It is, perhaps, only a footnote to history, but it’s an interesting one: In 1963, John F. Kennedy visited Tampa, the first sitting president ever to do so. He rode in a motorcade down Lafayette Street, sitting on the back of an open limousine like a hero returning home. He hobnobbed with Gov. Farris Bryant and Sen. George Smathers. He gave five speeches, talking about Cuban policy and Medicare and civil rights. “Suncoast smiles on Kennedy,” said the front-page headline in the next morning’s Times. The date on that paper was Nov. 19. Three days later, Kennedy went to Dallas. • A FIRST AND FINAL VISIT • Times photo by RON WAHL

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