The day Ted Kennedy stopped by

As word of Sen. Edward Kennedy’s death became widely known last week, former Rockville Centre Mayor Leonard Sandel added to the many tributes by recalling the senator’s visit to the village in December 1980, and the stirring speech he delivered on national healthcare to an overflow crowd in the Recreation Center gym.

“[He delivered] one of the finest speeches that I ever heard on the subject,” said Sandel, who was mayor at the time. “He brought everything to a point including the fact that the country was falling behind in providing medical services that would enable everyone in the country to participate, including those in outlying areas.”

Kennedy, who had been invited by Sandel to speak on what even then was his signature issue, arrived by car and, escorted by a security detail of FBI agents, entered the Rec Center through a rear entrance. Sandel said the FBI had checked out the site prior to Kennedy's arrival but because of the large crowd, many of whom were local hospital workers who joined village residents to hear the senator speak, extra police and help with extra parking were required.

Sandel remembers that Kennedy arrived around 10 a.m. and stayed about 3 hours that day. He remained inside the Rec Center. Sandel also recalls chatting briefly with Kennedy, commenting on the Kennedy family and their contributions to their country.

Of the speech that day, Sandel remembers that Kennedy bemoaned the lack of a health care organization in the United States and contrasted that with successful single-payer systems in other countries. In addition to coverage by Senior News staff, from a paper founded and published by Sandel that advocated for the needs of senior citizens, Sandel said that reporters from Newsday and the New York Times were present to cover Kennedy's speech in Rockville Centre that day.

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