Bush’s Kennebunkport visit greeted with nonchalance

KENNEBUNKPORT – The Fourth of July in this seaside village is a time for fireworks, patriotic songs and flag waving, as in many small towns across America.

In Kennebunkport, though, a presidential visit is often added to the holiday mix. This weekend marks the fourth Independence Day week visit by a sitting president in the past 14 years.

Just don’t expect a lot of pomp and circumstance to mark President Bush’s arrival Friday or his 56th birthday Saturday. The Bush family has spent its summers at Walker’s Point for more than 100 years, and today’s residents have a refined air of nonchalance about their famous neighbors.

“This is not something new for the town of Kennebunkport,” said Town Manager Nathan Poore. Karen Arel of the local chamber of commerce added, “We as locals really try to give them their space.”

“It’s an old seacoast community, and I think there is still some of that New England reticence at work,” explained Jack Nahil, whose 14-room inn near the Bush compound dates to 1895.

The president’s four-day visit will be his first trip to Kennebunkport since Sept. 11, but this week the wealthy seaport was the picture of a more innocent America. Flags blew in the sea breeze outside rows of clapboard homes, and bunting was draped outside shops in busy Dock Square.

About two miles away lies the Bush family’s 6-acre compound, which is one of only six zones nationwide where aircraft are prohibited. The Secret Service spent the week making preparations for the president’s visit.

No public events are on the agenda, and the president is expected to relax and celebrate his birthday with his parents and family.

He may play 18 holes at the Cape Arundel Golf Club or reel in bluefish and striped bass from his father’s speedboat, Fidelity II. At Mabel’s Lobster Claw restaurant, the elder president’s corner table awaits.

Walker’s Point, owned by George and Barbara Bush, is still closely associated with the former president, who has visited the three-story, gray-shingled home every summer since his boyhood, with the exception of the time he spent as a Navy aviator during World War II.

As president, he jogged, golfed and played horseshoes. He also conducted business and invited world leaders to visit.

When his son wants to escape from the Washington Beltway, he prefers to return to his own home, a ranch on 1,600 acres in Crawford, Texas.

Kennebunkport remains as synonymous with the Bushes as Hyannisport, Mass., is with the Kennedy clan, but the town has barely capitalized on the connection. A few gift-shop items feature the slogan “Summer Home of Two Presidents,” and on a free town map, a subtle American flag reveals the location of the Bush compound.

Tourists come to the region for the beaches, not because of the Bush family, said Arel, from the local chamber of commerce. This weekend there may be a few signs that read, “Welcome, President Bush,” but not much else, she said.

When George Donovan of Easton, Mass., learned of the president’s visit, he wisecracked, “They’ll probably call and invite us for dinner.”