By the time Romney bade farewell to the crowd, another, older woman leapt to her feet. Lucy Opal, 83, who immigrated from Poland in the 1950s, pulled out her red autograph book and showed Romney the autograph of his father, George Romney, the former Michigan governor and one-time presidential candidate, dated April 1969.

“My dad was the real deal,” Mitt Romney told her.

Later, she told reporters she liked Mitt, too.

“I liked his smile,” she said. “He came through human-like.”