To whom it may concern:

I came across this letter and leaflet. I wonder if it has any value or relevance to the paper. If so, feel free to keep it or throw it out, if you choose.

I also came across an inauguration 1965 guide book but it's too large for the envelope. If you are interested, please respond by July 1.

Sincerely,

[a citizen in Edgewater, Md.]

Enclosed with this letter, I discovered a letter written by Sen. Eugene McCarthy's office by a Saint Mary's University alumnus, Richard J. Roth (Click to read Mr. Roth's cover letter). The letter was an obvious rebuttal to some negative press the Senator had been getting regarding an amendment to the Tax Bill in 1964. Also included was a great campaign pamphlet for McCarthy, too (Click to view Sen. McCarthy's 1964 campaign brochure.).

Tuesday is the beginning of the filing period for political office in Minnesota. And that can only mean one thing. Before long, lawn signs will fill yards and campaign materials will crowd mailboxes. So in that spirit, this letter and pamphlet are a good reminder that campaigns -- letters, signs, bumper stickers and all -- are nothing new and as much of America as apple pie.

I tracked down Roth at his residence in Washington, D.C. Ironically, he was on his way to get his dog from a boarding kennel in Edgewater, the same town where the letter had been sent. While he can't remember the exact letter and no one will probably ever know how the letter made the cross-country route from the Daily News offices back to the Beltway, he remembers the Summer of '64, the campaign and his time as a student in Winona.

After a brief stint helping the McCarthy campaign, Roth went on to co-found the Edmund Burke School in Washington, D.C., where he stayed until 1999. Now retired, he still keeps in contact with many friends he met as a student at what was then Saint Mary's College. Technically, he's the Class of 1953, but didn't graduate with the rest of his friends.

Time has a way of softening things -- Roth chuckles a bit when he tells why he didn't graduate with his cohorts. He was kicked out before graduating.

"I was a real conundrum -- a quandary," Roth said.

He was a member of student government, on the honor roll and even the most valuable player on the football team. But, he also liked breaking curfew and rocking the boat, something that didn't sit well with the strict Catholic institution. Evidently exasperated, they gave Roth the heave-ho, and he returned after a few years in the U.S. Army to finish his education.

Roth went on to teach history and economics and even remained active in grass-roots, local politics in Washington, D.C. His time spent on the McCarthy campaign was not the only interaction he had with McCarthy. The Senator's daughter, Margaret, would also be a student at Roth's fledgling school.

"He always amazed me," Roth said, "he always knew my name and never forgot a face."

He participated at the National Democratic Convention, which was held in Atlantic City, N.J., where the Dems nominated Lyndon Johnson for another term. While the convention wouldn't be as wild as the '68 party in Chicago, it seemed turbulent enough.

The convention saw its share of controversy, when Fannie Lou Hamer took the podium with her sick-and-tired speech. It was also there the party refused to seat the Mississippi delegation.

Roth remembers fighting hard during the '64 campaign season.

"We just had to beat (U.S. Sen. Barry) Goldwater," Roth said. "We really believed if he was elected, he'd drop the bomb (on Vietnam). We also thought that if Johnson was re-elected, he'd get us out of there. We had no idea how much more intense it was going to be. I, along with many others, though Johnson would wind things down and we'd all go home and be happy."