The date was Aug. 17, 1940. The place was Elwood, Ind., and the occasion was the welcome home for Elwood-born, and the 1940 Republican presidential candidate, Wendell L. Willkie.
It would become a day unlike any other in Elwood’s history and for its 11,000 residents.
Seventy years ago this Tuesday, Elwood was the focus of national attention. The amateur politician was the GOP’s candidate against the popular Democrat, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was seeking an unprecedented third term as president.
Willkie was the only major-party nominee for President who never held elected office, a Cabinet position, or high military rank. Willkie had been a lifelong Democrat, only becoming a registered Republican in 1939, which caused him to become a favorite with Republican leadership as his wide-spread popularity offered hope to defeating Roosevelt.
Willkie spent the previous day in Rushville, Ind., inspecting his five farms and putting the final touches on his acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination. Wendell and his wife, Edith, were staying at the home of his mother-in-law, Mrs. Cora Wilk.
Today, acceptance speeches are made during a party’s national convention. But, in 1940 it was done differently. Although he was present when he received the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, the party was following a modern adaptation of a custom which originated in the days when men rode long distances on horseback to bear first tidings of a political party’s choice for the nation’s highest office. Thus, formal notification of his nomination was to take place in Elwood on Saturday, Aug. 17, 1940.
Greeted by classmates
A special train carried Willkie and his party on the New York Central Railroad to Anderson. There, the train was transferred to the Pennsylvania Railroad at the Gridley junction on State Road 32 east of Anderson, before making its way to Elwood.
No special reception was held in Anderson in order to remain on schedule.
The train arrived in Elwood about 12:30 and was halted near South J and 22nd streets. The Summit Post of the American Legion from Akron, Ohio, of which Willkie was a member, had arrived on another special train only a short time before and marched (500 members strong) to meet him. Willkie was a World War I veteran, having served as a lieutenant in Battery F of the 325th field artillery regiment.
After posing for photographers on the train’s rear platform, the parade carrying Willkie through Elwood began, headed by an escort of more than a dozen Indiana state troopers on motorcycles. The parade had been organized by Homer E. Capehart who would be elected to the U.S. Senate from Indiana for three consecutive terms beginning in 1944.
He was greeted by cheering throngs as he was driven to the South Anderson street notification headquarters. There the Indiana University band, the official escort band for the parade, joined the procession.
At the headquarters, other cars were placed in the procession and it moved through the downtown section over Anderson street and then on Main street to Elwood High School. The old high school bell tolled for a minute when Willkie appeared to speak briefly from the steps of the building where he received his high school education.
Willkie was introduced by Senator James J. Davis of Pennsylvania, a former Elwood resident and first Elwood city clerk.
Seven members of his high school class of nine presented him with a large plaque which was engraved with their names. After some brief remarks the seven formed an escort for Willkie when he left the school platform to return to his car for the trip to the 40-acre Callaway Park.
‘We want Willkie’
A wildly cheering crowd estimated at 250,000 sweltered in 102-degree temperatures as Willkie took to the platform constructed in a field where he once herded cows for 75 cents a week.
His listeners, many of whom had slept in Callaway Park overnight in order to obtain 30,000 choice seats, were scattered in front of clumps of trees trying to escape the sun’s brutal rays. The other 220,000 found space where they could. It had not been an easy task to get everyone there.
The Pennsylvania railroad ran 29 special trains and the Nickel Plate railroad another six that entered Elwood during the day and departed that night. Two bus lines operated buses continuously throughout the day bringing visitors from Kokomo, Muncie, Anderson, and Indianapolis.
Automobiles representing almost all of the 48 states were directed into Elwood by state police troopers. Solid streams of cars poured into the city from all directions throughout the morning. On most main roads leading to Elwood double one-way lines were maintained during the morning hours. A similar arrangement was used as the huge crowd departed during the evening.
Officials estimated 37,500 cars were parked in approximately 4,000 acres of parking areas surrounding Callaway Park. In addition, it was estimated 15,000 more were parked in the city.
Four hundred and eighty-four visiting policeman from Indiana, Chicago, New York, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia along with 130 state policemen directed traffic and performed police duties.
On the platform were the 48-year old Willkie and his wife, son Phillip, and numerous dignitaries.
Before speaking, Willkie beckoned to Sen. Robert A. Taft of Ohio, his rival for the nomination, and they chatted a moment. Mrs. Willkie sat just behind her husband and occasionally handed him a clean handkerchief or dabbed at his check with one she was holding.
Dr. William Lowe Bryan, president emeritus of Indiana University gave the invocation.
Massachusetts Representative Joseph W. Martin, Jr., chairman of the Republican Committee, was designated to officially deliver the news of Willkie’s nomination. When Martin brought Willkie forward at 2:30 pm for his speech, the crowd rose and let out a tremendous cheer, mingled with whistles and the noise of many bands.
The cry, “We Want Willkie,” kicked off a demonstration that continued for ten minutes before Willkie took the gavel and rapped for order.
A slight breeze sprang up just as Willkie began to speak, rippling the long row of American flags at the back of the platform.
The crowd was ready for an old-fashioned political stem-winder; but clearly Willkie was uncomfortable. The hot sun was shining directly on him and sweat dripped from his forehead. His delivery was ineffective almost to the point of being awkward. The speech was a big disappointment as one publication reported, “There were long stretches when the crowd could find little to cheer about.”
The conclusion of his address brought another long outburst of cheering and applause. He smiled as photographers’ flash bulbs burst all about him, gave the crowd a final wave and left the platform with Mrs. Willkie.
Following his speech, Willkie and his family went to the home of Mrs. O.P. Perkins, 827 N. Anderson St., to refresh. The group stayed for a short time and left on the special train shortly after 6 p.m. for Rushville.
Willkie lost the election but came surprisingly close as he won 45 percent of the popular vote.
He died of a heart attack in October 1944. At the site of his grave in East Hill Cemetery in Rushville, there is a large open granite book containing quotations from his speeches. “I believe in America” is one of them. On a hot August 1940 afternoon in Elwood, Indiana, there were 250,000 Americans who believed in Wendell Lewis Willkie.
For more information visit the Madison County History Center, 15 W. 11th St., Anderson, Monday-Wednesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Phone 683-0052.







