Outdoors: An unlikely place for a first lady

Thursday marked the 129th anniversary of the birth of Bess Truman. It's a date that reminds me of the good times I had visiting with her over the years and keeping the Trumans supplied with the fresh crappie they loved.

Truman loved almost all sports when a young woman was a champion tennis player and a very good third baseman on the local ball team. She liked to fish, but after her husband, the former president, became a political figure in national, state and local circles, she rarely had the opportunity to go fishing.

Luckily, because of our similar interest in sports, we hit it off quite well and were never at a loss for subjects to talk about. She liked to attend baseball games when the Kansas City Royals came to town, but couldn't enjoy them because of all the attention she received at the ballpark, so she usually watched the Chiefs and Royals on television.

On one occasion, I took the Trumans trout fishing at an underground stream, in Independence, Mo. The stream had been stocked with rainbow trout by Dwight and Mary Alice Emerson, of Ava, Mo.

The Emersons owned Crystal Springs Trout farm and furnished trout for events, including sport shows and restaurants. The Emersons found that by channeling the underground stream in a very large cave, they could not only have a place to keep their trout closer to the city, but also give anglers an opportunity to catch trout close to home.

Since the stream was closed on Mondays, we decided it would be a good time to give Truman a chance to fish. She picked out a flyrod and started casting like a pro.

In less than a minute, she hooked a big trout. In a short time, she had five trout then, offered the rod to her husband, but he declined.

Knowing she had already caught her fish and there was a possibilty he might not do as well, he said, "I'll pass."

However, when I suggested I take a photo of Truman with her catch, to send their daughter, Margaret, he quickly picked up the string of fish while his wife looked like she was admiring his catch.

Emerson later replied, "Mr. Truman knew how to get the fisherman's vote, without even wetting a line."

After catching the fish and waiting for them to be cleaned, the former president engaged in conversation with Emerson about world politics, at that time. Both men knew a lot about the conditions in the Middle East and it almost became a chore for Truman to drag her husband away from the cave.

Although he didn't enjoy fishing as much as his wife, he could have discussed government and politics all day.

As I drove the Trumans home, Bess Truman commented, "I really enjoyed the fishing and would like, very much, to go again, but would you tell them that I want to catch my own fish and for them not to give me so much attention?"

Several months after the Trumans' visit to the fishing stream, the Emersons had to abandon the idea of anglers catching trout in an underground stream. It seems, the fish went blind after being in the stream without natural light, so they were no longer attractive to the fishermen.

Bess Truman not only liked to fish, she also liked to eat fish, especially crappie. Whenever she would get a craving for fresh fish, I was more than happy to catch her some.

Any excuse to go fishing was fine with me, but even more so when the former first lady requested me to do so. One afternoon, I invited her to my home for a fish fry and she accepted.

She enjoyed the dinner and my eight children so much that she kept the secret service waiting for hours, while she visited.

On another occasion, she called me and asked if I could bring her some crappie. Usually, it isn't any trouble to catch at least a few in a nearby lake.

I told her I would bring her some fish that afternoon. Of course, this day, the fish weren't hitting, so I checked at the dock to see if anyone had some crappie. No one did.

Knowing I had frozen crappie at home, I quickly thawed a few out and took them to her.

The next time I saw the Trumans, Bess Truman said, "Those crappie you brought us had been frozen, hadn't they?" I never brought any more thawed out fish to her, She knew the difference.

For more than 20 years, I kept Bess Truman supplied with fresh crappie, but in later years, a single fish was enough for her. I was very fortunate to have known such a great lady.

Bess Truman died in 1982, at the age of 97.