Library Updates and April Trip to the Hayes Presidential Center
I've made a lot of additions to the Crisis Chronicles Online Library lately, and I promise more will be coming soon. While my bigger computer is processing video today, I plan to flesh out the Library with a few dozen of my favorite classics (I define "classics" loosely). After that, I plan to return (tomorrow or the next day) and add more of the fantastic pieces some living local, and/or online folks have submitted for inclusion. The Library's web address is http://library.crisischronicles.com, and you'll find links to it all over my site. When you get to the Library you can look for works using the handy "Quicksearch" bar on the left hand side of the page. You can also use the "Recent Entries" or "Category Archives" links that are included in the left sidebar.
Among the "classics" I'll be featuring are several works by Cleveland's Beat/street underground legend d.a. levy, who was arrested in 1967 for reading the word "cocksucker" in a poem. He went on to commit suicide at age 26 in November 1968. You may notice that the fortieth anniversary of that tragedy is approaching - hence the focus. Click here to see a link index of levy works I've added so far: http://library.crisischronicles.com/categories/levy%20(d.a.).aspx
I just remembered that although Geri and I visited former U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes' estate in Fremont this April, I never took the time to write about it. So here are a few interesting facts about Hayes, along with some photos we took during that trip on 19 April 2008.
Rutherford B. Hayes lived from 1822 to 1893.
He won a seat in Congress in 1864 despite refusing to campaign because he was busy fighting in the Civil War.
He accepted that nomination only after Abraham Lincoln convinced him that good Republicans in Congress were scarcer than good generals.
In 1876, Hayes won the presidency by 1 electoral vote, despite losing the popular vote.
He is the only President whose election was decided by a congressional commission.
While in the White House, Hayes ended Reconstruction and signed a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court for the first time.
Visit the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center website: www.rbhayes.org
We were permitted to take photographs on the grounds and in the museum, but not in the house itself. Too bad, because our tour of the house was the best part of the trip....
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Here are a few books on Rutherford B. Hayes that I have and recommend:
Oh I think I was there once.
It's very romantic. I bet you and Geri had a great time!
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It is! All you need is the right person there with you and ka-pow! It can be magical.
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I know. It was. I didn't have time to go into the house but it was wonderful, none-the-less. Something I will never forget.
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Cool... great photos as usual. You guys always visit interesting places.
How many presidents have homes in Ohio? I don't even know but it seem there are quite a few...
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Thanks, Chris! There have been eight presidents from Ohio: Ulysses Grant, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William Henry Harrison, William McKinley, Rutherford Hayes, Warren Harding, and Wiiliam Howard Taft. Three died in office - Garfield and McKinley by assassination and William Henry Harrison from pneumonia he caught at his inauguration.
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Here's a link with information on other Presidential places to go in Ohio.
http://columbusoh.about.com/cs/historygenealogy/l/blmother.htm
As far as I know, the only one from Michigan is (as seems appropriate) Ford.
I was at Mom's trying to fix her computer all this time, so I haven't done what I wanted in the library or with the videos yet - but I plan to start now.
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Sorry for harassing about the videos.. don't mean to pressure you. I know how time and hardware can sometimes conspire to put a stopper on good intentions.
Anyway.. I'm just eager to enjoy what ever you have time to post...
If it's any consolation I give the Minister a hard time too.
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No problem...
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Did you know that both Ohio and Virginia claim WH Harrison?
He was born at Harrison's Landing (Berkeley Hundred or Plantation) along the James River in VA but did most of his fighting and all of his political service in OH.
Harrison's Landing is also where the Union army spent two winters and was attacked at some point because there's still a cannonball in the side of the house! You can tour the house and grounds as well as other plantations along the River without spending the arm and a leg you have to for Williamsburg. Very cool! Colonial and Civil War history together.
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Ooh... I'd love to check that out one of these days. Thanks, Pinky!
I've been to Williamsburg twice (as a teen and in 2007), and I have to admit I was a bit disappointed both times - although the fireworks there (on 4th of July in the year of the 400th anniversary of the settling of Jamestown) were the most awe-inspiring and meaningful I've ever witnessed. The first time I was too young to appreciate it, I think, and the last time was in the middle of an oppressive heat wave. So maybe I was just there on the wrong days. Having Yorktown and especially Jamestown nearby made Williamsburg even cooler for me.
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That looks like a very interesting trip. I enjoy visiting historical sites also. I've found that I retain more history when I actually visit a place. It is also a great opportunity to learn some little known history. I've learned from the history teacher in my life that the textbook is not always correct. There are also some things that must be seen in real life to be fully understood. The site of the Civil War battle at Cold Harbor comes to mind. I'm already planning next summer's vacation. I'm looking for a place with lots of museums and history that is not too too far from home. Just far enough away so that we have to stay in a hotel and I don't have to cook or clean!
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Thanks, Tara! You should think about northern Ohio. We have everything from Cedar Point (best roller coasters in the world) to the Hayes and Garfield estates, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Lake Erie islands, Cleveland's famous Botanical gardens, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and Amish country. A little bit of everything.... Maybe we could meet you and Dave. Since he's a history teacher, I think he'd find a lot to interest him around here.
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I talked to Dave about it and we're going to do it! We're planning a trip to Cleveland for spring break in April. We're really looking forward to meeting you and Geri in person. We've been all over Philadelphia and NJ, of course, to Washington DC, Gettysburg and we followed part of the Civil War Trails in Virginia. We both want to see more of the country. He suggested we get an RV when we retire, assuming that all vehicles will be electric by then
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lol... cool! Looking forward to meeting you both....
I've never been to Niagara Falls. One of these days....
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Never been to Niagra Falls? Me either. I did not even travel by airplane until I was 31. Dave and I are planning on going next August. Can we count you and Gerri in? Maybe some grandkids too?
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I'm with you Tara! Vacations do not include cooking and cleaning!
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We just saw on film about Niagra Falls today in the science class. I've been there several times. I wouldn't call it romantic but it's cool when you look at it and think about how the Indians must have seen it, hundreds of years ago. I've never seen the Grand Canyon but I can only imagine the awe that it must evoke.
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I almost forgot what I really wanted to say. You are so right about having the right person with you being magical. You reminded me of all the most memorable trips I have taken. It was the company more than anything that made them so memorable. My brothers adn I fought like cats and dogs when we were kids, but on a trip, we were the best of friends. Those were good times. Thanks for reminding me of that.
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You're welcome!
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Can you believe that in all the many years I lived in Cleveland (33) I never visited this place? What a shame. I did visit the Garfield home though. Those are some great pics you took. I love the house. I love trips like that...learning about our history. Fabulous! Thank you!
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They are really cute pictures of both you and Geri. Such dedication to our U. S. presidents from Ohio!! I hope you are watching the latest Republican blabbing on CNN or MSNBC tonight. I find it highly amusing actually. McPain and Pains, (or sorry I meant Palins) are doing their best to prove they are big patriots. At least she is attractive and very much a mother but it gets a bit tiring that the abortion and gay marriage and extreme right wing stuff is taking over the real issues for the American people who need health care, jobs, and not just more kids with down syndromes who they cannot afford to educate or even feed when they are unemployed (or a single mom). Vote for the beauty queens and the lipstick and powder and the war heroes who spent their active duty in the Hanoi Hilton and are hugging Bush when hurricanes hit our oil rigs. Yes I can be cynical can't I?
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Thanks, Elena... and I'm feeling the same way. I couldn't bring myself to watch either convention this year - though I've kept up with them through a diverse assortment of news outlets. I saw part of Palin's speech online and have to admit she's an excellent public speaker. Her sense of timing is impeccable. She comes across as smart, witty, and very attractive. Based on the few minutes I saw, she was most impressive - from an objective performance-oriented perspective. And that is dangerous, because it increases the likelihood that Joe Blow who voted for Dubya and Dick (Dubya 'cause he wasn't "stiff" and related to Clinton like Gore) will be beguiled again - this time not by a plain old snake and his trusty Dick, but by a snake disguised as Eve. She might paint herself as an outsider, but to the degree she's been able, Palin has demonstrated she every bit as supportive of Big Oil as the current administration.
As far as McCain... I have great respect for the fact that he was a POW. But since when is being a prisoner a qualification for being president? Sure, when I think Mandela, I think good president. But Adolf Hitler was imprisoned once too.
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I'm going to paraphrase Bill Maher and say that if you are a breath away from the White House you cannot claim at the same time that you are a Washington outsider. He made this comment about GWB, another self-proclaimed outsider. Maher said of him that you cannot claim to be a Washington outsider when you have had a key to the white House for twelve years. I did watch all of the conventions, and I think that Palin's speech actually hurt McCain because, as you pointed out, it was so good. McCain is a great statesman, no doubt, and he is light years ahead of Bush, but he is a lousy public speaker and we felt that Palin's speech underscored this lacking in the candidate, in a country where we are so swayed by impressons. I hope that people see Palin for what she is. Not only is she McCain's Dan Quayle, she is also an extreme right winger, chosen to appease the hard core Republicans and the Religious Right. The very thing that I appreciate about McCain, his willingness to challenge his own party, has been marred by this painfully obvious pandering to the right.
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Wow... thanks, Susan! I was somewhat embarassed that I waited until I was 41 to visit the Garfield and Hayes sites. And I was a history major in college, too. Granted I was "out of the loop" for 11 years, but that still leaves 30.
The Hayes house was even more impressive than Garfield's. A partial reason... Hayes actually lived in it after he was President, whereas Garfield died in office and thugh his wife added on and remodeled afterward. Plus, the Hayes family was independently wealthy and Mrs. Garfield didn't have the ongoing resources.... Plus the Garfield family gradually sold off a lot of the surrounding land to make ends meet.
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