Kefauver, the Kids, and the Cast

Did you ever break a bone when you were a kid? I did. Having an arm or a leg immobilized in a cast is definitely no fun. But if there was an upside to it, it was the fact that you could get your friends to sign your cast. It was kind of like a wearable yearbook.

If you’re an adult who has to wear a cast, though, you probably aren’t going to have people sign it. Especially if you’re a professional with a public-facing job like, say, United States Senator.

Apparently, Estes Kefauver didn’t get that memo.

This is an AP photo that ran in the Nashville Tennessean on December 30, 1958. On Christmas Day that year, Kefauver badly sprained the ligaments in his leg and dislocated his kneecap when he crashed while testing a go-kart belonging to a friend of his son David. (I told that story a couple weeks back.)

Kefauver went to Bethesda Naval Hospital for treatment on his leg. While in the hospital, he appears to have a befriended a couple of kids, 8-year-old John Daugherty and his 4-year-old sister Debbie. (It’s not clear whether one of the kids was a fellow patient or if they were there visiting with a hospitalized parent.) In this picture, John has written “HAPPY NEW YEAR” on Kefauver’s cast and is in the process of signing his name.

Kefauver was discharged from the hospital the next day. He had to cancel a scheduled trip back home to Tennessee, but he was back in action when the Senate resumed session in January. On crutches, he escorted his colleague Albert Gore to the rostrum to be sworn in for his second Senate term.

Incidentally, Kefauver’s accident occurred shortly after his Senate subcommittee on monopoly and antitrust held hearings into the auto industry, and published a report criticizing Detroit for their unwillingness to meet consumer demand for smaller cars. Naturally, after the accident, several reporters couldn’t resist asking Kefauver if he still thought smaller cars were a good idea.

“I’m still all for small cars,” Kefauver replied with a smile, “provided they have a good set of brakes.”