Martin Van Buren and Me
Wednesday, February 6th, 2013
The name Martin Van Buren is not generally met with an outburst of applause and cheering when his name is mentioned. In fact, the average citizen probably would inadvertently leave him of his list if he were asked to make one of all of the United States Presidents from memory. Others might recall that his name was dusted off and brought back to the surface when George H.W. Bush was running for President in 1988 – reminding us that a sitting Vice President hadn’t ascended to the Presidency through vote since the time of our 8th President, Martin Van Buren (who as the 8th Vice President, served in Andrew Jackson’s cabinet). And like Bush, Van Buren would only serve one term, losing his second campaign to William Henry Harrison. Read the rest of this entry »
Whatever your opinion of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, I think we can all agree that his presidency was unlike any other. Logistically setting it far apart from any President before or since his administration was the simple fact that he was elected to four terms, which is two more than any other President ever would be. His role as our nation’s 32nd leader from 1933-1945 came during some of the most trying times in our country’s history. Through his Fireside Chats, he offered hope to the American people through his direction and intense social reform, many programs of which still resonate today. Then he saw the Allied Powers through nearly all of World War 2, before dying in office and passing the torch to his Vice-President Harry S. Truman. It is little wonder that the public loved him so dearly to elect him even in the gravest of health, having never publically seen the man walk on his two polio-stricken legs. 
Tuesday, July 10, 2012, would mark the seventh day of the road trip through New England that Bob and I had been undertaking, effectively bringing the first week of the trip to close. After this day, we’d still have another full week ahead. But as of this day, we were still in the southern half of the New England states, specifically in Waterbury, Connecticut at the American Motor Lodge. This location put us just a quick drive from our first stop of the day (besides Bob’s quick run-in to one of the many Dunkin’ Donuts in the region). 
Bob and I began our sixth day of travel through New England on the morning of Monday, July 9, 2012, at the Comfort Suites in Norwich, Connecticut. We had a nice breakfast and then headed toward our first destination of the day, the Trumbull Cemetery in Lebanon, Connecticut, about 2o minutes north of our hotel. This is the final resting place of Declaration of Independence signer William Williams, not to be confused with any of the other dozen or so famous William Williams throughout history. This one had been elected to the Continental Congress to replace Oliver Wolcott, and although he arrived too late to actually vote for it, he became a signatory of the Declaration on behalf of the state of Connecticut. 
Calvin Coolidge was our nation’s 30th President, serving from 1923 through 1929 during a time of great prosperity in our country. Some criticize his notion of small government and laissez-faire ideology as leading to the Great Depression which then ensued in the 1930s after he had left office. Although highly skilled at giving speeches during his Presidential campaigns and press conferences, he was known as “Silent Cal” for his dour, stiff disposition and quiet personality at social events. Some speculate that this was part of an act to give the public what they wanted. Others think that his sadness grew out of the death of his son, who died from blood poisoning after getting a blister while playing tennis at the White House.