EDUCATORS ’ PERSPECTIVE
lands and a prominent position with the local bank — reinforced the impression of his birth father as a man of hoarded wealth and dubious character .” Ford reported all of this to his mother , who was already upset that her ex-husband refused to help with their son ’ s college expenses .
Ford ’ s revelations about his birth father ’ s situation in Wyoming prompted Dorothy Ford to sue King for failure to pay child support after Gerald ’ s grandfather , Charles King , passed away . After an extended court battle , the issue was finally settled when King sent a check for $ 4,000 to his former wife . When his mother tried to give the money to Ford , he refused it .
Leslie King , Sr . died in 1941 before Ford began his congressional career . He never saw his son become the only eagle scout , the only national park ranger and the only native Nebraskan to become the only unelected president in United States history .
After his presidency , Ford made a good deal of money . Both he and his wife , Betty , signed book contracts that netted them $ 1 million . This child of the Great Depression wanted to make sure that he left his family in a good financial position . According to Smith , “ To be able to move into a $ 650,000 home in Rancho Mirage and a $ 2 million ski chalet near Vail , Colorado — mortgage-free — was for Ford a source of unabashed pride .”
The grandson of a wealthy entrepreneur raised by a loving stepfather , who taught him the satisfaction of working hard , the importance of honesty and the value of a dollar , rose to unimaginable heights . Ford ’ s biological father ’ s negligence and lack of attention to his first-born child came with a silver lining . For instead of growing up as a spoiled rich kid ’ s spoiled son , Gerald Ford , Jr . grew up to be president of the United States .
Brian Grinder is a professor at Eastern Washington University and a member of Financial History ’ s editorial board . Dr . Dan Cooper is the president of Active Learning Technologies .
The authors would like to thank the staff at the Pioneer Museum in Lander , Wyoming for providing a copy of Loren Jost ’ s excellent article on Charles H . King .
Notes
Gerald R . Ford , Jr . with his wife and son , Michael , at the Grand Rapids Airport on October 11 , 1951 .
1 . The Fremont , Elkhorn and Missouri Valley was a subsidiary of the Chicago and North Western Railroad ( CNW ) and was later consolidated into the CNW . According to Charles King chronicler Loren Jost , King may have spent time in Chicago before moving to Nebraska . During his time in Chicago , he may have met railroad officials who later tipped him off about the westward expansion plans of the Fremont , Elkhorn and Missouri Valley .
Jost also argued that “ fame through association with a president doesn ’ t do justice to [ Charles King ]. His accomplishments make him noteworthy in his own right .”
2 . This news bit that ran in the October 19 , 1907 edition of the Riverton Republican , while written in jest , was closer to the truth than the newspaper may have imagined : “ The bunch of sheep purchased one year ago by Mr . Leslie King from L . A . Morrison were sold the past week at a profit of $ 2,300.00 . Mr . King is at present
Gerald R . Ford Presidential Library and Museum
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