Earlier this week, former President Bill Clinton departed Greensburg leaving behind praise for the homemade apricot scones at the town’s White Rabbit Cafe.
Owner Tommy Medley had a half-hour’s notice before Clinton stopped at the Main Street eatery about 1 p.m. Tuesday to grab a treat and talk with the staff and the handful of patrons on hand.
But Medley knew a day in advance he’d been selected to provide an introduction as Clinton took the stage Tuesday afternoon at the nearby University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg to speak in support of Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris’ run for the Oval Office.
Medley was in his car, ready to head to the university campus in Hempfield, when he got word that Clinton planned to visit the cafe.
“I just looped back around the block and parked,” said Medley, who was on hand when Clinton popped in, sampling an apricot scone and some autumn spice shortbread.
“It was shocking to see him walking in here,” Medley said. “If you didn’t know who he was, he would have been just a normal guy.
“He made it a point to learn everyone’s name on the spot, shake everyone’s hand and listen to whatever they had to say.”
Clinton also posed for photos with people in the cafe. He asked Medley how the cafe is faring and what could make conditions better for the small business.
Then, when he introduced Clinton at the university campus, Medley touched on the economic issues businesses like his could face — in the form of higher prices — if a tariff were imposed on imports.
Medley said he ad-libbed for several minutes because the speech the Harris campaign had prepared was missing.
“I tried to frame it in ways that weren’t overly political,” he said of his remarks, which included a joke about Clinton’s sweet tooth.
“I was in panic mode. I tried to keep it not really serious, knowing that (Clinton) was going to tackle the hard stuff and is way smarter than me.”
Medley said the Harris campaign indicated he was chosen to take part in Clinton’s appearance as a representative of the local small-business community.
“They said mine was the only name that kept coming up,” Medley said.
The connection with the campaign came through one of Medley’s staff — Greensburg resident Bob Recklein, who had worked with state and local Democratic committees from 2013 to 2022.
“A former colleague of mine reached out and said Bill Clinton was going to be in Greensburg and they wanted to do a small-business stop,” Recklein said. “I connected them with Tommy.”
Clinton stayed at the cafe for about 20 minutes, Medley said, as the campaign staff ordered a few boxes of treats and several beverages.
“It was a little overwhelming, but it was really cool,” Recklein said of his face-to-face meeting with Clinton. “He’s an old-school politician. He’s just so good at it, talking to everybody.
“He raved about our apricot scone.”
