Ben Hibbs
Encyclopedia
Ben Hibbs was born in Fontana, Kansas
and earned an A.B. from the University of Kansas
in 1923.
In 1942, Hibbs began a twenty-year association with the editorial staff of The Saturday Evening Post
. During the Eisenhower administration, Hibbs persuaded the President to sign a contract calling for him to write four articles a year for publication in The Post beginning after Eisenhower left the White House
. During Hibbs’ final year with The Post, 1962, he served as senior editor and began working directly with General Eisenhower on articles he prepared for the magazine.
Hibbs left The Post in January 1963 and joined the editorial staff of Reader’s Digest, owned by DeWitt Wallace
. When Eisenhower’s contract with The Post expired in 1964, Hibbs was responsible for the General’s signing a new contract agreeing to write three articles a year for Reader’s Digest at a fee of $30,000 per article. Hibbs was the editor assigned to collaborate with Eisenhower in producing these articles.
The general procedure followed in producing an Eisenhower article was begun when a topic, originated by the General, Hibbs, or The Reader’s Digest editors, was decided upon. Eisenhower and Hibbs then agreed to a meeting time several weeks in advance and proceeded to accumulate ideas and facts for the article. They would then meet several times at either Gettysburg
or Palm Springs
to discuss the article, working from an outline prepared by Hibbs. From these conversations, and the notes Hibbs compiled from them, a draft of the article was created. It was then sent to Eisenhower for his comments and editing before being submitted to the executive editor of The Reader’s Digest, Hobart Lewis, for final editing.
Hibbs first met Eisenhower during the last year of World War II
, when the General requested that reporters from the United States be flown to Europe to document the horrors of the German concentration camps then being liberated by the U.S. Army. Hibbs and the other correspondents were shown the Dachau concentration camp and the Buchenwald concentration camp
before being introduced to Eisenhower at his SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
) headquarters. Following the war, Hibbs attempted to purchase for The Post
the magazine rights to General Eisenhower’s memoirs, Crusade in Europe
, but was unsuccessful when Eisenhower sold those rights to Life
.
Hibbs actively promoted the candidacy of Eisenhower for the Presidency of the United States in 1952. He wrote an editorial entitled “Will the Republicans Commit Suicide in Chicago” concerning the Taft-Eisenhower battle over the seating of Republican delegates from Texas.
Hibbs was never a part of the inner White House
Group during the Eisenhower administrations. However, he did remain an acquaintance of the President and was invited to attend stag dinners and other social functions. His close association with Eisenhower developed after the President left office and began writing articles for The Post and Reader’s Digest.
Fontana, Kansas
Fontana is a city in south central Miami County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 224. The name Fontana comes from the French word fontaine, meaning fountain or a spring-like water source. It was given to the small city because it was known as a place with...
and earned an A.B. from the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
in 1923.
In 1942, Hibbs began a twenty-year association with the editorial staff of The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...
. During the Eisenhower administration, Hibbs persuaded the President to sign a contract calling for him to write four articles a year for publication in The Post beginning after Eisenhower left the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. During Hibbs’ final year with The Post, 1962, he served as senior editor and began working directly with General Eisenhower on articles he prepared for the magazine.
Hibbs left The Post in January 1963 and joined the editorial staff of Reader’s Digest, owned by DeWitt Wallace
DeWitt Wallace
DeWitt Wallace , also known as William Roy was a United States magazine publisher. He co-founded Reader's Digest with his wife Lila Wallace and published the first issue in 1922.Born in St...
. When Eisenhower’s contract with The Post expired in 1964, Hibbs was responsible for the General’s signing a new contract agreeing to write three articles a year for Reader’s Digest at a fee of $30,000 per article. Hibbs was the editor assigned to collaborate with Eisenhower in producing these articles.
The general procedure followed in producing an Eisenhower article was begun when a topic, originated by the General, Hibbs, or The Reader’s Digest editors, was decided upon. Eisenhower and Hibbs then agreed to a meeting time several weeks in advance and proceeded to accumulate ideas and facts for the article. They would then meet several times at either Gettysburg
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
or Palm Springs
Palm Springs
Palm Springs is a desert city in CaliforniaPalm Springs may also refer to:* Palm Springs, Florida* Palm Springs, Hong Kong, a residential development in Yuen Long, Hong Kong* Coachella Valley, also known as the Palm Springs area...
to discuss the article, working from an outline prepared by Hibbs. From these conversations, and the notes Hibbs compiled from them, a draft of the article was created. It was then sent to Eisenhower for his comments and editing before being submitted to the executive editor of The Reader’s Digest, Hobart Lewis, for final editing.
Hibbs first met Eisenhower during the last year of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when the General requested that reporters from the United States be flown to Europe to document the horrors of the German concentration camps then being liberated by the U.S. Army. Hibbs and the other correspondents were shown the Dachau concentration camp and the Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
before being introduced to Eisenhower at his SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force , was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was in command of SHAEF throughout its existence...
) headquarters. Following the war, Hibbs attempted to purchase for The Post
The Post
The Post was a national tabloid newspaper in the United Kingdom, owned by Eddy Shah. It ran for only five weeks in November and December 1988. Ian St John and Jimmy Greaves, then the hosts of an ITV football series called Saint and Greavsie, had a column in the paper.The Post was produced at...
the magazine rights to General Eisenhower’s memoirs, Crusade in Europe
Crusade in Europe
Crusade in Europe is a book by General Dwight D. Eisenhower published by Doubleday in 1948. Maps were provided by Rafael Palacios.Crusade in Europe is a personal account by one of the senior military figures of World War II...
, but was unsuccessful when Eisenhower sold those rights to Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
.
Hibbs actively promoted the candidacy of Eisenhower for the Presidency of the United States in 1952. He wrote an editorial entitled “Will the Republicans Commit Suicide in Chicago” concerning the Taft-Eisenhower battle over the seating of Republican delegates from Texas.
Hibbs was never a part of the inner White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
Group during the Eisenhower administrations. However, he did remain an acquaintance of the President and was invited to attend stag dinners and other social functions. His close association with Eisenhower developed after the President left office and began writing articles for The Post and Reader’s Digest.
External links
- http://eisenhower.archives.gov/Research/Finding_Aids/H.html Papers of Ben Hibbs, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library