VP Ford & The Optimist

In May of 1974, then-Vice President Gerald Ford delivered the commencement address at U of M. Jim Linebaugh, a staff reporter for Pioneer High School's Optimist newspaper scored a real coup when he landed the only 1-on-1 interview with Mr. Ford during his visit to Ann Arbor. The interview was conducted at the Michigan League immediately following commencement which took place at Crisler Arena. Linebaugh arranged the interview through the office of University President Robben Fleming. It was just a short time later that President Nixon resigned and Ford took over the Presidency. I still vividly remember the day Ford was sworn into office, when from our home on the northwest side of Ann Arbor we could clearly hear the bells of the Burton Tower carillon sounding in celebration of a University of Michigan graduate becoming the leader of the free world. In addition to his duties at the Optimist, Mr. Linebaugh also worked as a disc-jockey. He was known on the local airwaves as Jim Michaels.