Gerald Ford Once Visited The Oxford Valley Mall & Called It The Wrong Name

It was Saturday, October 30, 1976 and President Gerald Ford was on a streak of last-minute campaigning. He hit Texas and then made a stop at the Oxford Valley Mall in Middletown before jetting off to a rally on Long Island in New York.

The Republican who came into power after Richard Nixon resigned packed his campaign stop at the Oxford Valley Mall with a reported 40,000 supporters. He was not only pushing his campaign with vice presidential candidate Bob Dole but working on behalf of congressional candidate Jack Renninger (who lost a few days later to Democrat Peter Kostmayer).

Aside from the crowds, the Ford campaign had student bands from Allentown, Archbishop Wood Catholic High School, Central Bucks West High School, Father Judge High School, Maple Point Middle School and Neshaminy High School, according to records from the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.

“We will have a real swinger, all for America,” Ford said of his inauguration that would happen if he was elected.

Ford spoke to the crowd about the economy, peace after the end of the Vietnam War, the environment and reducing taxes.

The stop made national headlines, and not just because Ford wrongly predicted he would win overwhelmingly over Democrat Jimmy Carter.

“I pledge that to you right here in Orchard Valley, Bucks County,” Ford told the crowd that roared with laughter. “Oxford. Let me apologize to Oxford Valley.”

“We were in the right county, anyhow,” he followed up.

The White House transcript of the speech noted that the president laughed at his mistake.

A UPI report from the event stated Ford “made one of his now-patented errors” by misstating the name of the mall as a 10-foot-tall electric sign that said “Oxford Valley” stood opposite the stage.

Following Ford’s 2006 death, former congressman Jim Greenwood, who worked for Renninger’s campaign, recalled the faux pas with the Allentown Morning Call.

The president was busy on the campaign trail and battling a hoarse voice that he treated by sipping tea and honey as Air Force One flew from Texas to Northeast Philadelphia Airport, where Ford was greeted before heading to the mall.

During his speech, Ford thanked Harry Fawkes and Ruth Nemetz, who ran the Bucks County President Ford Committee. NBC sports commentator Joe Garagiola joined the president and provided star power for the Lower Bucks County audience.

While Ford retained an image during his two-year presidency for being clumsy and often making speaking errors, he was a skilled U.S. Navy reservist and had been voted the most valuable teammate while playing college football for the University of Michigan. The athletic and well-educated president’s image took a hit after a few spills and comedian Chevy Chase’s spoofs of Ford on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.”

At the Oxford Valley Mall, Ford had a simple message for the crowd.

“And I pledge to you that Jerry Ford won’t let you down in the next 4 years.”

Next week, Ford lost the election and returned to Bucks County years later to campaign for Greenwood’s congressional bid.