From The Rocky Mountain News Photo Collection: Robert F. Kennedy In Colorado

Gov. McNichols, left, and Atty. Gen. Robert F. Kennedy have a moment of cheer after Kennedy’s arrival in Denver. September 27, 1961. Photo by Mike O’Meara. From the Rocky Mountain News Photograph Collection, Box 148

Gov. McNichols, left, and Atty. Gen. Robert F. Kennedy have a moment of cheer after Kennedy’s arrival in Denver. September 27, 1961. Photo by Mike O’Meara. From the Rocky Mountain News Photograph Collection, Box 148
June 6, 2018, marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Senator Robert Francis Kennedy. Kennedy was shot shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, at Los Angeles’ Ambassador Hotel. Moments earlier, he had stood at a podium after winning the California presidential primary.

Front page of the Rocky Mountain News, June 6, 1968

Front page of the Rocky Mountain News, June 6, 1968
Robert Kennedy’s death shocked and saddened many Americans, and it caused some to question the direction of the country during a particularly tumultuous year, which included the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the escalation of the Vietnam War. Wrote Pete Chronis in a June 7, 1963, Rocky Mountain News op-ed piece:

Wednesday, after hearing of the assassination attempt.there came a familiar dread and disbelief that I had felt during the four days in November 1963.unlike in 1963, I found myself wondering if I really were living in the United States or in some anarchic republic.

From right foreground, Bill Mobeck, office manager; Mrs. Anita Safran, office secretary, and the State Rep. Richard Gebhardt (D-Boulder), state campaign chairman. With heavy hearts, workers in Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s Denver campaign headquarters packs supplies and materials Thursday as they close the offices. June 6, 1968. Photo by Dick Davis. From the Rocky Mountain News Photograph Collection, Box 148

With heavy hearts, workers in Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s Denver campaign headquarters packs supplies and materials Thursday as they close the offices. June 6, 1968. Photo by Dick Davis. From the Rocky Mountain News Photograph Collection, Box 148
Kennedy’s last visit to the Rocky Mountain region was in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on April 26, 1968, while on a presidential campaign tour, where he said “My goal is not to govern America but to liberate America.”
A month before, Kennedy had stopped in Denver to speak at the Auditorium Arena. More than 35,000 people lined the Denver streets to see him.

Senator Robert F. Kennedy speaks in Denver. March 28, 1968. Photo by Bill Perry. From the Rocky Mountain News Photograph Collection, Box 148

Senator Robert F. Kennedy speaks in Denver. March 28, 1968. Photo by Bill Perry. From the Rocky Mountain News Photograph Collection, Box 148
Rocky Mountain News writer Don Lyle perhaps best summed up Robert Kennedy’s relationship to Colorado in a June 8, 1968, article:

Robert F. Kennedy didn’t spend much time in Colorado and Wyoming—usually a short week around Christmas enjoying the skiing at Aspen or a short speaking tour through the larger cities. His visits here were memorable ones for all who met him and came under the spell of his enthusiasm, whether it was on the ski slopes, seated in an audience or experiencing the firm, quick handshake.

Images of Robert F. Kennedy’s time in Colorado appear below. All images come from the Rocky Mountain News Photo Collection at the Denver Public Library’s Western History and Genealogy Department.

An intent audience of about 1000 University of Colorado students hear Atty. Gen. Robert F. Kennedy, in shirt sleeves, right, insist his brother’s Administration is not anti-business. CU Students Hear Attorney General Defend Administration, June 27, 1962. Photo by Mike O’Meara. From the Rocky Mountain News Photograph Collection, Box 148

CU Students Hear Attorney General Defend Administration, June 27, 1962. Photo by Mike O’Meara. From the Rocky Mountain News Photograph Collection, Box 148

Ready for a skiing vacation in Aspen, U.S. Atty. Gen. Robert F. Kennedy and his wife, Ethel, are shown with town of their seven children, and two other youngsters minutes after they deplaned at Denver’s Stapleton Airfield. Robert F. Kennedy with family at Denver’s Stapleton Airfield. December 27, 1962. Photo by Bob Talkin. From the Rocky Mountain News Photograph Collection, Box 148

Robert F. Kennedy with family at Denver’s Stapleton Airfield. December 27, 1962. Photo by Bob Talkin. From the Rocky Mountain News Photograph Collection, Box 148

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