CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Ted Kennedy visited the Mountain State throughout his long 47-year career in the Senate, especially during political campaigns, beginning in 1960.

That was the year his older brother John won the West Virginia Democratic primary, a critical step in winning the presidency.

"I was downstairs working on my go-cart," Gov. Joe Manchin remembers. "My mom came down and said, 'I want you to meet somebody special.'"

Manchin remembers walking upstairs to the kitchen, reluctantly.

"Ted Kennedy was sitting there eating spaghetti with my family. There was something special about that. It caught my interest as a young person who was 13.

"He also met my uncle, A. James [Manchin], in Farmington. We were all big supporters of John Kennedy.

"There was never a time when I was around Senator Kennedy that he did not make it a point to tell me how important and special West Virginia was for him and his family.

"You could see it; he was not just saying it. It was in his heart," Manchin said.

Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-W.Va., remembers traveling with Kennedy in Southern West Virginia during John Kerry's campaign for president in 2004.

"I remember being with him in the back of a pickup truck in downtown Logan. He aroused the same emotions among the people that his bother [John] did in 1960.

"He retraced some of the visits his brother made during the West Virginia primary, the deciding primary that made his brother president of the United States.

"Ted Kennedy never forgot that. He never forgot West Virginia," Rahall said. "And West Virginia will never forget him or his family."

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., questions all the talk about Ted Kennedy carrying on the Kennedy family legend.

"Up until the time he was defeated by Jimmy Carter in 1980, maybe wanting to be president was part of that. After that, it flat out stopped.

"Ted Kennedy was into doing good for people, fighting for causes, for social justice. He loved the Senate. He radiated enthusiasm, even walking through the halls of the Senate, much less being on the floor."

In 1988, Rockefeller worked with Kennedy on the Claude Pepper Health Commission.

"About 10 of us worked for two years to come up with a complete health-care plan for acute care and long-term care. We met at eight o'clock in the morning. Teddy was always there."

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Ted Kennedy visited the Mountain State throughout his long 47-year career in the Senate, especially during political campaigns, beginning in 1960.

That was the year his older brother John won the West Virginia Democratic primary, a critical step in winning the presidency.

"I was downstairs working on my go-cart," Gov. Joe Manchin remembers. "My mom came down and said, 'I want you to meet somebody special.'"

Manchin remembers walking upstairs to the kitchen, reluctantly.

"Ted Kennedy was sitting there eating spaghetti with my family. There was something special about that. It caught my interest as a young person who was 13.

"He also met my uncle, A. James [Manchin], in Farmington. We were all big supporters of John Kennedy.

"There was never a time when I was around Senator Kennedy that he did not make it a point to tell me how important and special West Virginia was for him and his family.

"You could see it; he was not just saying it. It was in his heart," Manchin said.

Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-W.Va., remembers traveling with Kennedy in Southern West Virginia during John Kerry's campaign for president in 2004.

"I remember being with him in the back of a pickup truck in downtown Logan. He aroused the same emotions among the people that his bother [John] did in 1960.

"He retraced some of the visits his brother made during the West Virginia primary, the deciding primary that made his brother president of the United States.

"Ted Kennedy never forgot that. He never forgot West Virginia," Rahall said. "And West Virginia will never forget him or his family."

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., questions all the talk about Ted Kennedy carrying on the Kennedy family legend.

"Up until the time he was defeated by Jimmy Carter in 1980, maybe wanting to be president was part of that. After that, it flat out stopped.

"Ted Kennedy was into doing good for people, fighting for causes, for social justice. He loved the Senate. He radiated enthusiasm, even walking through the halls of the Senate, much less being on the floor."

In 1988, Rockefeller worked with Kennedy on the Claude Pepper Health Commission.

"About 10 of us worked for two years to come up with a complete health-care plan for acute care and long-term care. We met at eight o'clock in the morning. Teddy was always there."

"He had the will, that iron drive. But it was not out of anger. It was out of love for people.

"Teddy has hundreds of staff and former staff. And you can't find anybody who ever worked for him in Washington who has anything bad to say about him," Rockefeller said.

Manchin remembers the role the Kennedy campaign played in eliminating religion as an insurmountable obstacle to becoming president.

"The Kennedys came here and proved religion would not be a barrier for John to lead this country. Being a Catholic myself, I was coming from a family very supportive of him. But that was not for his religion, but because he was the best person for the job," Manchin said.

Rahall praised Kennedy's impact on education and health-care reform.

"He was devoted to the less fortunate in today's society, to those who do not need a handout, but a helping hand. Ted Kennedy was always there for these individuals.

"It is a legacy for which his family can be tremendously proud. And our nation says, 'Thank You,'" Rahall said.

Manchin said, "I've never met a person who was so passionate about his philosophical beliefs, but also able to bring everyone together no matter what their position was. You might not agree with him. But you always liked him."

Rockefeller said, "Other than Senator Byrd, Kennedy is the only other senator I invited to our daughter Valerie's wedding. And he came.

"Kennedy always gave great speeches at Democratic conventions, at his brothers' funerals. And he always reached across the aisle in the Senate. The other side of the aisle reached across to him, too. He was a great friend.

"Now that he is no longer with us, Teddy may be even more with us. Now it is not Teddy measuring himself against the Kennedy legacy. It is the rest of us measuring ourselves against Teddy's legacy.

"He was the touchstone, the touchstone for commitment and never giving up," Rockefeller said.

Rockefeller and Rahall said a memorial service for Kennedy will be held in Washington after Congress returns from its recess early next month, but it has not been scheduled.

Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5164.