“Where is Mamie Eisenhower’s 1955 Chrysler limousine? I would like to see it again. I once installed some Secret Service equipment on it when Mrs. Eisenhower was using it after the presidency.”
- Anonymous
This week’s “Ask and Archivist” question at the Eisenhower Library comes from Washington State. For the answer, read more here.
PHOTO CAPTION: On November 14, 1955, President Eisenhower rode through Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in the rear of a 1955 Chrysler Imperial limousine that was part of the White House fleet.
-from the Eisenhower Library
Harry S. Truman at a Surprise Poker Party
Photo: Surprise poker party at the home of A. J. & Mildred Granoff, on the occasion of A. J. Granoff’s 60th birthday. Seated at the poker table in the lower left hand corner are: Frank Rope, A. D. “Doc” Jacobson, former President Harry S. Truman, Hy Vile (standing), A. J. Granoff, and Harry Small. 2/22/56.
-from the Truman Library
Source: trumanlibrary.org
Upon Ronald Reagan’s re-election, supporters sported this political pin.
Source: facebook.com
A souvenir liquor bottle from the 1953 Inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Source: facebook.com
Some of the wildest campaign slogans come from the 1940 Presidential campaign:
FDR’s Republican opponent in 1940 was Wendell Willkie, a business leader with no experience in political office. Willkie and the Republicans focused considerable criticism on Roosevelt’s attempt to win a third term.
While there was no constitutional barrier to a third term in 1940, no president had ever exceeded the two-term precedent established by George Washington. The fifteen Willkie campaign buttons seen above include many with a “third term” theme. There are also buttons aimed at Eleanor Roosevelt—reflecting the First Lady’s high profile in Washington.
Despite this chapter in their political history, Wilkie and FDR went on to become allies!
You can read more about their strange story on the blog of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library.
Image: Campaign buttons, FDR Presidential Library.
The White House Press Corps of 1948?
A view of the Press Car on President Truman’s train showing reporters working at typewriters. The reporters were traveling with Harry S. Truman during while he was campaigning for the 1948 election.
Source: trumanlibrary.org
Thirty four more days until the Presidential election. In the coming weeks, the Presidential Libraries will be featuring memorabilia, photos, and documents from campaigns of the past century.
Up first, a campaign comic book created for the 1952 election. A Republican senatorial campaign in Rhode Island promoted the GOP slate by making the most of Dwight Eisenhower’s heroic image as “Leader, Statesman, Administrator, Presidential Candidate.”
Happy October!
Source: presidentialtimeline.org
Lou Henry Hoover at the oven with a Girl Scout Troop - Could they be baking up some Girl Scout Cookies?
The Girl Scout movement was First Lady Lou’s passion. She once said:
“I was a Scout years ago, before the movement ever started, when my father took me hunting, fishing and hiking in the mountains. Then I was sorry that more girls could not have what I had. When I learned of the movement I thought, here is what I always wanted other girls to have.”
Source: hoover.archives.gov
Betty’s family in the Fifties
Betty Ford holding infant Jack in her arms while Michael plays at a small table in their apartment. 1952.
Source: presidentialtimeline.org
