In the course of work, vacations or just going about a routine day, area residents have had their share of close encounters of the presidential kind over the years.

The Sun Chronicle recently asked readers to tell us about their personal encounters with presi dents and first ladies, and we received a big response. There's also a vice presidential sighting thrown in for good measure.

Here is a Presidents Day roundup of what readers had to say:

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Tracy Frederickson was a young girl in 1958 or '59 when she had her close encounter with John F. Kennedy. And she has a photograph and an autographed copy of his `` Profiles in Courage'' to prove it. In fact, an Attleboro Sun photog rapher captured the moment in which Tracy and her mother Agnes met Kennedy, then a senator, when he visited the landmark London's department store in Attleboro while `` on the campaign trial,'' Frederickson said by e-mail.

`` In the photo, Kennedy is show ing my mother a copy of `Profiles in Courage,' which he later signed for her,'' said Frederickson, now director of advancement services at Wheaton College in Norton. The book earned Kennedy the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 1957.

`` This signed version has been a family heirloom treasured since that day.''

Frederickson said she has a vague recollection `` of being a bit afraid of this stranger, but he reas sured me that he had a daughter, Caroline, who was just about my age!''

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Rich Howard, formerly of North Attleboro and now living in Flori da, was at the airport while sta tioned on Oahu with the 25th Infantry Division in 1963 when President Kennedy visited Hawaii.

He watched him make a short speech on the steps of Air Force One and spotted the president again the next day as he rode a motorcade through Waikiki.

`` Three months later he died by assassination in a similar motor cade in Dallas,'' Howard wrote. `` I have an air mail envelope which contained a letter (since lost) from an old Army buddy who was in Dallas at the time. He closed the letter by saying he was going to see the President.''

`` The envelope is postmarked, `Dallas, TX, 12:30 p.m., Nov. 22, 1963.''

N N N Judith Martone of Mansfield sent along a photo of her encounter with John F. Kennedy. It was the last picture on her roll of film that day in Newport, R.I. in the summer of 1963.

She, her mother and a friend had gone to Newport after hearing reports that Kennedy would be there. They first spotted him, along with his daughter Caroline, at St. Mary's Church. They then went to the shore after being told Kennedy would likely be heading to his pri vate club for a day of sailing.

`` After 30 minutes or more, we got the thrill of seeing President Kennedy driving a Lincoln con vertible down the hill with Jackie, Caroline, John and their nanny,'' Martone said.

`` He stopped at the gate to greet the guard and say hello to all the people that had gathered,'' she said. `` What a great day we had!''

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Catherine Young was a secondgrader at Willett Elementary School in Attleboro in 1952 when she got her personal glimpse of two men who would later become presidents.

Young said her teacher took her class downtown to see then presi dential candidate Dwight Eisen hower and vice presidential candi date Richard Nixon arrive by train in the city.

`` They gave a short speech on their whistle-stop tour and were elected the next month,'' wrote Young, who now lives in Sagamore Beach. Eisenhower served as pres ident from 1953-1961, Nixon from 1969-1974.

`` I was only a 7 year-old-child then, but I still remember it well,'' Young said

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Cynthia Bond of Attleboro was 12 when she shook hands with Calvin Coolidge in the White House. `` Presidents at that time (1926), would take an hour at noon to greet visitors who were on a tour of the White House,'' Bond explained in a handwritten note.

That wasn't her only brush with White House residents. In 1962, she met Eleanor Roosevelt at a Wheaton College reception follow ing a speech Roosevelt gave at the then all-women's school in Norton.

`` My right arm was in a sling and when she asked me what hap pened, I told her I had broken my wrist skating backwards on Chart ley Pond,'' Bond said.

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Paul and Bonnie Doyle of North Attleboro got a glimpse of Presi dent Lyndon B. Johnson and his family in 1966 while shopping in the Georgetown section of Wash ington. The presidential family had attracted a following of television crews and other media while din ing at a restaurant there, Bonnie wrote in her note.

`` Within seconds, out on the bal cony appeared President Lyndon B. Johnson with Lady Bird and their two daughters -- Linda Bird accompanied by the very hand some actor George Hamilton and Lucy Bird, accompanied by her fiancee Charles Robb -- plus a few security guards.''

`` They stood on the balcony for a good 10 minutes talking and wav ing to the crowd of people and pos ing for photo shoots,'' Bonnie wrote. `` It was a fun night that we will probably always remember!''

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Arlene Lennartz of Mansfield was in New York City when she had her brush with then President Jimmy Carter and his wife Roslyn -- or rather, their Secret Service agents.

The corridor to the rest rooms in the Tavern on the Green were so narrow, she and a friend `` literally brushed shoulders with one of the Secret Service men,'' Lennartz wrote, marveling at their strong builds and impeccable dress.

She said she can't even recall what the First Lady, who was standing at the sink washing her hands next to her, was wearing.

`` But I could accurately describe for you that handsome (Secret Ser vice) man's shoes!''

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Steven and Sandy Dennis of North Attleboro, as members of a rock band called S. S. Dennis in the early 1970s, were used to late night gigs.

So the newly married couple thought it odd when their agency booked them for an early morning breakfast show at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. They were given the time and place, but no other information, Steven said of the mysterious engagement.

It was only after a gentlemen at the performance announced: `` Mr. Jimmy Carter, the next president of the United States,'' that they realized what was happening.

After Carter, drumming up votes for his candidacy, was finished, Steven said that he and his wife were brought to an empty room near the cafeteria where a man in a suit sat down and asked them if they might be interested in playing other gigs for Mr. Carter.

`` Interested? Yeah, we were VERY interested,'' Steven said.

`` The man took down our information, and he said that he would be in touch,'' said Steven. `` Of course, we never heard from him again.''

Since they were caught unawares, there's no photo or even an autograph, said Steven, who now is a first-grade teacher at Thacher Elementary School in Attleboro.

`` Instead, we only have the memory,'' he said, adding, `` It was still a very cool moment.''

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James Adams of Mansfield had a close encounter with President Gerald Ford in 1974.

As his wife Janet tells it, her husband got to shake hands with Ford before the coin toss at the Army-Navy game in Philadelphia that November. Adams, now a math teacher at Qualters Middle School in Mansfield, was a brigade commander at the Naval Academy at the time.

The Adamses then both met up with Ford and his wife Betty in the lobby of the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. in June 1998.

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Remy Theberge of Attleboro said had a close encounter with John F. Kennedy in July 1963, during Mass at St. Francis Xavier Church in Hyannisport.

Theberge wrote that as Attleboro's Western Union manager at the time, he had already seen Kennedy's wife Jackie and Adlai Stevenson and talked to press secretary Pierre Salinger, but seeing the president was the topper.

He said it was only by chance that he was able to get into the packed church, then ended up about 60 feet from Kennedy in his pew.

Theberge, who wrote a column in The Sun Chronicle in November 1983 about the encounter, said he was eyed by Secret Service, but also the president, who seemed a bit nervous.

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Bradley Plante of Norton wrote that he's actually had encounters with several presidents -- Nixon, Ford and Reagan -- over the years because he was part of presidential security during his military career.

His favorite story is when Ford was vice president in July 1974, about a month before Nixon resigned. Plante was a member of the unit directly involved in security for Air Force One and was stationed at the main gate at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland when Ford landed.

`` We received the order to shut down the gate and stop all traffic. The motorcade came along with two black Lincolns and the `War Wagon,' a black Chevy SUV with the armed Secret Service,'' Plante wrote. `` The county sheriff had stopped the traffic outside the gate at the intersection.

As the motorcade went through the gate, it suddenly stopped in front of an adjacent McDonald's. Two Secret Service agents in black suits got out and ran inside. A few minutes later, they came out with what Plante assumed was bags of burgers.

`` The agents ducked into the limos which took off at breakneck speed towards D.C.,'' Plante said. `` I guess Mr. Ford really is just a regular guy.''

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Christy Morrison, originally from Attleboro, said her encounter was with First Lady Betty Ford.

Morrison met Ford while employed as the special events coordinator for an internationally known non-profit breast cancer foundation.

She was in charge of organizing the foundation's annual awards luncheon with 2,500 attendees, `` most of whom were Dallas high society,'' Morrison, now in administration at St. Lawrence University, said in her e-mail.

Ford attended the luncheon to present an award in her own name, `` the most prominent award presented at the event by the foundation,'' Morrison said.

`` Mrs. Ford is a phenomenal woman. She is every bit as graceful and dignified in person as she appears to be on television.''

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Marjory Oberg of Attleboro had her chance encounter with former President George Bush in the summer of 2002, while visiting Ogunquit, Maine.

She had stopped for lunch at Barnacle Billy's in Perkins Cove where she spotted Bush, his wife Barbara, and another man she was not familiar with.

`` I went over and asked (Bush) if I might take his picture, to which he graciously consented,'' said Oberg. She was attired in a T-shirt with a Florida logo and Bush asked whether that was where she was from.

`` No sir, I'm from Massachusetts and I voted for you,'' Oberg replied.

`` The other gentleman inquired if I wanted his picture also,'' she continues.

Not knowing who he was, Oberg attempted a diplomatic response: `` Not now, I'm sure you have had many pictures taken.''

She later learned that man was Jeb Bush, the former president's brother who is the governor of Florida.

Oberg said there was one other photo op with the former president as he was leaving from the dock in which he agreed to have his picture taken with her. `` He said `Oh, you're the girl from Massachusetts!''

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North Attleboro resident Mary Lou Renner encountered Barbara Bush at the elementary school in Bush's name in Houston, Texas.

Renner's daughter Casey attended the school in the early 1990s and every spring the school held a contest to see how many books students could read over a certain period, Renner said in her note.

`` The reward for reading the required number of books was having Barbara Bush read to you,'' she said. `` Mrs. Bush would come to the school and sit on the small stage along with her dog and read to the students.''

Every adult volunteer involved in the program would then meet and have a picture taken with Mrs. Bush in the library at a reception following the reading, Renner said.

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Kristen Lorusso of Wrentham and her friend Michael Monaghan of Franklin had an up-close and personal encounter with George and Barbara Bush in August 2005, when they attended a Red Sox home game.

Kristen's mother Valerie writes that the couple was invited to attend The Boston Red Sox Tribute to Horace Mann Educational Associates for their work with disabled children and adults during Disability Awareness Week at Fenway Park.

`` We were on the field before the game when George and Barbara Bush appeared from the Red Sox dugout unbeknownst to many in the park, including us!''

`` They walked by us to the Texas Rangers dugout'' and on their way back, the Bushes walked over to Kristen and Michael to welcome them to the game and pose for a picture.

After the photo, said Valerie, `` Mrs. Bush took off her jacket to reveal a Red Sox jersey!''

`` August 10, 2005 will go down as a most memorable night.''

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Joan Hughes of Attleboro encountered former President George Bush on the links while vacationing in Kennebunkport in 1995.

She and then husband Edward Hughes got to meet Bush through a family friend, who Joan calls `` the Golf Pro'' and whom was scheduled to play the senior Bush.

`` George Sr. and his entourage arrived in a parade of many large, black vehicles -- it was quite a sight to see,'' Joan said in her e-mail. `` Knowing the `pro,' we waited in hopes of being introduced to George Sr. All the while, I was excited, so very nervous and afraid that I'd be tongue-tied!''

`` We waited quite a distance away so as not to disturb his game or scare him. Then, to our surprise, he finished putting and walked directly over and greeted us with a big smile and out-stretched hand, and proceeded to do all the talking about how nice it was to meet us.''

`` The wonderful day and his golf game...All I remember saying to him was `thank you,rquote'' Joan said.

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Al Butters, his wife Barbara and their golden retriever Chase, all of Norfolk, met former President Bill Clinton while on Martha's Vineyard.

Al's sister, Barbara Slade of Attleboro, wrote that the Butterses' encounter came at the Black Dog Cafe while vacationing on the island. It was about two weeks before Clinton would undergo heart surgery, she said.

The couple first recognized the former president when he sat beside them and ordered lunch.

`` As they left the cafe, they walked through the parking lot toward their SUVs,'' Slade wrote. `` President Clinton reached over to pat Chase and he spoke briefly to my brother Al.''

`` Barbara took a few pictures to capture that moment.''

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Matt Landry of North Attleboro was president of the student government association at Hofstra University when he met President Clinton and his wife Hillary.

It was during a reception for the couple that the first lady chatted with Matt and, wrote Matt's parents Joe and Dianne, was amazed that he was only a freshman,.

Mrs. Clinton introduced Matt to President Clinton and that's when they had their picture snapped together.

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For Linda Miller of North Attleboro it was a lesson in, you never know who exactly might be staying in the hotel room next to yours.

Miller, her then husband and daughter had a passing encounter with President Ronald Reagan, but only after they found out that his wife Nancy had been staying in the room right next to theirs while on a business trip to Los Angeles.

The hotel where they had reservations had put the Millers up in the penthouse for the night after their plane was delayed and they arrived late and all of the other rooms had been taken, Linda explained. They were glad to accept the luxury accommodations.

But the next morning, the pressure was on for them to move into another room.

They came to find out, after being followed by a Secret Service agent, that Nancy Reagan was staying in the room next door and the president was coming to the hotel later that day.

`` I did get to see President Reagan later when he left the hotel garage in a motorcade and he waved to the crowd assembled outside,'' Linda wrote.

Miller might have seen Reagan from afar, but reports a closer encounter with Jimmy Carter.

It was while she was a student at Southeastern Massachusetts University, where Carter, campaigning for the presidency, was scheduled to talk.

`` I had gotten my first cup of coffee of the day in the cafeteria and was making a bleary-eyed trip to a table when men in suits jumped in front of me and blocked my way,'' Linda said. `` Only then did I look up and see the candidate standing in front of me.''

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Yvonne Peterson of Foxboro will never forget her brush with the `` older woman'' who ended up sitting next to her on a train many years ago.

As Peterson tells it, she was in the Coast Guard at the time and had just boarded the train.

`` I sank into a rear seat and quickly became engrossed in the book I had been reading,'' Peterson said. `` An older woman smiled as she approached and asked in a gentle voice: `Excuse me. Is this seat taken?rquote''

`` Keeping my eyes focused on the page, I turned slightly sideways and allowed a tall, thin woman to squeeze into the seat next to the window. I was still deeply engrossed in my book when the woman asked permission to slide by me again so that she might visit the ladies' room.''

`` Good idea,'' Peterson responded. `` I need to stretch a bit, too.''

`` I'd like a drink of water,'' the woman added.

`` With the older woman leading the way, we staggered toward the end of the lurching car'' and after she straightened up from drinking at the fountain, Peterson whispered to her: `` Your slip is showing.''

`` After adjusting her slip in the ladies room, the woman smiled again and turned toward me for approval,'' Peterson said. `` Both of us looked in the mirror to fix our hair.''

`` Only then did I realize that I, dressed in my Coast Guard uniform, had just helped Eleanor Roosevelt adjust the length of her slip.''

`` As we started back to our seats, people pushed each other aside to clear a path for the wife of the President of the United States.''

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Dottie Powers of Mansfield wrote to say that her father, Wes Martin, had lunch with Eleanor Roosevelt.

He was serving in the Pacific Theater with the First Marine Division in World War II, contracted malaria and was sent to Australia to recover before being returned to the front lines, Powers said.

Roosevelt was visiting the servicemen there and her father was selected to have lunch with her. `` So, he had more than a cursory meeting!''

It meant a lot to Martin, who just turned 90 and has told the story of that encounter many times over the years, his daughter said.

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Anne McKinney of Attleboro and her granddaughter Felicia had a close encounter with Hillary Clinton when the first lady visited the city's Hyman Fine Elementary School in 1998.

Felicia, then 4 years old, had been picked to meet Clinton, now a U.S. senator from New York.

`` I got to go with her,'' says McKinney. `` I was right in the front row and shook the first lady's hand.''

`` She was so nice and someone asked me to snap her picture,'' McKinney wrote. `` I was so nervous, I couldn't work their camera, so someone else did it.''

McKinney said that she recalls speaking to her granddaughter in advance of the event and the young girl asked why Hillary Clinton was not president.

`` I said we never had a woman president.''

`` Well, now eight years later, Felicia is older and Hillary Clinton is mentioned as maybe running for president one day,'' McKinney wrote. `` Who would think?''

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Nancy (Grady) Weir of Wrentham got the scoop on President Clinton's favorite ice cream flavors upon serving up a cone of mango for him on Martha's Vineyard in August 1993.

`` He said mango ice cream goes back to Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders. He was awfully nice,'' Weir told a reporter from The Sun Chronicle at the time.

Clinton also ordered quart containers of blueberry, blackberry and mocha following his jog -- Secret Service agents and television cameras in tow -- to Mad Martha's, where Weir worked at the time. He told her peach was his favorite flavor. The tab came to around $7. He gave her a $1 tip.

Weir, who for the past 10 years has been the computer teacher at Brennan Middle School in Attleboro, said at the time that she was shaking. The visit `` seemed larger than life.''

She continues to keep a copy of the photo of her with Clinton taken by the Associated Press that day.

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Ronald Groves of Wrentham has heard current President George W. Bush speak in person several times, once in Stratham, N.H., which remains stuck in his memory. It was August 2004 and Bush was seeking re-election.

`` I recall the day as being an exciting one,'' Groves said in an e-mail. `` The crowd of supporters greeted the president with an electric sense of optimism.''

Then New Hampshire Gov. Craig Benson and Cheryle McGuiness, widow of one of the American Flight 11 pilots on Sept. 11, 2001 also spoke.

When Groves thinks about speeches he has seen Bush give, he recalls him as `` optimistic, humble and good-humored.''

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Emory Rounds, a 1969 graduate of King Philip High School and son of Alice Rounds of North Attleboro, has had a running close encounter with the current president, George W. Bush.

`` My son works for the president in the White House,'' Alice Rounds wrote. `` Emory has been a deputy counsel for three years.''

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Ted Moxham of Attleboro was in Boston in 1990, camera in hand, when then Vice President Dan Quayle was in the city for a visit.

Moxham's wife Joyce was in town for federal jury duty and he had heard that Quayle would be visiting Quincy Market, so he made the trek there and spotted the vice president's motorcade.

Moxham said Quayle and his entourage, including Secret Service agents, stepped out of the vehicles.

`` Up the walk they came. Mr. Quayle was in good spirits, laughing and waving to the crowd, when suddenly, a man who appeared to be homeless and somewhat disheveled stepped right in front of him, just to shake hands -- whew!!'' Moxham writes in his note.

`` Well, the agent on Quayle's right looked like he could kill this guy with looks alone. Other agents' hands disappeared into coats,'' said Moxham, who caught the moment on film. `` But in a second it was all over and away went my brush with Vice President Dan Quayle.''

SUSAN LaHOUD can be reached at 508-236-0398 or slahoud(at)(at)thesunchronicle.com.