 |
| Plymouth Notch, birthplace of Calvin Cooldge, marks our 8th presidential home visit! |
In our quest to visit as many of the presidential homes and/or libraries as we can, this past July we scored another hit on our long list at Plymouth Notch, Vermont, birthplace of Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States.
Although this was not specifically earmarked as our next presidential site stop, it was conveniently located on the path of the second leg of our two-week journey, traveling northeast to Montreal, then back to Michigan via Vermont. It also proved to be an excellent follow up to our last POTUS home trek in April. That was the home of Warren G. Harding, in Findlay, Ohio (see blog story: Warren G. Harding Home and Library), the President who Coolidge not only served as Vice President, but became his immediate successor after Harding's sudden death.
In fact, it was at Plymouth Notch, a scenic, rural village in central Vermont, where, Coolidge, while visiting his family homestead, received the news of Harding's death. He was given the oath of office by his father, a notary public, at 2:47 A.M. on August 3, 1923. And, as the story goes, after being sworn in, Coolidge, known for being quiet and reserved, calmly went back upstairs to bed.
 |
| Outside the Coolidge Museum in Vermont in July |
While we found no evidence of Calvin Coolidge's favorite tea, we did see on display in the Plymouth Notch museum, a tea set from 1927 that was used by the Coolidge family in the White House.
In addition, we did learn of a drink that bears the Coolidge name. It was created for the Republican Convention held in Cleveland, Ohio to generate some excitement. Coolidge was his party's nominee in 1924, but the convention was reportedly so dull, that many of the delegates began to leave. Will Rogers, famous humorist of the time, was noted as saying they should open up the churches in Cleveland to liven things up.
 |
| A 1927 tea service, on display in the museum, was used by the Coolidge family at the White House |
Enter the "Keep Cool with Coolidge Highball", a drink made up of raw eggs and fruit juices. It doesn't seem to have gained any traction (and we're grateful for that).
 |
| Chris outside the Coolidge Homestead. |
While the cool concoction may not stood the test of the time, Plymouth Notch certainly has. It is well worth the drive to this out-of-the-way spot (although, many of Vermont destinations seem to share that description).
 |
| The school room and. . . |
 |
| the church the Coolidge attended. |
Plymouth Notch is comprised of the homes of the Coolidge family, their relatives and friends as well as church, a school house, cheese factory and a pre-1835 store with a post office on the first floor and dance hall on the second. The latter later served as Coolidge's "Summer White House Office".
 |
| General store owned by Coolidge's father |
 |
| Birthplace of Calvin Coolidge |
The home where Coolidge was born in 1872, is attached to the store where his father started as storekeeper in 1868 and, in partnership with his brother-in-law, purchased seven years later.
When Calvin Coolidge was four years old, his family moved across the road to the abode that is now referred to as the Coolidge Homestead, a bit grander and more comfortable than the president's modest birthplace.
Plymouth Notch has been maintained to keep its 18th-century and early 19th-century roots, allowing guests to experience the charm and significance of this historic site.
This now marks our ninth presidential home/library visit for eight different presidents. Since our primary goal is to mark off at least one site for each president, we could say we only have 37 or so more to go. A lofty ambition but, always interesting journey, we're charting more for the near future. But, if you are traveling out east, we'd highly recommend a stop at Plymouth Notch. And, while the gift shop does not sell fruit drinks combined with raw eggs, they do sell Maple Tea and along with Calvin Coolidge presidential mugs, both of which we purchased.
For more on our visit to Plymouth Notch and other Vermont sites, visit us at our YouTube Channel:
No comments:
Post a Comment