46 Fascinating Facts About Our 46 Presidents-- Part 7: Hoover to Kennedy

In honor of Presidents Day.

31.  HERBERT HOOVER  (1929-1933)

An Iowa native who spent part of his boyhood in Oregon, Hoover was the first president from west of the  Mississippi River.

32.  FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT  (193-1945)

  The longest serving president claimed to be distantly related to eleven other presidents, including his fifth cousin, Theodore Roosevelt.

33.  HARRY S. TRUMAN (1945-1953)

The "S" in his name was just an initial; it didn't stand for any name.  (The "S" in Ulysses S. Grant's name didn't stand for anything either.)

34.  DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER  (1953-1961)

World War II hero, "Ike" was the first president to ride in a helicopter.

35.  JOHN F. KENNEDY  (1961-1963)

After being injured and honorably discharged in World War II, he was briefly employed as a journalist during the closing weeks of the war.

--DaCootPres

U.S. Warships, USS Abraham Lincoln-- Part 3

Picture for the month of May on the Paralyzed Veterans of America 2021 calendar.

Ships from the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group assume formation for a phot exercise in support for dual-carrier sustainment and qualification operations with the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72).

In addition to demonstrating the Navy's inherent flexibility and scalability, this evolution provides the opportunity to conduct complex, multi-unit training to enhance maritime interoperability and combat readiness; prepare the Navy to protect our homeland; and preserve and promote peace anywhere around the world.

Boy, someone sure came up with some words in that last paragraph.

--Cooter

Longest Living Presidents

From the May 2, 2019, Kenosha (Wis.) News

10.  Richard Nixon   81 years

9.  Thomas Jefferson  83 years

8.  James Madison  85 years

7.  Harry S. Truman  88 years

6.  Herbert Hoover  90 years, 71 days

5.  John Adams  90 years, 248 days

4.  Ronald Reagan  93 years, 119 days

3.  Gerald Ford  93 years, 165 days

2.  George H.W. Bush  94 years, 171 days

1.  Jimmy Carter  94 years and counting

This past summer, Jimmy and Rosalyn celebrated their 73rd year of marriage.  No trophy wife for him.  Probably the most sincere and honorable president we've had since Harry S. Truman.

And, I Met Him When he Was Governor.  --Cooter

Tomorrow Is Flag Day-- Part 1: Has Remained the Same Since 1960

From the June 7, 2017, Hi-Liter "A salute to the flag" by Sandra Machaj.

In 1949, President harry Truman declared June 14 as Flag Day.  United States flags should be flown from public buildings as well as private homes that day.

Sadly, many Americans don't fly their flags on June 14.

Most of the time, I do, unless it slips my mind.  And, I don't just fly one, I fly several for the day.

Most Americans, especially those born after 1960, consider the American flag to be a never-changing design as it hasn't changed since then, but such is not true of its over 200 year history.

The flag we have today is not the same flag as originally authorized by the Second Continental Congress in 1777.

Continued.  --Cooter

Presidential Libraries-- Part 1

From the Dec. 25, 2012, Chicago Tribune residential libraries are.

Of course, my being someone who really loves to research, these would be of interest to me.

These are Libraries Overseen by the National Archives and Records Administration which is responsible for its operation and maintenance.  The presidential library system began in 1939 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt donated his personal and presidential papers to the federal government.

These are in order of dedication.

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM: Hyde Park, NY, dedicated JULY 4, 1940.

**  America's first presidential library was conceived and built under Roosevelt's direction while he was still president.

**  It is undergoing a $41 million renovation.


HARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY AND MUSEUM: Independence, Missouri, dedicated  July 6, 1957.

**Truman played an active role in the daily operation of the library, personally training museum guides and was known for showing up and answering questions from students.

**  A $23 million renovation completed in 2009.  A $1.6 million project preserved his office as it was at the time of his death in 1972.  His funeral was held in the auditorium and he and his wife Bess are buried on the grounds.

That Would Have Been Something to Visit and Have the President Talk to You.  --DaCoot

The "Buck" Stops Here's Route 66 Connection

This famous sign was on the desk of Harry Truman during his presidency in the White House. It was made at the federal reformatory in El Reno, Oklahoma. That would put it on Route 66. Fred M. Canfil, then a US marshal from the Western District of Missouri and a Truman friend, saw a similar sign while visiting and asked the warden if a sign like it could be made for the president.

It was made and then shipped to the president on October 2, 1945. The 2 and a half-inch X 13-inch sign is mounted on a walnut base. It has the words, "I'm from Missouri" on the other side.

The saying comes from a slavery expression, "Pass the Buck" meaning to pass responsibility on to someone else.

That Is One Famous Sign. --Cooter

Bring Back Harry! -- Part 2

***Just a regular guy, he and a group of friends in Independence would rent a room in a downtown business to hold their poker games.

***Then, there was that great "The Buck Stops Here" sign on his desk. Here is a man who didn't shirk responsibility and decisions.

***On May 6, 1971, Congress was preparing to award the Medal of Honor for his 87th birthday. He refused, saying: "I don't consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise."

***I've always loved the picture of him holding the Chicago Tribune with the headlines that he had been defeated by Thomas Dewey in the 1948 election. That big smile on his face said it all.

***As president, he paid for all his travel expenses and food.

***Today's politicians find new levels of success cashing in on the presidency (Right, Bill?), resulting in huge wealth.

***Truman reportedly once said, "My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And, to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference."

My Kind of Guy, That Harry. --Cooter

Bring Back Harry!-- Part 1

You keep hearing about one of the things politicians are shocking us with these days, but a friend recently sent me an e-mail about a man who, after reading it, would sure have gotten my vote and support.

I was alive during his term as president, but way too young to know anything about him.


FACTS ABOUT HARRY S. TRUMAN, President of the United States

***When he died, the only asset he had was his house he lived in.

***When he retired from the presidency in 1952, he lived at first on his US Army pension of $13,507.72 yearly.

***After Eisenhower's inauguration, he and his wife drove back to Independence, Missouri, all by themselves as there was no Secret Service assigned to them.

***When offered corporate positions with large salaries, he declined, saying: "You don't want me. You want the office of the President and that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale."

More Harry to Come. --Cooter