National Political figures rarely come to Sodus. Perhaps that is a good thing for all involved..In his book Stinky’s Tale (pp 107-108), Bob Pearson tells the interesting story of the 1964 incident of the Farmer, the Shotgun and Bobby Kennedy:

“It reminded me of the time when Robert F. Kennedy came to Sodus as part of his whirlpool tour of New York State when he was running for the senate in the sixties. One of his stops was at one of the orchards, and while he was making a camera-moment so popular in his campaigning the orchard owner came out with a shotgun and wanted no part of the senate election process that would draw national attention to the way he housed migrant workers. The farm owner was subdued, the story goes, and Kennedy beat a hasty retreat to only end up being assassinated in California while he was a New York Senator running for the presidency in 1968. As terrible as the shooting was, it was fortunate for Sodus this shooting did not occur in the Sodus orchards.”

Editor’s Note: The orchard Robert Kennedy  stopped at was the DeBadts Fruit Farm orchard located on Mud Lane in Sodus, NY.