HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

HAPPY 4TH  OF JULY

Well we are halfway through the year and the the summer heat has settled in. Temperatures here in the New River Valley have been in the mid-90's with high humidity. So I have been staying pretty close to home.  I have been doing my daily walk in the morning and even though it was still hot I have been      averaging 5 to 6 miles in about 90-minutes.

Usually, I can sit on my back deck and watch the annual 4th of July fireworks from the High School, but this year due to construction on the Football field they have moved them about two miles away. I haven't decided if I am going to make the effort to walk down the Huckleberry Trail and steak out a vantage point or just take a a chance I will be able to see some of them from the house.  I do know that I am not going to drive anywhere as in years past traffic immediately before and after the fireworks has been totally horrendous.

Since retiring I have had time to rediscover some of the simple pleasures of life. One thing that I enjoy doing each day is reading. I have always enjoyed reading but while I was working I failed to make time for reading a good book.

I love history and over the last few month have read several books dealing with American History, including "The Last Stand" by Nathaniel Philbrick which deal with Custer's March to the the Little Big Horn.

I just finished "The President Is Dead." by Louis Picone, which deals with the death and funeral of our Presidents.  It is a unique look at the final days, funerals and burials of our Presidents; from George Washington to Gerald Ford.

I found it very interesting that more than a third of our Presidents have been reinterred, several more than once.  Abraham Lincoln was reinterred a total of six times, giving new meaning to "Rest In Peace."

One of the most known of the presidential facts is three presidents have died on the 4th of July. Both Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams died on the same day, July 4, 1826, which was the 5th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. James Monroe, our 5th President died on July 4, 1831. There has been only one President born on the 4th of July and that was our 30th President, Calvin Coolidge.

As we celebrate our Independence I thought that I would share some of the more interesting facts about the deaths of our presidents with you.

1.  George Washington was our first president and he was the first to die.

2.  After Washington died it would be 26 years before another president would die.

3.  Following Washington Death, the 2nd and 3rd President (John Adams & Thomas Jefferson) died on the same day - July 4, 1826.

4.  The original obelisk that marked the grave of Thomas Jefferson is currently displayed on the Campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia.

5. John Adams was the first President to have his funeral held in a Church.

6. James Monroe was the first President not to die in his own home. He died at the home of his daughter in New York City. The building no longer exists.

7. James Madison buried in the family cemetery at Montpelier. His grave was unmarked for over 21 Years. His parents are resting in the same cemetery and the location of their graves are unknown and unmarked.

8. William Henry Harrison was the first President to Die in office. He server only 31 days in office.

9.  Sam Houston traveled from Texas to Nashville to visit his old Friend Andrew Jackson, but arrived too late.  Houston arrived just 2-hours after Old Hickory had taken his last breath.

10.  John Quincy Adams was the first president to serve in Congress after leaving office.  He died in the Speakers Room at the United States Capitol. His body was the first President to be Transported by Funeral Train.

11.  James K. Polk died just 103 days after leaving office.

12.  Zachary Taylor was the last President to have his body exhumed and reinterred. His body was exhumed in June 1991 so that DNA samples could be taken to determine the cause of death. His remains were reinterred in his tomb at the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky.

13. John Tyler is the only President to be buried under the colors of a "foreign" nation.  After serving as the 10th President, Tyler was elected to the Confederate Congress.  He died in January 1862 and because he was member of the Confederate Congress he was buried under the colors of the Confederate Flag.

14. After leaving office, Martin Van Buren saw 8 different men hold the office Of President.

15. Abraham Lincoln was the first President to be Assassinated. Following his death his body was transported from Washing to Springfield, Illinois by Funeral Train.  His remains have been reinterred 6-time, the most of any President.

16. Jame Buchanan was the only bachelor president.

17. Franklin Pierce was good friends with Jefferson Davis and corresponded with him while he was in prison and lobbied for his eventual release.

18. A medal detector invented by Alexander Graham Bell was used by doctors to search for the bullet lodged in President James Garfield's back.

19. The Tomb of President Ulysses S. Grant is the largest mausoleum in the United States

20. Abner Doubleday marched in the funeral of President Zachary Taylor and then 35-years later marched in the funeral of President Ulysses S. Grant.

21. Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston was an honorary pallbearer at the funerals of General William T. Sherman and President Ulysses S. Grant.

22. J. M. Toucey was the engineer of the funeral train for both President Abraham Lincoln and President Chester A. Arthur.

23. Rutherford B. Hayes war horse "Old Whitey" is buried Near Him.

24. Rutherford B. Hayes home - Spiegle Grove has 31 rooms - 18 of which are bedrooms.

25. Benjamin Harrison was the first president to die in the 20th Century.

26. James Whitcomb Riley served as a pallbearer for President Benjamin Harrison. Riley is buried on the hill overlooking President Harrison's Grave.

27. The site of President William McKinley's assassination is marked by a small historical marker on Fordham Avenue between Elmwood Avenue and Lincoln Parkway in Buffalo, New York.

28. The Milburn House where President McKinley Died was torn down in 1957 and the site is now a parking lot. A historical marker stands near the site.

29. President Grover Cleveland was born when Martin Van Buren Was president and died during the administration of Theodore Roosevelt. A period that spanned 19-Presidents.

30. President Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to have has remains transported by an automobile.

31. President Warren G. Harding was the third Ohio Born President to die in office.

32. President Warren G. Harding was the first president to die on the West Coast (San Francisco, California.)

 33. President Woodrow Wilson is resting in the Washington National Cathedral.

34. The House in Washington, D. C. where President William Howard Taft died, was later used as the Syrian Embassy.

35. President Calvin Coolidge is buried in New Hampshire,  further north than any other President.

36. President Franklin Roosevelt was the first president to be buried at the site of his birth.

37. Blackjack, the riderless horse who participated in the Funeral of President John Kennedy, also participated in the funerals of Presidents Herbert Hoover and Lyndon Johnson.

38. President Herbert Hoover was born during the administration of President Ulysses Grant and died during the administration of President Lyndon Johnson. Like President Grover Cleveland, a period that spanned 19-presidents.

39. President Dwight Eisenhower was buried in his military uniform and an $80.00 Military Casket.

40. Following his death the remains of President Harry Truman never left the State Of Missouri.

41. President Lyndon Johnson died only 28-day after attending the Funeral of President Harry Truman.

42. President Lyndon Johnson Body was transported from Texas to Washington on board the same plane (SAM 26000) that he took the oath of office following the assassination of President Kennedy

What better way to celebrate our Freedom and Independence that with a little Lee Greenwood!