968 at WMUR of
all places.

It was the night before and after the 1968 New Hampshire primary and
CBS rented out the back studio at 1819 Elm Street ( OK it was the
garage ) They brought in the WHDH-TV remote truck and most importantly
tied into ATT long lines. They built a basic set with the CBS News
logo and lit it perfectly. It was cramped and the 3 RCA TK-43's took
up way too much space.

WMUR was using the main studio for local coverage and somehow I wound
up in back since I knew how to use a zoom lens. Channel 9 was still
IBEW 1228 then so it wasn't an issue. It was supposed to be a simple
60 minute recap and off at 11 PM but all hell broke loose. Sen Eugene
McCarthy had scored over 40 percent of the vote and it showed
President Johnson was in political trouble. It was just incredible
watching Walter on the phone with New York and trying to make sense of
what happened. You also had staffers coming and going from the parking
lot where the makeshift news room was in a trailer as there was no
room in the garage itself. Then at about 9:50 PM who walks into the
back garage by himself looking to be interviewed was one Richard Nixon
who had soundly defeated Nelson Rockefeller on the GOP side. Nixon had
been on WMUR and just wandered in with no entourage at all and it was
surreal and here I am all of 18 standing in the middle of this. Walter
just looked at Nixon and shook his head but knew he had to accommodate
him and Nixon sat down and shook off the CBS makeup person and on the
air we go.

Walter was a magician especially when you consider what conditions he
was working under and I am sure viewers at home saw nothing unusual.
Compounding things was that we lost the off air monitor which was
tuned to WHDH-TV so Walter could not see reporters like George Herman
back in DC.

Well finally 11 PM arrives and we are clear but Walter is fuming as
the man of the hour was 10 miles away at the Sheraton-Wayfarer.
I should add NBC was at the Sheraton-Wayfarer in Bedford and ABC at
the Howard Johnson's and both had McCarthy on. So NY decided back on
the air we go at 11:30. McCarthy finally arrived at around 12:20 AM
but what saved the show was RFK arriving at the DC studio and Walter
interviewed him still without a monitor. Finally we clear for the
night and Walter thanks everyone. People are making a mad dash to go
and unwind somewhere and there was no breakdown as CBS still had the
morning news in a few hours. Walter went into the Uncle Gus booth to
make some phone calls as 9 was already off air for the night and I
starting talking to the security guard that WHDH provided to babysit
the remote truck. Walter comes up to us and asks "Can you call me a
cab, they forgot me."

I offer him a ride to the Sheraton and he happily accepted and now I
am embarrassed that I have Walter Cronkite in my gold 65 Mustang. So
as I head towards the old Amoskeag Bridge to cross the river by where
WKBR was he says "is there anyplace to eat in this town this time of
night?" I replied that there were two places I knew of - The Red Arrow
Diner or The Dog House on South Willow and he said " I would love a
hot dog"
20 minutes later I am sharing a booth with The Most Trusted Man in
America eating hot dogs and french fries. People are staring but
saying - naww it can't be him

He grilled me for about an hour on just about everything. I told him I
was worried about being drafted but I had to work for awhile as my Dad
had just died and I needed to help my Mom and save up for school. I
told him I didn't understand why we were in Vietnam and yet we would
do nothing to North Korea which had just a few weeks before captured a
Navy boat (USS Pueblo) which enraged William Loeb who owned the
Union-Leader. I told him I wanted RFK to be president and the Nixon I
saw in the garage scared me and he laughed at that. We left and I took
him back to Bedford. As he got out he gave me $100 to "help your Mom"
and said please keep in touch. I regret that I did not but I just
didn't want to bother him.

I would meet him 2 more times, once on the Vineyard and at a record
signing at Strawberries on Memorial Drive and he remembered me.

After reading Robert Feder I am kicking myself but I will always have
that March night 41 years ago.