President Dwight Eisenhower’s Civil Rights Commission faced high hurdles as it searched for common ground in the tense years after the U.S. Supreme Court began attacking the walls of segregation inside America’s schools.
After several years of struggle, Father Theodore Hesburgh discovered a bond between his commission colleagues that transcended race and regional differences, noted President Barack Obama, in his historic commencement address at the University of Notre Dame.
All of them liked to fish. Thus, the president of America’s most famous Catholic institution — he served for 35 years — arranged for a twilight cruise on the lake at Notre Dame’s retreat center at Land O’Lakes, Wis.