A few years ago, my husband and I took a road trip to Pennsylvania. As we drove across I-80, we stopped for a break in Fremont, Ohio. That's how we came to spend a fun afternoon touring the Rutherford B. Hayes museum and home. It was the start of a great hobby.
My first presidential museum was in my hometown -- Lancaster, Pennsylvania -- at Wheatland, home of James Buchanan. When I was 15, I became a volunteer guide there. I'd ride my bike to Wheatland, where I'd climb to the attic to dress in my hoop skirt and long green dress. I loved giving tours and only later learned what a depressingly mediocre president Buchanan had been.
Our current project has given us a kaleidoscope of our history, from Martin Van Buren in the early 1800s to Lincoln, Grant, Garfield and McKinley in the late 1800s and Teddy Roosevelt, Hoover, FDR, JFK, and LBJ in the 20th century.
The most recent 13 presidents have grand museums and libraries in buildings of architectural splendor. But there's a museum for every president, often in the family home. Rest assured, the ones we've been to offer tours led by guides who are much more knowledgeable than I was.
All the museums we've visited have provided a window into an era, along with a somewhat partisan portrayal of the president. I've been impressed by the very different people who have served as president -- men with a wide variety of abilities and temperaments.
There's a chance that maybe -- just maybe -- this will reassure those who are dreading January 20.
I'm Deborah Booth, and that's my perspective.
