Franklin Delano Roosevelt (6/12/25)

 

As we made our way towards Massachusetts, we realized that our trajectory would take us past the official Presidential Library of FDR, in Hyde Park, NY,  and of course we weren’t going to pass up the opportunity to see it. 

We have already been to his “little White House” –his cottage in Warm Springs Georgia that he visited as often as he could. He was at the cottage when he died in 1945.

My post about it:

( https://soos-ontheroad.blogspot.com/2013/04/f-d-r-state-park-03-27-13.html )

The library/museum in New York is totally different, and is unique in the sense that he always knew he was going to donate the property for his presidential library, so most of the contents are original.

When his parents bought the house in the mid 1800s it was a small two story farm house. In 1915 FDR  added 18 rooms.

His mother always lived with him.

FDR suffered from Polio but he never wanted to be seen as weak, so he found innovative ways to appear to be walking and standing on his own. Before a speech for example, he would have his crew bolt the podium to the floor so he could lean his weight on it. He had special braces made to help him move his legs more naturally. There are very few pictures of him in his wheelchair.

In his house, he modified the elevator that had been installed to move their trunks (suitcases) up and down  to fit his wheelchair.

Roosevelt was the longest serving president in U.S. history. He was actually elected four times, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. Until  him, there was a tradition, starting with George Washington, that no president should serve more than two terms. But it was a tradition, not a law.

During Roosevelt’s tenure, the  country was going through some very difficult times, including the Great Depression, which he is credited with helping to end. In 1936, his election to his second term was the biggest electoral landslide in U.S. history.

By the time his second term had ended, World War II was heating up, and the majority of the voters seemed to feel we needed someone in office who was experienced and already knowledgeable about the world situation. He was easily elected to his third term.

He ran for an unprecedented 4th term at the height of world war II, and won by a comfortable margin.  He died in office just months before the end of the war.

In 1955 the 22nd amendment was added to the constitution, limiting a president to two terms of office.

Without a doubt he accomplished a lot as president, putting into place programs such as the FDIC, Federal Trade Commission, Social Security, and the Federal Alcohol Administration to name just a few. As impressive as that is, in this library there was also information detailing that many of his programs did not survive the opposition and were either not implemented or were discontinued.

Green Valley House update:

Cement has been poured!

Thomas Woodrow Wilson (06/8/25)

 Leaving the coast, we didn’t want our path to Massachusetts to go through any big cities, so we took a longer route, with a  couple of one night stops. One of those was in Verona, Virginia. We weren’t actually planning on doing much there but we arrived early in the day so we looked around to see what was there. Turns out, the birthplace of President Woodrow Wilson was a mere 15 miles away.

Woodrow Wilson 1856-1924

U.S. President 1913-1921

It’s listed as his Presidential Library but the tour guide was quick to point out that it really is just the place he was born and his parents moved the family away from here when he was a year and a half old. His father was a Presbyterian minister making $1000 a year in Staunton Virginia, but a parish in Georgia offered him $3000 a year, so off they went. 

The Manse is the building his family lived in, and also served as the parish hub.  The private rooms were mostly on the lower level and the public rooms were on the second level and had a separate entrance.

 

Of course, the difference in luxury level was immediately obvious.

After high school Wilson attended several colleges, changing his concentration of study a couple of times. After finally receiving his bachelors degree from Princeton, (history and political philosophy) he eventually went on to receive his graduate degree from John’s Hopkins University.

After teaching at several colleges he went on to be the President of Princeton in 1902.

Being a man of action, he felt that the pace of accomplishing things in the academic world was too slow, so he  decided politics would be a better fit, and he ran for the office of governor of New Jersey.

The museum was interesting but left me with a lot of questions- more than I feel I should have had. The displays were very disjointed and only told part of the story.

Wilson was married twice. Several plaques talked about Ellen,  his first wife and their children, but it wasn’t until much later in the exhibit that you find out she died in 1914 and he eventually married his second wife, Edith.

Both wives were  apparently genuinely devoted to him and his wellbeing. In 1919 while touring the country by train, Wilson suffered an apparent stroke. His cognitive abilities seemed relatively intact, although he suffered some physical issues for quite a while.

During that time, his wife Edith worked to keep the public from discovering the severity of his infirmity, and helped him navigate the decisions he needed to make on a daily basis. Some called her the first female president.  Eventually he fully returned to his duties and finished out his second term.

Several momentous events took place while he was in office. To secure his re-election, he ran on a promise to keep the U.S. out of the (first world) War.  Unfortunately  Americans were being killed by German submarines, Germany was trying to convince Mexico to attack the U.S. and our “allies” were running out of steam.  It became clear that we may have to enter the war after all...

In 1917 Congress declared war and and army was amassed- from a force of 130,00 in 1917- to more than 2 million by 1918.

After untold US losses, the tide began to turn and late in 1918 the Germans looked for a way towards peace. The armistice took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month- a day Americans now call Veteran’s Day.

Several other events took place during this time:

Between 1918 and 1920 the deadliest pandemic in history (still?), the Great Flu Epidemic infected more than 500 million people, killing 50 million or more.

Several amendments to the constitution were enacted during his presidency.  Wilson, having traditional southern thoughts on women, was not exactly a champion of women’s rights, but in 1916, giving in to political pressure, he assured them he was fighting for their cause, and in 1920 they were granted the right to vote.

One of the more positive things he championed while in office was the federal reserve. It is still in place today.

One of the most significant changes in the world during his tenure as President was that in 1913, Great Britain was the world’s major power, and when he left in 2021, The United States was.

Wilson died in 1924, about 3 years after he finished his second term as president. 

William Jefferson Clinton (5/8/25)

 Paul and I have never been ones to have a specific “bucket list” of places we want to visit- we don’t need to get to all the states, or all the national parks, or all the presidential libraries- but that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy visiting all of the above.   The last time we came through Little Rock, our focus was on Hot Springs National Park ( my least favorite national park, by the way). Since I felt no need to re-visit, we could focus on the William J. Clinton Presidential Library.

The library has a fair amount of information about both Bill and Hilary, starting from their childhoods.

Hillary grew up in the Chicago area, the oldest of 3. Even as a young child, she wanted to make a difference- a copy of her handwritten paper is on display and reads (in part)

                                                            My Future

When I grow up I want to have had the best education I could have possibly obtained.  If I obtain this I will probably be able to get a very good job. I want to either be a teacher or a nuclear physics scientist. Sometimes people as  me why I would want to be a teacher. The way I figure it though, is that the government  and adults are always talking about how the children of today are the citizens of tomorrow. With this thought in mind you have to have teachers to train the young citizens…

She attended Wellesley College for her undergraduate degree in Political Science, and received her  law degree from Yale in 1973. Soon thereafter she was appointed to the Impeachment Inquiry staff, in Washington DC, which advised the house committee regarding impeachment proceedings against President Nixon.

When Bill was elected president, she was the first professional woman to serve as First Lady, and the first First Lady to have her own office in the West Wing.

After his presidency she became the first First Lady to launch her own campaign for an elected office, which she won, in 2001, becoming Senator Hillary Clinton.

Bill Clinton’s childhood was completely different. He was born William Jefferson Blythe III in 1946. His father, William J Blythe, died before he was born and his mother later married Roger Clinton.

As a teen, Bill officially changed his last name to Clinton, in part so that everyone in the household would have the same last name (he has a younger half brother).

After receiving his bachelors degree from Georgetown University, he went on to receive his law degree from Yale, where he met Hillary Rodham, the future Hillary Rodham Clinton.

He started his political career as the Arkansas Attorney General, and by 1978 had become one of the youngest ever governors of Arkansas.

In 1992 he ran for, and won, the election for U.S. President, against George  H. W. Bush and Ross Perot.

Of course, many of the displays detail his political career, especially his presidency. Walking through the halls of photos and information plaques, I was reminded that there was much to like about Bill Clinton as a president. I suppose that is also why he easily won re-election. As a man, he certainly isn’t perfect, but I feel like he accomplished so much as the leader of our country.

Some of my favorite accomplishments of his:

The first bill he ever signed into law was the Family and Medical Leave Act.

In 2000 he established Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. I have hiked here many times- including our recent trip to hike the Wave. It is fantastic that this place is protected.

He worked on Welfare reform- his goal- ending Welfare as we know it,  and decreasing dependence on government subsidies.

He was the first president in decades to commit to a balanced budget. It took years but in 1998, for the first time in a generation, the federal deficit officially hit Zero.  We have not had a balanced budget or surplus since Clinton left office.

This is so huge to me- an amazing feat and yet once he accomplished it we perhaps should have insisted upon it from that point on?

Each president gets to decorate the Oval Office any way they want, which of course would make it more personal and comfortable for them.

The same is not true of the Cabinet Room. Taking a short break, Paul and I sat at the table in the cabinet room replica,  and were soon joined by a volunteer who was extremely informative.

The room has remained essentially the same for decades- with two exceptions. In 1970, President Nixon gifted a new table to the administration. The old table was rectangular, making it difficult for everyone to be seen by all others at the table. The oval shape works much better.

Also, each president can decide which two portraits hang on the wall.

Cabinet meetings are held an average of once a week, more if necessary. The record was during the Bay of Pigs, when President Kennedy held cabinet meetings daily, and sometimes twice a day.

The protocol of who sits where is not determined by seniority, at least, not seniority of the individual at the table- it is decided by seniority of the position. So, for example, the Secretary of State sits next to the President even if he has held the position for a week because the Secretary of State position is the oldest.

All along the corridor are displays of gifts given to President Clinton.  You might think that there would be rules against our President accepting gifts from foreign leaders, but it was George Washington who decided it was virtually impossible to say no to every gift that was offered by a head of state.

Instead, he decided that these gifts would be gifts to the American people. Most of them are housed in the National Archives, or in Presidential Libraries. (gift from Chihuly)

There were many more displays than I can describe here. These were the ones that were highlights for me.

As a side note, there is a kiosk where you can call up any date during Clinton’s presidency, and a picture will pop up with his schedule for that date. It was kind of  fun looking at random dates and also makes you realize how scheduled they can be….

We had a second day to spend in the Little Rock area and after spending an entire day inside, we headed for Pinnacle Mountain State Park. There is a 3 mile loop to a peak that can be done from two different sides. They both reach the pinnacle, but one is harder going down ( always more of a challenge).

Well, we chose wrong and spent a long but doable 1.5 miles going up to the pinnacle. The trail is mostly bouldering, which is fun, if it isn’t too steep. It was slow but fine on the way up.

The views from the top made it all worthwhile …

But of course the more difficult route was going down. Making sure we were not going to fall can be a challenge on a trail like this.

Ah well, all in all it was fun.

Ronald Reagan and Jess (07-09-15)

We had one day to spend with our daughter Jess, and we elected to torture her by taking her someplace we’ve always wanted to go- The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.









The library website mentioned “timed entry”- in other words, they only let in so many people each hour.  We didn’t know when we would arrive, so we winged it- and got right in.

After an hour or so I understood why they have the timed entry.  There are many interactive exhibits, and the crowds were sometimes so large, you couldn’t really access them well.  

Jess surprised me by how well she did on the interactive “etiquette” quiz.  She got all but one of the questions correct!

There was an area where you could sit in front of a green screen and read  one of several scripts that had been read by Ronald Reagan (announcing a football game, a Presidential speech, etc) and then you could watch the finished product on a TV as if you were performing it. 














That was too crowded, but we did check out the Presidential podium, where the teleprompter was real, so you could give a speech to the crowd.













Some of the exhibits brought back some vivid memories for me.  The indoor Berlin wall exhibit showcased the history of the wall and East and West Germany, with film footage and a simulated wall that you could climb through.  A large piece of the real wall sits outside the museum.





 


















There was an exhibit detailing the day in 1981 When President Reagan was shot.  His suit coat is on display and the television news footage from throughout that day- from the shooting to scenes from the hospital, played on nearby televisions.  The docent for that area was very knowledgeable and shared even more information, describing more of the emotions that Nancy and Ronald Reagan felt during that time. 


His initial words to Nancy, when they first spoke after the shooting, were “ I forgot to duck.”

A more serious quote from his diary was more indicative of his real feelings about that day  “ Whatever happens now, I owe my life to God, and I will try to serve Him in every way I can”.

A temporary exhibit in the museum is dedicated to football. From autographed jerseys to signed footballs and a display of the evolution of helmets, there are a ton of artifacts. 


There is a fair amount of information detailing the history of the game, with one display showing the weight difference between a pre ”forward passing” heavy football to the lighter ball that came into play after the forward pass became legal in 1906, after a particularly violent 1905, when there were 18 football fatalities nationwide.

I was surprised to see the display with two footballs, one inflated to 10.5 psi and the other to the regulation 12.5 psi.  After giving it a good test, Jess wasn’t sure she could tell the difference ( and the docent was quick to point out that they have to re-inflate both balls every morning, to the correct pressure.).

There were pretty standard displays showing the Oval Office as it looked when Ronald Reagan occupied it, as well as a lot of information about Nancy (Just say No) and their lives together.

Air Force One- the actual plane- is housed in the museum as well.  You can walk through it, but you can’t take pictures.

I was in my early 20s when Ronald Reagan was elected president, and he was one of my favorites.  There is a reason why he was called the Great Communicator, and I was not immune to his charm.








I really enjoyed the museum overall, but there were some areas that had multiple televisions blaring different messages which caused all the messages to be lost, and even with the timed entry, it was pretty crowded. 



When we’d had our fill of the museum, we went back to Jess’s apartment and taught her how to play Rummikub while we waited for Kellan to be done working for the day.  Once he arrived, we went to their favorite bar for some dinner and local beer.






We took an Uber to the restaurant- mine and Paul’s first time using this new form of “taxi”.  It worked out really well.  The car arrived less than 2 minutes after Kellan requested it.


Somewhere along the way we made the decision that it wasn’t worth going back to Havasu for just a day or two, so we decided to head to Fresno, CA by way of Yosemite National Park.