As a child, Mary Jean Eisenhower sat on the knee of French general and statesman Charles de Gaulle and was frightened by the bellicose Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the then-feared Soviet Union, who was visiting her family’s estate in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
The youngest granddaughter of U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower met plenty of world leaders and witnessed global events, albeit from a child’s perspective. But that knee-high view of the world culminated in her working for humanitarian causes.
That included helping organizations such as People to People International and Sister Cities International, both dedicated to fostering relationships between countries. Not coincidentally, both were begun by her grandfather.
Mary Jean Eisenhower was the keynote speaker at the annual Sister Cities International National Conference awards dinner held July 22 at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.
She spoke beneath a replica of Sputnik that hung high over the stage. Sputnik was the Soviet Union’s satellite that caused fear among the public when it was launched into space in 1957 during her grandfather’s second term.
In an interview before the program, Eisenhower said organizations like Sister Cities are more important than ever as they promote citizen diplomacy and building relationships around the world.
“The best way to mend fences and get over the political thing is to be together,” she said. “At least, if you share the same things, just understand each other’s hearts, you’ve gone a long way toward understanding each other. Meeting other people, that’s what we do here.”
She shared insights on the world and leaders in her discussion with Carlo Capua, chairman of the board for Sister Cities, during the program. Eisenhower noted how her grandfather, known first as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe during World War II, was the son of a mother who was an “extreme pacifist.”
“I’d say that he always wanted peace, but he led people to fight, to fight for it and to ensure that it happened,” she told the crowd of about 250 from around the country and the world.
Her grandfather had a great deal of compassion and empathy, she said, thinking of the troops he led as if they were his own sons or daughters.
“The night before they deployed during World War II, he went to see that everything was done,” she said. “He even wrote a possible letter in case of failure, because he wanted to make sure nobody thought it was the troops that did it. He took full responsibility.”
When he became president, Eisenhower believed strongly that getting to know other people and cultures outside of governmental connections was key to avoiding another conflict like World War II, she said.
Her grandfather called a White House conference of 100 top American leaders, including comedian Bob Hope and filmmaker Walt Disney, to create the People to People initiative as a way to create cultural exchange programs. The goal was to foster more connections between citizens of different countries.
Some of the leaders, including Disney, visited Mexico, which not only strengthened the programs but also inspired a song that debuted at the New York World’s Fair in 1964 and continues to be played at Disney theme parks around the world.
“He came back to Anaheim, California, and started working on the song, ‘It’s a Small World,’ which has been played so many times,” she said.
Several awards were presented at Tuesday’s event. Volunteer of the Year was Nobutada Iwahashi of Wakayama, Japan, a sister city of Bakersfield, California. The Ruth Hashimoto Lifetime Achievement award went to Al Durtka of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Capua, former deputy chief of staff for Fort Worth’s mayor and city council, now is chair of the board of directors for the Washington, D.C.-based organization.
Having the organization’s national conference here was good for Fort Worth, exposing the city to the more than 200 Sister Cities leaders, elected officials and volunteers from around the country, Capua said.
That helps increase the city’s global footprint, he said, noting that Fort Worth has one of the strongest Sister Cities programs in the country with relationships with nine cities around the world.
Even after Capua completes his term as chair of the organization, Tarrant County will continue to be represented at the highest levels in Sister Cities. Sheri Capehart, former mayor pro tem of the city of Arlington, will become chair next year.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.
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