As I’ve discussed previously, Estes Kefauver basically created the template for modern Presidential primary campaigning. He was the first candidate to make a serious attempt to win the nomination via the primary route. His runs in 1952 and 1956, in which he criss-crossed the country to make as many speeches and shake as many hands as possible, established the standard for other candidates to follow in the decades to come.
One of the things that made Kefauver such a colorful campaigner was the fact that he was game for anything. Campaigning was a lot looser and weirder in those days, before the solidification of established rituals that candidates now follow like the stations of the cross.
And if somebody handed Kefauver a funny hat to wear, a regional delicacy to taste, or a goofy local tradition to participate in, he went along with it cheerfully, posing for cameras with his trademark half-moon grin lighting up his face.
Perhaps one of Kefauver’s most colorful stops occurred in Grants Pass, Oregon in 1952, when he became an honorary caveman. This requires a bit of explanation.
Grants Pass is located in the far southwestern corner of Oregon, just north of the California border. In the 1920s, a new road was constructed through Grants Pass that led to the Oregon Caverns National Monument. A group of local civic boosters, seeing an opportunity to drum up tourism, formed the Oregon Caveman.
The Cavemen were deeply committed to their bit. They claimed to be descended from the Neanderthals and dressed in animal hides, horsehair wigs, and false teeth and carried giant clubs. They appeared at every parade, festival, and civic event in and around Grants Pass, engaging in stunts like kidnapping pretty women and placing them in “cages” (only for a few minutes). In 1940, they staged a “football game” at the local high school using a live pig as the football, as seen below:
Their antics weren’t confined to city limits, either. The Cavemen showed up at events across the country, from the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge to the 1939 International Exposition in San Francisco to a Broadway show.
And whenever a celebrity showed up in Grants Pass, the Cavemen would stage a “kidnapping” and put the celebrity through a humorous “initiation ritual” to make him or her a member of the Cavemen. They’d done this with celebrities as varied as Babe Ruth, Shirley Temple, and Herbert Hoover. And they’d do the same with Kefauver.
When Kefauver arrived in Grants Pass, he was near the end of a whirlwind three-day tour of the state in the week ahead of the Democratic primary on May 16, 1952. Flying in his twin-prop campaign plane, Kefauver bounced around the state, visiting 14 different towns and making speeches on courthouse steps, college campuses, and Elks lodges.
Kefauver was the only Democrat actually seeking votes in Oregon (Supreme Court Justice William Douglas and Adlai Stevenson were also on the ballot, but both claimed not to be candidates and asked voters not to pick them). That didn’t stop him from launching this blitzkrieg tour of the Beaver State.
I can imagine Kefauver was exhausted and more than a little disoriented by the time he got to Grants Pass. I have no idea whether William Josslin, the state director of the Kefauver for President committee and the one who arranged the itinerary, warned Kefauver in advance about the Cavemen or not. Either way, he joined in with gusto.
The Cavemen greeted Kefauver and promptly slapped a caveman wig on his head (trading it for the coonskin cap he’d received at Medford, his previous stop). They proceeded to hustle him over to the “Caveman Domain” (aka, their clubhouse) for the initiation rituals.
The highlight of the ritual occurred when Kefauver was given a horn-shaped drinking vessel filled with “blood,” which the Cavemen claimed came from a saber-tooth tiger. (Actually, it was tomato juice spiked with hot sauce.) Kefauver chugged “blood” down with relish.
After the Senator had been suitably “initiated,” the Cavemen – led by Chief Big Horn (aka George Hall) and the Cave Queen (aka Roberta Bryant) – escorted him over to the courthouse for his actual campaign event.
Kefauver proceeded to shake hands with Grants Pass mayor Murrie Nulbank while still wearing the wig and surrounded by the Cavemen.
He then gave his campaign speech – again, still wearing the wing and surrounded by the Cavemen. (You can see that picture toward the top of this post.) As part of his speech, Kefauver joked that he had long dreamed of the chance to be a caveman.
Also while in Grants Pass, the Senator received a genuine Oregon gold nugget from a man named Elwood Hussey of Cave Junction, the next town over. At another campaign stop, that might have been the highlight, but Hussey’s presentation was utterly upstaged by the Cavemen and their amazing antics.
In some of the pictures above, you might have noticed that Kefauver was holding a rather odd-looking object in his hand. Here’s a better view of it:
Yep, that’s an animal jawbone. The Cavemen claimed it was from a chamois (an Alpine goat from the same region as the Neanderthals), but it was likely from a cow. You’ll notice that the jawbone is inscribed “Passport to Caveman Domain,” as well as Kefauver’s name, the date, and a little coonskin cap. In the lower left corner, it’s “signed” with the mark of Chief Big Horn. Today, the “passport” resides at the University of Tennessee, as part of their collection of Kefauver memorabilia.
Kefauver proceeded to cruise to victory in Oregon over his absent opponents, receiving over 52,000 votes compared to a combined 18,000 for Douglas and Stevenson. It obviously didn’t help him secure the nomination, but we’ve covered that story before.
On the bright side, the Oregon Cavemen remain an active group to this day. They continued initiating celebrities into their ranks, including JFK and Ronald Reagan. (I can only imagine what would have happened if they’d tried to do the same with Stevenson; he might actually have broken out in hives.)
I’m sure the people who thought Kefauver was a dangerous demagogue thought that his participation in this ritual was a sign of his fundamental unfitness for a sacred office like the Presidency. I think it shows that he knew how to have a goofy good time, and that his visit to Grants Pass was far more memorable than anything we see on the campaign trail today.
Estes Kefauver for President 
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