21 May ‘09
Thursday
Grand Rapids, Michigan was the home of a young war hero from WWII. Following his discharge from the Navy in 1946 he went back to Grand Rapids and the Ford Paint and Preservative Company. Soon he found himself running for the office in the US House of Representatives. Prior to running for office, he met and married a local girl Elizabeth (Betty) Bloomer Warren (her second marriage). Born as Leslie Lynch King, Jr., Representative Gerald Ford was quickly making a name for himself in politics. His name was so well known in the ranks of the Republican Party, that when Spiro Agnew was forced to resign his office as Vice President under the Presidency of Nixon, Ford was brought forward. Then, President Nixon was soon to find himself caught up in a mess with Watergate and he was forced to resign… Welcome Gerald Ford…the 38th President of the United States of America.
Thursday
Grand Rapids, Michigan was the home of a young war hero from WWII. Following his discharge from the Navy in 1946 he went back to Grand Rapids and the Ford Paint and Preservative Company. Soon he found himself running for the office in the US House of Representatives. Prior to running for office, he met and married a local girl Elizabeth (Betty) Bloomer Warren (her second marriage). Born as Leslie Lynch King, Jr., Representative Gerald Ford was quickly making a name for himself in politics. His name was so well known in the ranks of the Republican Party, that when Spiro Agnew was forced to resign his office as Vice President under the Presidency of Nixon, Ford was brought forward. Then, President Nixon was soon to find himself caught up in a mess with Watergate and he was forced to resign… Welcome Gerald Ford…the 38th President of the United States of America.
After 29 months as President, he had to retire to “Past President” after losing his re-election bid to Jimmy Carter. We drove into Grand Rapids this morning with full intentions of spending as much time as it took to take in the scope of “The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum”. The physical look of the structure was just as I would expect, but it was the interior that really made it a “Presidential” library and museum.
We were also lucky enough to be here at the same time as the roving display of the “White House”.
The White House in miniature was built to scale by John and Jan Zweifel and their 6 children. The scale is one inch to one foot and features postage sized televisions which actually receive local television broadcasts, hand carved chairs and tables (of the same wood that the originals are made from), “lighted” chandeliers, and much more… Even the carpet is hand made with 900 stitches per square inch which took over 4 years to complete. As you walk around the model you can look into the many windows to see just what the White House and the adjoining buildings looked like during the times of the Presidencies from Truman through Clinton. This was much more enjoyable than I thought it would be…I guess you’re never too old for surprises… Out of the 3 plus hours that we spent at the library/museum, most of it was spent touring through the many display rooms depicting the personal life of Gerald Ford from young child to the Presidency of the United States of America. A day well spent…