Menu
Outdoors columnist White celebrates 91st birthday
Not many people can say they've experienced life at the level Ken White has.
White, who turned 91 on Thursday, is a legendary Missouri outdoorsman. He's won numerous high-profile fishing tournaments, including the 1964 World Series of Sport Fishing.
White has been acquainted with many famous people over the decades, and was front-and-center at notable events.
He has met nine former Presidents, and was close with the Truman family, serving as Harry S Truman's personal photographer. White has also maintained heavy involvement with the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri.
"Truman called me a 'solid Missourian,'" White told the Daily Mail. "He was interested in geography and history, and we had a lot of discussions about that. Especially about Missouri."
White, Truman, and former first lady Bess Truman fished together on many occasions. White warmly recalled how the 33rd U.S, President was not a great fisherman, and had a knack for posing in front of the camera with Ken or Bess' haul of fish.
White said he was close with Bess, fondly recalling her witty jokes.
"Mrs. Truman had a dry sense of humor," White said. "She would tell you something funny, and you might laugh politely. But then the next line didn't hit you until you were driving home, and you'd be laughing out loud just thinking about it. Her and I had a lot of good times, and became really good friends. We had her over to our house for fish frys, and took the family over to their house a lot. I have a picture of my son sitting on Truman's lap."
White, in fact, has a trove of unpublished photographs he took of Truman, and hopes to soon publish a book featuring the photos, as well as letters penned by Truman.
White noted that he has in the range of 100 photos he could potentially use for his dream project. White also said he has roughly 1,000 photos of celebrities and dignitaries that could also be used for a publication.
Outside of Truman, White said he was particularly fond of John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter. In particular, White spent time hunting with Carter, and found he had a lot in common with him.
"Because of Truman, mainly, I met people like Jack Benny and Bob Hope," White said. "I was on stage with the Three Stooges, and the Beatles.
White was the primary photographer for the Beatles lone-ever performance in Kansas City in 1964. "I got to know them pretty well, especially John Lennon," White said. "He got me extra tickets right on the front row for my two teenage daughters."
White said the Beatles were paid $150,000 for the show, which lasted 32-minutes. The short duration of the concert can be primarily attributed to screaming fans, who proved disruptive to the famed band.
White added that his on-stage appearance with the Three Stooges came while he was in the Navy stationed in Rhode Island.
"Things like that, I just happened to be there," he said. "I've been called 'Forrest Gump' because I was in the right place at the right time."
White has fished and hunted nearly every corner of the Show Me State. He became well-acquainted with the state as an outdoor writer for the Missouri Tourism Commission in the early 70s, and later continued his travels throughout the state as the executive director of the Missouri American Revolution Bicentennial Commission.
"I've been to over 500 communities," White said. "I didn't know Missouri was that big until I started traveling. It was interesting to visit all the different communities. You can go from Park Hill to the Bootheel."
White said during that time one of his fishing excursions was with actor Jack Lord, of Hawaii Five-O fame. White was also pals with Lorne Green, who played Ben Cartwright in Bonanza. He said Green was interested in doing a syndicated outdoors column, but it never came to fruition.
"He wanted me to give him some direction on how to do it," White said. "I was probably writing (columns) for 20 different papers at the time."
White, who has held the title of sports editor at numerous papers around the country, also had an outdoors TV show for several years in the late '60s that was broadcast in the Kansas City area.
Additionally, White was friends with many professional athletes, including New York Yankees' star Roger Maris.
"I was with his wife the day he hit the 61st homerun," White said, referring to Maris' magical 1961 season, in which he eclipsed Babe Ruth's single-season home run record. "I took a picture of her watching the television when he hit it. She was very pregnant at the time, that's why she wasn't at the game."
White said Maris, who played for the Kansas City Athletics in 1958, was his neighbor, and a "really nice guy."
"He loved to duck hunt," White recalled.
White has also spent time hunting and fishing in Missouri with the likes of George Brett and Whitey Herzog.
White, who began writing for the Daily Mail more than 40 years ago, is still going strong with his columns, attributing his outdoor lifestyle to his longevity.