Echoes of the past: All in a day's work

Echoes of the Past looks at the June 4 edition of Optician from 1965. The week the issue went to press, Edward Higgins White became the first US astronaut to walk in space as part of the Gemini IV mission.

This week’s retrospective has something of an American feel to it, as the ‘All in a day’s work’ column features the story of an eye exam on President John F Kennedy. The President was said to have been experiencing some slight blurring when reading newspapers and thought it would be good to see an eye doctor, suggesting a local ophthalmologist, Dr Rones. The chief of the secret service dispatched two of his men to Rones’ practice and were told to radio back to the White House when the President was ready to be seen. Later that afternoon, the President arrived at the practice. Secret service staff got out of the car first and surveyed the scene – checking the pavements and roof tops. The President entered the building and promptly entered the consulting room.