Within a week, we have jumped from
having to wear several layers of clothes to stay warm to sweltering heat. Our motorhome, our Jeep, and the places we
visit while in Kansas City (except the ballpark) are all air-conditioned – you
have to be thankful for the little things. . .
Tuesday we set off for Abilene,
Kansas – which was over a two hour drive back west- to the Dwight D. Eisenhower
Museum and Library. Time flies when you
are having fun and with Karen and Greg along, the drive wasn’t bad.
The Eisenhower complex was just
that, a collection of buildings and outdoor spaces that encompassed a large
city block. As with the Nixon library,
Ike’s boyhood home was on the grounds.
It wasn’t moved there, it stands in its original location. The Eisenhower family lived in this house
from the time he was 8 years old in 1898 (Ike was born in Denison, Texas) until
his mother passed away in 1946. At that
time, World War II had just ended and Eisenhower was a world famous 5 star general;
the architect of D-Day as the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces. His 5 brothers formed the Eisenhower
Foundation to preserve their boyhood home and open it to the public. This was way before there was even a thought
of him running for president. What
foresight!
Just because of where we parked,
we walked first to The Meditation Chapel.
We hadn’t even been to the visitor center so we weren’t sure what this
was. It is a small chapel that is the
final resting spot for Dwight and Mamie and their first-born son, Doud Dwight,
who died of scarlet fever when he was 3.
Beyond the marble slabs that cover the graves are several rows of pews
that do invite quiet reflection.
We walked into the visitor center
just as they were starting a film on Eisenhower’s life so we watched that and
proceeded to the home. There a volunteer
gave us a tour of the home. We could see
all the rooms except the upstairs, but they had photos of the three
bedrooms. The furnishings are all
original. Ike’s parents had seven
boys. One died in infancy, so the six
kids and their parents shared the spaces.
Arthur, as the oldest, always had his own room, which left the other 5
boys to share one bedroom. (Dwight was the 3rd oldest). His mom, Ida, was a pacifist, and did not
like the idea of her son entering the military.
But Ike wanted an education and attending West Point gave him the
opportunity he couldn’t otherwise afford. A cute story, and a lesson for all
mothers: When the hero returned to
Abilene after the war, the city threw a big homecoming for Ike. A reporter said to Ida, “You must be so proud
of your son.” “I am,” Ida replied. “Which one are you referring to?”
Just a short walk pass the house
is the museum. We found this
presidential museum interesting because the greater part of the exhibits
focused on his military career. It was
like taking a course in World War II.
Whereas Harry, Bess and Margaret Truman, as a family, were prominently
featured in Truman’s museum the day before, there was very little on Ike’s
personal life. On our own, we kind of
put two and two together and deduced that he and Bess had one other child, a
son John (father of 4, including David Eisenhower, who is married to Julie
Nixon). There was a section on Mamie as
First Lady with displays of her inaugural outfits, White House social events,
etc. And the last section of the museum
did have videos of the Eisenhower grandchildren talking about Mamie, but that
was about as personal as it got.
After the war ended, Ike held
several positions within the military.
He then became President of Columbia University in New York in 1948, his
first civilian job since leaving Abilene.
When 1951 rolled around, President Truman urged Eisenhower to run for
president as a Democrat in 1952. Truman
was ready to go home to Independence.
Ike had never professed a political affiliation, but in 1952 he declared
himself a Republican and with a massive groundswell of support, he became the
Republican candidate, defeating Adlai Stevenson in a landslide.
Highlights of his 8 years in
office include: the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the formation of NASA,
and the near eradication of polio with the widespread inoculation program using
the vaccine developed by Jonas Salk. We
can all be thankful for one other achievement of the Eisenhower
presidency: the establishment of
National Interstate Highway system. We
can testify as to how much easier it is to see this great country by traveling
on well-maintained highways.
One section of the museum
showcased life in the 50’s. They had
music and TV shows of the era playing on the devices from back then. A replica of a typical 50’s living room
reminded me of the old TV show “Happy Days”.
I took a picture of one of the info boards. It explains the era far better than I could.
Ike’s post-presidency years were
spent on his farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where he painted, read and wrote
his memoirs.
Thinking I had missed it, I asked
Mike and Karen and Greg where and how Eisenhower died. They didn’t see anything on that either; just
about the funeral. We had to look on the
Internet to learn that he died of congestive heart failure in Walter Reed
Hospital in Washington, D.C. on March 28, 1969.
His wife Mamie Doud Eisenhower, whom he married on July 1, 1916, lived
for ten more years and died in 1979.
Across from the museum, in a
separate building, was the Eisenhower library.
Some presidential libraries are housed within the museum- on a different
level or attached wing. We haven’t been
to them all, (not yet, anyway!) but I can only think of two other presidential museums
that I have been to where the library is in a separate building: Abraham Lincoln’s in Springfield (across the
street) and our own Gerald Ford. His
museum is in his hometown of Grand Rapids and his library is on the grounds of
his alma mater – the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Libraries are used for research, so we just
walked into the lobby (quite impressive, with marble columns) and didn’t go any
further. Heavens, no. As it is, Mike gets through these museums in
half the time I do. Thinking he must not
be looking at everything, I’ll say, “Did you see such and such?” He always says yes, and backs it up with
finishing what the info was. And can you
imagine how long these posts would be if I sat at a desk and poured over books
and papers? Nobody would read the blog!
The grounds also have a statue of
General Eisenhower (in retirement he preferred to be addressed as such, instead
of Mr. President) and 5 large concrete pylons representing his 5 star general
status.
When we left, the temperature
gauge on the dash of the Jeep read 101, which prompted a stop at the Abilene
Dairy Queen before the drive back to Kansas City!
At the visitor center, Greg had
bought a movie on the events leading up to D-Day so we had a relaxing morning
on Wednesday, having breakfast and watching Tom Selleck’s portrayal of
Ike. All too soon, we had to take Greg
and Karen back to the airport. We had an
absolutely terrific time while they were with us.
Thursday we will be headed to
Iowa, our 16th state!
Engraved on one side of the burial site
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