Former local newswoman to sign Kennedy book at Russo's
BY JEFF GOODMAN, Californian staff writer jgoodman@bakersfield.com
Nov. 22, 1963 -- a monumentally tragic day in United States history, a deeply traumatic one for John F. Kennedy's Secret Service agents and the core of a new book by a former Bakersfield newswoman who was born just weeks later.
"It really was a great history lesson for me," said "The Kennedy Detail" co-author Lisa McCubbin, who will sign copies of the book Tuesday evening at Russo's Books.
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"THE KENNEDY DETAIL"
What: Book signing with author Lisa McCubbin and former secret service agent Clint Hill
When: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Russo's Books, 9000 Ming Ave.
Online: www.lisamccubbin.com
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Lisa McCubbin, a journalist and author who got her start in Bakersfield, will be at Russo's Books Tuesday evening signing copies of her new book, "The Kennedy Detail."
"It's a rare window into history. Hearing first-hand accounts from Secret Service agents who were so close to the Kennedy family, I felt like I got to know the Kennedy family as well."
McCubbin, the former host of a KERN radio call-in talk show who also worked as a local television news reporter in the late 1990s, joined longtime family friend Gerald Blaine in documenting the impact that Kennedy's assassination had on his Secret Service agents.
Blaine was one of those agents.
"I was always fascinated by his years in the Secret Service, but I had never talked to him about it," McCubbin said.
Clint Hill, another former agent who witnessed the fateful events in Dallas, wrote the book's foreword. He will also be present at the book signing.
The project, McCubbin said, has facilitated a healing process for some of the agents who had kept quiet for more than four decades.
"These gentlemen are now in their late 70s," she said. "Unless they told their story now, the truth would be lost forever."
McCubbin has enjoyed meeting many current Secret Service agents as she travels the country in support of "The Kennedy Detail."
But McCubbin, who participated in a book club during her time in Kern County, said she's especially excited to visit the Ming Avenue store as part of her current tour.
"I had to add Bakersfield to the (list of) stops," McCubbin said. "I still have wonderful friends in Bakersfield who I've stayed in touch with.
"But never in a million years did I think that I'd be coming back to Bakersfield as an author."
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