President Clinton made a quick stop on Hilton Head in 1995. Here’s what he did
Editor’s note: This story was first published in the Island Packet on Jan. 1, 1995. In honor of The Island Packet’s 50th anniversary, we are republishing stories from our archive.
Clintons return: First family makes whirlwind visit
President Clinton arrived on Hilton Head Island for Renaissance Weekend Saturday afternoon, but his first stop was the beach in front of the Palmetto Dunes home where he and his family are staying.
The president spent about 45 minutes strolling along the Atlantic Ocean, greeting people, petting dogs and even tossing a football with a woman from Youngstown, Ohio, before returning to his home to get ready for the New Year’s Eve gathering at the Hyatt Regency.
Clinton and his wife, Hillary, left Andrews Air Force Base in the morning and touched down at Beaufort’s Marine Corps Air Station at 12:15 p.m.
Heavy fog on Hilton Head Island prevented the couple from taking the Marine One helicopter to the Hilton Head Airport, as planned.
“They sent a test helicopter up and they couldn’t get too far out over the water, so he’s motorcading over here,” said Phil Lader, who went to the Hilton Head Airport to greet the Clintons with his wife, Linda, and their two young daughters, Mary Catherine, 9, and Whitaker, 7.
The president and his wife rode in a limousine to the island, arriving at the Palmetto Dunes home on Brigantine just after 1:30 p.m.
That was a disappointment for those who went to the Hilton Head Airport hoping to catch a glimpse of the Clintons.
“Maybe we’ll see him when he leaves,” said Bob Dalrymple, a Hilton Head Island resident and a former Democratic mayor in New Jersey, as he and his fiance, stood on Airport Road just outside the airport’s side gate.
“We saw him come in last year but I never had my camera with me,” he said. “Now I have my camera and there’s no president, but it’s exciting just to see all the security and all of the people involved.”
Security was tight Saturday afternoon as the president came down the steps of the $2.5 million home that a West Virginia businessman is letting him use for his one-day stay on the island.
Throngs of people converged on Clinton, prompting about a dozen Secret Service officers to move in front of the president and push the crowd back. But in his usual style, the president moved toward the people, shaking hands and making small talk with everyone and anyone.
“Hey pal, I like that shirt,” said Clinton, patting a young boy on the head who was wearing a blue shirt with a race car and race track running down the side.
Dressed casually in a mocha brown sweater, green khaki pants and New Balance sneakers, Clinton seemed relaxed as he moved through the crowd and even began tossing a football with Patrice Cooper, a travel agent visiting from Youngstown, Ohio.
“I have a bad shoulder muscle and I have to do stretching exercises every morning,” Clinton said, rotating his left arm with the football in his hand.
As the two stood about eight feet apart tossing the ball back and forth, they discussed the Youngstown State Penguins, a football team that has won the NCAA Division I-AA national football championship the past two years.
Cooper, who wore a bright red sweatshirt with “Youngstown State Penguins” emblazoned on it, asked Clinton whether the team would be able to visit the White House as the Division I-A champions do.
Clinton asked her to write him a note on it and he would see what he could do. He added that they were a great team and that he had watched the team win its game against Mississippi’s Alcorn State on Thanksgiving weekend.
Asked whether he would play golf while he was on the island, Clinton said he was not sure.
“I’m not here long enough,” he said, seeming disappointed.
He then strolled north almost a half mile down the beach, stopping to talk with people here and there. As he returned to the Palmetto Dunes home, he ran into Bob and Liz Poven, two Renaissance Weekend participants from Boston who went to Yale University with Clinton and his wife.
Clinton chatted with the couple for about 15 minutes. Onlookers milled around, moving out of the way of an approaching high tide.
Clinton returned to his oceanfront home and could be seen through glass windows walking up the stairs to the second floor with his daughter, Chelsea. A fire was going in the second-floor fireplace.
Chelsea arrived earlier than her parents, coming to Hilton Head Island Friday night, Linda Lader said.
The Clintons’ agenda on Hilton Head Island was kept private. Lader said she had not scheduled the Clintons for any panel discussions at Renaissance Weekend and would leave them to their own devices.
“Every Renaissance Weekend participant — as President Clinton has been for the last 10 or 11 years — does what he or she wants to do,” said Phil Lader, founder of the event 14 years ago.
Linda Lader said Clinton did send someone to Renaissance Weekend to take notes during a 3:45 p.m. panel, titled “If I were President... What Would I Say To The Nation... In Two Minutes!”
The Laders founded the Renaissance Weekend event in 1981 in an attempt to recover “a lost holiday” and to foster communication between people of diverse backgrounds.
The event brings together politicians, authors, business leaders, singers, comedians, journalists, athletes, artists and writers for panel discussions on a variety of subjects.
The purpose of Renaissance Weekend is personal and national renewal and an effort to give the participants some time together so they can learn from each other, the Laders said.
Renaissance Weekend participants were expected to have dinner on Saturday night followed by a panel discussion titled, “Reflections,” and a New Year’s Eve party.
“I can almost predict... that the new year will be struck by hundreds of people holding hands and singing ‘God Bless America,’” Phil Lader said.
All three Clintons arrived at the Hyatt Regency Hilton Head at about 7:20 p.m. Saturday night. The president had changed into a dark suit and Hillary Rodham Clinton wore black. Chelsea wore a red top and short black shirt.
Clinton may try to squeeze in a gave of golf today, before returning to the White House and then leaving for Little Rock, Ark., on Monday to visit family and friends, a White House spokeswoman said.
On Jan. 4, he will attend the dedication of an elementary school in Sherwood, Ark. The school will be named the William Jefferson Clinton elementary school, White House officials said.
Although Clinton’s visit to the island was short, it left some people with a story to take home.
“I think it was really nice that he came out to the beach here,” said Katherine Duley, a tourist from Roswell, Ga., who got to shake the president’s hand on the beach. “This is the high point of our vacation.”