THE DAWN OF CAMELOT. Seated between Jackie and John F. Kennedy during a campaign visit to Eau Claire in 1960 is Pete Dougal, a Chippewa Valley native and Kennedy’s personal driver, who took the then-candidate all over the state to energize his presidential campaign in Wisconsin. (Submitted photo)

Most of the time, Wisconsin is a nice stretch of flyover country, with lots of farmland and plenty of trees, where several million people are content living their lives outside the national spotlight. Occasionally, though, we enjoy the thrill of breaking into the headlines. Whether it’s because of a homegrown celebrity, something political, or our impressive number of drunkest counties, it’s nice to be noticed.

In the first quarter of 1960, Wisconsin experienced just such a moment of notoriety, although not many people knew it at the time. The primary season for 1960s presidential election had just gotten underway, and one particular candidate pegged his political future to his performance in the Dairy State: John F. Kennedy. As a wealthy, East Coast elite, he needed to prove he could win over folks in the heartland. “I suppose that there’s no training ground for the presidency,” Kennedy said, “but I don’t think it’s a bad idea for a president to have stood outside of [Oscar] Mayer’s meat factory in Madison, Wisconsin … at 5:30 in the morning with the temperature 10 above.”

The little-known story of Kennedy’s time in Wisconsin is the subject of a new book by Eau Claire author B.J. Hollars. Titled Wisconsin for Kennedy: The Primary that Launched a President and Changed the Course of History, the book starts years before the election and makes a compelling argument that Wisconsin is the reason John F. Kennedy was able to rise to the heights he did. Along the way, readers are introduced to many of the locals who lent a hand to the Kennedy campaign, and in doing so, Hollars tells a story of how politics used to be, when votes were earned through handshakes and conversations instead of social media vitriol and million-dollar ad buys. “It used to be a lot more personal,” explains Hollars. “Kennedy went to a small town in Wisconsin on St. Patrick’s Day, shook someone’s hand, and said, ‘I’m Jack Kennedy and I’m running for president.’ The guy asked, ‘President of what?’ ”

While most of Hollars’ previous books are built on action research, with the author visiting important locations, interviewing subjects, and bringing the reader along on a journey of discovery, Wisconsin for Kennedy is different. “Writing this book took four years, start to finish,” says Hollars, a prolific author and English professor at UW-Eau Claire. “It all started during the COVID pandemic. I was doing a lot of online, archival research, and I found the JFK museum, which had a folder deep in their internet archives labeled ‘Wisconsin.’ I clicked on it and there were these interviews from people I’d never heard, and these interviews were so cinematic and so compelling.”

These personal stories are what makes this book so engaging, even for those who may not be history buffs or political junkies. Amongst the discussions of delegates, elections, and Kennedy’s rival Hubert H. Humphrey (a U.S. senator from neighboring Minnesota), Hollars focuses his lens on the time in Madison when JFK’s car got stuck in the snow and he had to get out to help push. Readers also learn of the evening when the train carrying Bobby Kennedy stopped 5 miles outside of Eau Claire because of ice on the tracks, and instead of succumbing to despair, the future senator got out and walked. From Jackie Kennedy hopping on the PA system at a Madison grocery store, to Ted Kennedy attempting a ski jump in Middleton, Wisconsin for Kennedy is an entertaining story of national politics made local, which is equal parts nostalgic and aspirational.

Author B.J. Hollars

While Hollars’s upcoming projects return to the more personal style on which he has built his writing career, Wisconsin for Kennedy has already earned him some impressive attention, including an appearance on C-SPAN and an upcoming presentation for the JFK Library in Massachusetts. “Go to any bookstore and you’ll see that Kennedy has his own shelf. This guy has been written about ad nauseam. What made this unique was the regional angle.” As any Wisconsinite knows, we may not always garner the attention of our fellow citizens on the coasts, but when we do, we sure know how to make an impact.

Wisconsin for Kennedy is available through the Wisconsin Historic Society Press and The Local Store (205 N. Dewey St., Eau Claire). A reading by – and conversation with – author B.J. Hollars will be at 6pm Thursday, April 25, at the Heyde Center for the Arts, 3 S. High St., Chippewa Falls. The event is free, and books will be available for sale.