Newmann: A man for all reasons
He was an early aviator, an environmentalist (long before most folks even knew meaning of the word), a visionary and a three-time presidential candidate. He lived most of his life in a small town in Montana, away from any glitz and glitter. And he wanted to make the world a better place.
His name was Merrill K. Riddick.
I first met Merrill in 1980 while reporting for a daily newspaper in Missoula. And, initially, did not want to meet him. The city editor suggested doing an interview with him since Merrill was starting his second presidential bid. The interview would require a 75-mile drive from Missoula to the small town of Philipsburg, where Merrill lived. I nixed his request thinking I had better things to do than a 150-mile round trip to a hick town to interview a kook. He persisted. I relented. Unhappily.
I met Merrill at his home, aka campaign office (a space of comfortably organized disarray) … and he was disarming. And amusing. And incredibly intelligent. He was 85 years old at the time and had the energy and the wit of a much younger person.
We (or, rather, Merrill) started chatting. He had been a flight instructor and, later, a reconnaissance pilot during World War I. After the war, he became one of the U.S. Postal Office’s first airmail pilots, a job he later gave up to barnstorm, doing aerial performances and giving plane rides to spectators. During that time, he also developed a friendship with a fellow barnstormer, Charles Lindbergh, the first transatlantic pilot, which would be followed by a friendship with Eddie Rickenbacker, the famous World War I ace.
Support Local Journalism
He became an instructor at the first aviation prep school in Rochester, New York. One of his pupils was a future president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Merrill also spent time as a prospector in Montana and had a series of mining claims. Then, during World War II, he rejoined the Air Force as a technical instructor.
Merrill had a very keen early interest in ecology. He wrote tracts on the fine line between nature and human effects on nature. He also wrote and published “The Journal of Applied Human Ecology,” which detailed his plans for resource development.
In 1960, Merrill, whose father had been a two-term congressman from Montana, ran for governor. His platforms included using inland waterways for transport and the construction of an aqueduct from the Snake River to Lake Mead.
He lost.
He ran for Senate, again espousing inland waterways and also dam construction on the Missouri River to generate power.
He lost again.
And then, in 1976, he started the first of his presidential bids. His party had a catchy (and lengthy) name: “The Puritan Ethic and Epic, Magnetohydrodynamics and Prohibition Party.” It was a party of one.
The puritan ethic and epic aspect? Well, Merrill only took, at the very most, $1 campaign contributions. He considered larger donations to be unethical.
Magnetohydrodynamics? The definition is as vast as the 20 letters in the word. But, for the sake of brevity, it’s the study of the dynamics of electrically conducting fluids (an example would be the conversion of coal to electricity in a superheated chamber using magnets). Merrill also proposed the use of solar, thermal and ocean energy to solve the energy crisis. He detested energy monopolies … and their lobbying.
And prohibition? Merrill thought alcohol was a major problem in society — and wanted to ban booze. Not a great way to secure the popular vote. But at least the other two aspects of his party platform seemed vote-worthy. So did his campaign slogan: “Throw the rascals out.”
During his presidential bids, Merrill purchased a two-month Greyhound bus pass with his military pension and rode around the nation campaigning. During his campaign swings, he would often sleep in the bus, which also became his office.
Want the news to come to you? Get the top stories in your inbox every morning. Sign up here: VailDaily.com/newsletter
I met him during his second presidential campaign. He would do a third, in 1984, before calling it quits.
I went back to P-Burg several times just to hang out with Merrill and to listen to his stories.
The last time I saw him, just before leaving for New Zealand, he asked me to be his campaign manager. I told him it would be a long-distance job — and, as such, might not be feasible.
But it sure would have been a wild — and fun — ride.
With a remarkable man.
Tom Newmann splits his time between Edwards and Queenstown, New Zealand. He has been going winter-to-winter since 1986. He was also a journalist in Missoula, Montana, at the Missoulian for quite a few years. Email him at tsnnz12@gmail.com.
