January 16, 2019 — First new initiative of newly reformed and expanded Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library & Museum Standing Committee (NORTHAMPTON, MA January 14, 2019) – A new book club dedicated to American presidents is being launched by the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library & Museum. The first meeting of the Presidential Book Club is scheduled for Monday, February 25th at 7:30 PM in the museum, which is located on the second floor of Forbes Library.…
Category: Calvin Coolidge
Death of a President
January 16, 2019 — by Rich Szlosek During the afternoon and evening of Thursday, January 5, 1933 the nation was stunned to learn of the death in Northampton of Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States. The official cause of death for the sixty year old Coolidge was listed as a coronary thrombosis and, while it was…
125 and Counting
January 1, 2019 — by Rich Szlosek With all the festivities that take place between Halloween and New Year’s Day, you likely have not noticed yet another ongoing celebration that is underway in the Northampton area. Forbes Library, which first opened to the public in 1894 is commemorating its 125th anniversary in 2019 with a year long series of events. …
VOTE!!!
September 9, 2014 — Tuesday September 9, 2014 is Primary Day in Massachusetts!Who would Coolidge vote for? The answer is a simple one. Calvin Coolidge would tell his constituents to get out and vote, to care about their government, and to exercise their duty as citizens. As you make your decision whether or not to go to the polls…
Vice President Charles Dawes-Part 2
June 30, 2014 — Coolidge left the selection of his vice presidential candidate to the 1924 convention delegates since that was how he had gotten the nomination in 1920. The Republican convention first nominated Illinois Governor Frank Lowden. He had already said he would not accept the office and promptly declined. So the convention turned to Charles G. Dawes,…
Vice President Dawes
June 16, 2014 — Illustrious ancestors, a profitable business career, and remarkable civilian and military government service does not guarantee successful electoral office. In Calvin Coolidge’s world, no one better demonstrates this than his vice president, Charles Gates Dawes. Although one of his forebears was the William Dawes who rode with Paul Revere to warn Lexington and Concord that…
Silent Cal Was Orator
December 2, 2013 — On September 4, 1923, the Associated Press (AP) reported that according to a biographical sketch in the Amherst College 25th Reunion Annual of the Class of 1895, Calvin Coolidge “always said something worth hearing.” When Calvin Coolidge became president after the sudden death of Warren G. Harding in August 1923, the country was anxious for…
Happy Thanksgiving
November 26, 2013 — “On this day, in home and church, in family and in public gatherings, the whole nation has for generations paid the tribute due from grateful hearts for blessings bestowed.” From Calvin Coolidge’s 1923 Thanksgiving Proclamation As President, Calvin Coolidge delivered a Thanksgiving Proclamation each year. Thanks to the American Presidency Project, you can read the complete proclamations…
Another Royal Visitor
November 4, 2013 — Queen Marie of Romania and her two youngest children, Prince Nicholas and Princess Ileana, traveled across the U.S. in 1926 with a stop in the capital to call on the President on their way to the State of Washington. Queen Marie was the consort of King Ferdinand and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Her father…
Coolidge and Al Smith: After Retirement
October 7, 2013 — Even if opposing politicians do not forge a political bond, they seem to have a personal bond – common stresses, family issues and experiences. Coolidge and Al Smith lunching with their wives on Friday, July 16, 1926 at White Pine Camp at Paul Smiths in the Adirondacks is an example. (See the last post.) Coolidge…
Coolidge and Al Smith: Summer 1926
September 2, 2013 — Coolidge had opportunities to meet and work with Democratic leaders during his lengthy career. Despite recent press coverage of President Obama and Governor Christie, working with officials of the other party is not new. The relationship between Calvin Coolidge and Alfred E. (Al) Smith, the Democratic Governor of New York, was based more on the…
The Prince of Wales and Other Royal Visitors
August 5, 2013 — In the 1920s, the President was expected to entertain on a demanding schedule steeped in tradition. Royals and foreign heads of state came to meet the President, even when the purpose of their trip took them primarily to other parts of the country. When compared with the annual receptions for the diplomatic corps, the Senate,…
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