A chance encounter in Benardsville New Jersey with Millicent Fenwick in 1987

I was short on Pipe Tobacco (back when I used to smoke a pipe) and was driving home. I was living at the time in Bernardsville, NJ and I came to my usual store which was a Kings market. It was a rather upscale super market, but Bernardsville was a very affluent community so it was well placed. I was renting a small place in town...Not too affluent but nice. It was a lovely town.

 I picked up a few items and got on line to buy some pipe tobacco. Who would be in front of me buying some for herself ? None other than Millicent Fenwick. I always liked her and found her rather saucy ways fun and better the average none entity who usually assumes office. She also had which i did not know at the time a Lusitania connection. Her mother was lost on the Lusitania when it was torpedoed on may 7, 1915.


I said to her as she finished her transaction "It is pleasure to to meet you. I see you are getting some tobacco, I am too ." "Well that is lovely, you can always trust a pipe smoker" she responded to me as we shook hands ..So after a few more pleasantries she was on her way and I was on mine.  Just fun to meet her, even if a short time. But it was shared in the love of pipe tobacco. She was fun!


One small postscript was that the cartoon of  Lacey Davenport in the Doonesbury cartoons has been attributed to her. However the creator of the strip says no. Perhaps with a wink.....Oh well who knows?