Noteworthy Politiicians All Lived at Daleville Trailer Park

When Ewell Horsley casts his vote in the presidential election Nov. 3, he’s bound to have mixed feelings.
That’s because three of the four candidates – President George Bush, Vice President Dan Quayle and Democratic candidate Bill Clinton’s running mate, Sen. Al Gore Jr., of Tennessee – each once occupied a trailer in Horsley’s trailer park in Daleville.
“I was talking with a cousin in Montana about it,” Horsley said. “I told him I was kind of hung between two opinions. They’re both my friends.”
Many local residents were aware of Gore’s ties to Fort Rucker – because he paid a visit to Horsley during his return trip to Daleville during his run at the Democratic nomination for president in 1988.
But Horsley said he didn’t tell many people about Bush and Quayle for a simple reason.
“I didn’t think they’d believe it,” he said.
During the time Gore was a guest on “Larry King Live” on CNN, Horsley was tempted to call in and talk to him. He heard Tipper call her husband, and that reminded him of a joke she played on him when they were in the area in 1988.
“She called him from Enterprise, and she might have come by to see me, and I was gone,” he said. “She called, wanting to know if I had a trailer they could rent. I was trying to figure that voice out. It seemed familiar, but 20 years makes a big difference.
“She said she had a Saint Bernard, and I said the people who own this trailer don’t want dogs in there. I found out she was in Enterprise and knew that’s who it was.”
When Gore, who worked for the post newspaper, and Tipper first came to Fort Rucker in 1970, they were appalled at the post facilities, so they looked at mobile homes in Daleville. The Gores settled in lot 10 of Horsley’s Trailer Park.
During the 1988 trip to Daleville, Gore said he looked at the concrete used to hold his former residence and said, “We were very happy here,” according to the book, “Born to Lead,” by Hank Hillin.
“This is a happy visit for me,” Gore said. “I think it would be good to land Air Force One right here sometime. If I’m elected, the people of Daleville and the Wiregrass section will have a friend in the White House. I want to put the White House back on the side of the people who live in Horsley’s Trailer Park.”
Horsley, who began renting mobile homes to Army personnel with wife Voncille in 1963, already knew of Gore before his arrival in Daleville because Gore’s father was also a senator.
Horsley and Gore would see each other about three times a week, and they would often talk politics, he said.
“We talked about agriculture, the Vietnam War,” he said. “We just had good ol’ conversations when we were together. I though Al was about one of the smartest, young men I ever met. I enjoyed talking with him because he seemed to be a brilliant, young man.
“He was a really good tenant about taking care of the rent and keeping the place where they lived good and proper. They would go to the beach on payday weekends and spend some time in Fort Walton Beach.”
Gore came to Fort Rucker as a private, but made corporal quickly, Horsley said.
“He showed me his corporal stripes, and I bragged on Al,” he said. “He got another stripe, and I bragged on that, too. I might have called him ‘Sarge.’
“He was swift at learning things.”
Horsley’s reaction was mixed when he heard Clinton announce he had selected Gore as his running mate.
“I was a little surprised,” he said. “I was thinking Al would run this time for president, and he would have made a really good run.”
The vice presidential debate was of particular interest to Horsley, since both candidates were former residents of his trailer park. Horsley said he thought both men were effective in that debate.