Category: Presidents

Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington VA – March 2021

Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.
Grave of President William Howard Taft, 27th president of the US (1909-1913), and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1921-1930).
Grave of John F. Kennedy, 35th president of the US (1961-1963).
Supreme Court Justices graves.
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Admiral Rickover was the “Father of the Nuclear Navy”.
Omar Bradley was out last 5-star general.
Alexander Haig served as President Ronald Reagan’s Chief of Staff.
Custis Mansio. This was Robert E. Lee’s house before the Civil War.

President James K. Polk Birthplace

Pineville NC – November 2020

James Knox Polk was our 11th President. He was born here in Pineville NC in 1795.
The house no longer stands, but there are some reconstructed buildings onsiite that are typical of that time period.
There is a small museum dedicated to President Polk on the state park grounds.
President Polk, was a “dark horse”, an upset winner for the 1844 Democrat Party nomination, and then for the presidency.
President Polk served one term, 1845-1849, and died shortly after leaving office in 1849 at age 53.
The Mexican War was fought during President Polk’s term. This is the actual dress hat worn by Mexican General Santa Ana.

Kentucky 2020 Day 3

President Zachary Taylor Home and Grave, Windy Hills KY
This monument honors the memory of President Zachary Taylor, our 12th president. He was president from 1849-1850, when he died in office. His grave is in the building to the right. His original grave was the small mound to the right in the back near the trees.
Crypt of President Zachary and First Lady Margaret Taylor
Springfield, the home of Zachary Taylor. Born in Orange County VA while his parents were visiting relatives, Taylor grew to adulthood in this house in Louisville KY.

Kentucky State Capitol, Frankfort KY

The Capitol as seen from an overlook from the west
Approaching the Capitol from the north
The Capitol is closed due to the Wuhan Flu, so I could not go inside.
Kentucky Governor’s Mansion, just east of the Capitol
Historic Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort KY
This historic distillery dates back to 1792. It was closed when I came by for a look, so I couldn’t get any souvenirs. It still had a sweet “angels share” aroma in the air.
These warehouses hold thousands of barrels for years!
Lincoln Museum, Hodgenville KY
Lincoln Museum is in the town square of Hodgenville. It is a pretty neat little museum. It is really everything Lincoln – hundreds of images of Lincoln throughout. This is the real Lincoln’s top hat!
This is a very rare photo of the log cabin in which Lincoln was born
Newspaper announcing Lincoln’s death
Several scenes from Lincoln’s life are displayed in the museum. This is growing up in the log cabin.
Lincoln the railsplitter.
Lincoln calling on Mary Todd, his future wife, at her Lexington home
Lincoln-Douglas debate
Lincoln writing the Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln with son Tad sitting in Matthew Brady’s studio. Brady was the most famous and prolific photographer during the Civil War.
Gettysburg Address stage
Lincoln’s second inauguration
Lee surrenders to Grant
The Lincolns at Ford’s Theater
Mammoth Cave National Park
Mammoth Cave National Park in central Kentucky contains the longest system of caves in the world, with over 412 miles of surveyed passageways! This is the Historic Entrance to the cave for the tour.
Looking back up the stairs we just descended.
Approaching the cave tour from the entrance. The temperature inside the cave is 54 degrees year-round. Same as Luray Caverns in Virginia.
Artifacts from saltpeter mining, which was done by slaves prior to the Civil War.
The Rotunda. This is a large flat circle ceiling near the entrance of the cave.
These pictures do not do justice to the size and scale of this 1.5 mile passage. It is really: you have to see it to believe it.
This is called the Methodist Church, because in the 1800s a small Methodist Church met for worship here. The preacher preached from atop a large rock ledge on the upper left.
This is a close up at the Methodist Church. Notice the rock just left of center. It looks like the face of a man!
This formation looks like a reptile
The “Giant’s Coffin” – this large rock formation looks like a casket!
One of several stone houses near the end of one trail. These houses were part of a tuberculosis sanitarium. They had to walk in the cave over a mile to get here!
The rotunda from a different angle
Audobon Avenue

Kentucky 2020 Day 2

NATIONAL CORVETTE MUSEUM, BOWLING GREEN KY
Mary Jean at the National Corvette Museum!
The museum has some cool displays with older Corvettes in vintage scenes. The white Corvette on the right is from the very first year, 1953.
Service station scene
1958 Covertte, serial number 00002!
Showroom scene
Garage scene
Real #3 driven by Dale Earnhardt
Her dream car! 2020 Stingray!
This is a cool picture of a Corvette, composed of small Corvette pictures…
This dark circle is the headlight on the driver’s side.
There are 7 generations of Corvette design. This is the first generation, represented by a 1962 model.
1967 model from the second generation
1977 model, 3rd generation
1986 model, 4th generation
2004 model, 5th generation
2007 model, 6th generation
2019 model, 7th generation
In 2014, the museum suffered a sink hole collapse that swallowed over $1 million worth of valuable Corvettes!
These are some of the valuable Corvettes ruined by the sink hole collapse.
Looking down 30 feet to the bottom of the sink hole
The red tape is the outline of the sinkhole.
The Skydome today.
This was the 1 millionth Corvette ever produced, and it hung on during the collapse and suffered very little damage. Miraculously, several Corvettes survived or were able to be restored.
The museum conducts a raffle for a new Corvette every month. Each winner comes to the museum for the “Presentation”. Here, the winner of this blue Corvette is being taught about his new car.
We watched as the winner of this Corvette drove away!
The Bowling Green plant is the only plant in the world that assembles Corvettes.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN BIRTHPLACE NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK, HODGENVILLE KY
President Abraham Lincoln was born here on February 12, 1809. This was the first Lincoln Memorial! There are 56 steps up to the memorial building, representing one step for each year of Lincoln’s life. He was only 56 years old when he was assassinated in 1865.
A replica of Lincoln’s birthplace house is inside the memorial.
President Theodore Roosevelt (in top hat) laid the cornerstone on February 12, 1909, the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth.
This is Sinking Spring, which was the spring that provided water for the Lincoln farm.
Sculpture of the Lincoln family in the Visitor Center. Abraham is the baby in his mother’s arms. The girl is his sister Sarah holding their father’s hand.
Abraham Lincoln’s parents, Thomas and Nancy Lincoln
Abe certainly looked like his mother!
Lincoln family Bible
Replica of Knob Creek house, where young Abe lived as a boy. This is about 10 miles from the Sinking Spring farm.
This field would have been farmland tended by the Lincolns.
Statue of President Lincoln in the town center of Hodgenville KY
Young Lincoln reading, facing the Lincoln statue.
Bucolic scene near Hodgenville

Woodrow Wilson

Presidential Museum, Staunton VA

(Thomas) Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the US.
He was the eighth (and so far, last) president born in Virginia. He was born in this house in Staunton VA in 1856. This was the manse for the Presbyterian Church. His father was a Presbyterian minister.
Due to COVID, the birthplace house was not open for visitors, but I was able to see the foyer through the front window.
Rear of the manse.
Entrance to the museum
Bust of President Wilson, wearing a mask. He was president during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, so he actually did wear a mask back then!
President Wilson’s Pierce Arrow, which he used is his post-presidency days (1921-1924).
Wilson’s desk at Princeton. He went to UVA law school, practiced law in Rome GA, where he met and married his first wife. Ellen Axson, another Presbyterian minister’s child. First Lady Ellen Wilson died in 1914.

Wilson earned a PhD in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University, still the only president to have earned a PhD. He subsequently taught at Princeton University, and later was president of Princeton. He also served as governor of New Jersey for two years before winning the presidency in 1912.

President Wilson suffered several strokes, including one before he ran for President. He suffered two debilitating strokes in 1918 as president, and was largely unseen the last two years of his presidency. He required assistance when leaving the White House in 1921 to attend President Warren Harding’s inauguration.

He lived in Washington DC after he left office, and died in 1924. He is buried inside the National Cathedral in DC.

Wilson’s desk lamp.
Due to a schism in the Republican Party, (Theodore Roosevelt ran third party after he failed to gain the Republican nomination from President Taft), Wilson won a decisive Electoral College victory, even though he won only 41.8% of the popular vote. Roosevelt and Taft combined for 50.7%.

President Wilson was a racist in a big way. The first major movie ever screened at the White House was “The Birth of A Nation”, which was glorified the KKK from the Reconstruction Era. He also continued segregating the Civil Service.

President Wilson’s White House phone.
President Wilson’s progressive policies expanded the Federal government bureaucracy. He also opposed voting rights for women.
Three constitutional amendments were ratified during the Wilson presidency.
17th: Enabled direct election of Senators
18th: Prohibition of alcohol manufacturing and sale
19th: Women’s right to vote
After campaigning in 1916 that he kept the US out of war, President Wilson led the US into World War I after the Germans sunk the Lusitania, which killed 1198 people, including 128 Americans.
World War I poster.
It was interesting to see these posters after seeing the World War II art posters at the FDR Museum in New York in 2018.
Trench warfare display
Medic tent. It may be hard to see in this small picture, but there are rats all over this display!

After the war, President Wilson worked tirelessly to institute his “Fourteen Points” toward worldwide peace, which culminated in the creation of the League of Nations, which was a precursor to the United Nations. The League of Nations failed when the US Congress rejected it. It was a huge defeat and embarrassment for President Wilson.