John F. Kennedy, while campaigning for the presidency in 1960, received a surprising vote of confidence from Mrs. Alicia Kruk. She greeted the handsome Senator at the Buffalo Airport with a kiss. A rare form of public display in those days, her enthusiasm caused JFK with a bad back to wince. He did, however, exclaim. "Thank you! Thanks for your fervent support!"
Alicia Kruk, wife at the time of Lt. Colonel John Kruk, got her husband and her brother, Republican Assemblyman Joseph F. X. Nowicki, into trouble. They were not concerned about the kiss but rather the repercussions to their careers. The Secret Service ordered Colonel Kruk to 'keep your wife away from the President' when he returned to Buffalo. The Assemblyman worried the image of his sister kissing a Democrat, appearing in hundreds of newspapers worldwide, would ruin his reelection.
Alicia brushed off the troubles, stating. 'I told JFK I was going to do what every woman wanted to do. And I kissed him!' She enjoyed her fifteen minutes of fame and went on to teach school at Katonah Elementary.
