Clinton Strolls Memory Lane

FORMER PRESIDENT WAS IN AREA TO ATTEND DEDICATION, FUNDRAISER

Former President Bill Clinton visits the Clinton House Museum on Wednesday in Fayetteville. This was Clinton’s first visit to the Museum since it opened.
Former President Bill Clinton visits the Clinton House Museum on Wednesday in Fayetteville. This was Clinton’s first visit to the Museum since it opened.

— He asked how the ceiling was holding up. He reminisced about his wedding day.

“We got married right here,” said former President Bill Clinton, pointing to a spot in front of a tall west-facing window in the living room of he and Hillary Clinton’s Fayetteville home near the University of Arkansas on what is now Clinton Drive.

The hourlong visit to the Clinton House Museum on Wednesday was something of a side trip for Clinton. He’d been attending a courtyard dedication at the university’s Law School for his friend Richard Atkinson, a former dean of the school who died in 2005. Clinton made the trip to his former home as one of his final stops in Arkansas. Earlier in the day Clinton was the keynote speaker at a fundraiser in Springdale to benefit Economics Arkansas which promotes literacy in the classroom.

“There we are,” Clinton said pointing to a photo of the newlyweds. “Look how young my mother-in-law looks. Now, 91 years old. Still bright as a penny.”

The wedding cost $120, Clinton said.

The Clintons lived in the 1,800-square-foot one-bedroom home for about a year and a half while the two were teaching at the Law School. They left in December 1976 to move to Little Rock after Clinton was elected as Arkansas’ attorney general. But when Clinton bought the house in June 1975, he said he paid $20,500. The monthly payments were $174, he said.

“I didn’t know what a sub-prime mortgage was,” he said to a roomful of laughs.

The trip back to the home was a first for Clinton.

“I think this is the first time I’ve actually come in,” he said.

As the former president ambled through the rooms of his former home — its walls lined with photos, campaign memorabilia and even a reproduction of the wedding dress Hillary Clinton wore on that October day in 1975 — he chatted with the crowd and recalled dozens events and experiences from his days in Arkansas.

“That was a good day for me,” said the former president and Arkansas governor, pointing to a photo taken on the day of the dedication of the statue of state Sen. J. William Fulbright on the university campus behind Old Main.

In the next room Clinton signed books, photos and other items for the crowd of about 30 that included a number of local public officials and old friends. The day marked Fayetteville Flyer publisher Todd Gill’s third wedding anniversary. He and his wife were married at the Clinton Home. The president autographed a copy of their wedding photo.

“The first half of this book is basically a love letter to Arkansas,” Clinton said thumbing through a copy of “My Life,” his 2004 autobiography. The museum is filled with books and other Clinton souvenirs.

The run-in with a former president was something of an accident for 11-year-old Brianna Duncan and her mom, Tracy Duncan of Fayetteville.

“We’ve driven by, but we’ve never been inside,” said Duncan, just as after Brianna snagged an autograph from the former president. It was their first time in the Clinton house and the first time Brianna met a president.

“This is nice,” Clinton said of the museum home. “You guys have done a wonderful job.”

Upcoming Events