RUTHERFORD B. HAYES - Fremont, Ohio
19th President
2nd in my collection |
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Once the hobby officially started, I could not help but plan to visit
the most nearby sites, just to give it a try. I was fond of spending
bored Sundays driving in the countryside, so I was delighted to
calculate that we could drive from Detroit to Fremont, Ohio and back
(if we got an early start) with little effort. On the first warm
Sunday, we took off south.
We arrived in Fremont around 11 am and quickly spotted signs like
"Rutherford B Hayes Library next right". Now I get it! Any
president, by nature, is a "hometown hero" or "local
boy makes good". Of course they would be buried in their
hometown. Of course their grave site would be elaborate and well
maintained. They had been president. Hayes also had a presidential
library and museum. Later we would learn that many presidents,
especially later ones, would have such museums. Most of the recent
presidents have large buildings, even complexes, set aside to store
their personal papers and effects. The Hayes museum was a modest
affair (although larger than Harding's childhood home), taking up the
top floor of the Presidential library building. There were swords and
medals, maps and dioramas, and a pair of striking larger than life
oil paintings of President and Mrs Hayes, so large that it was
required to hang them along the wall of an open staircase.
 The
museum had been built on the Hayes home site, and the old house was
available to visit "out back". We poked around a little,
but have only passing interest in displays of period furniture and
antiques. The family grave site was also on the property, on a nearby
knoll, and very tastefully done. As I recall, Mrs Hayes passed away
first and the President buried her under a favorite tree on a
favorite small hill with a view of the surrounding countryside. He
eventually joined her there, and they shared a rough marble marker,
somewhat large and exuding quiet dignity. We took several pictures,
and I was delighted! I was ready to go home and start planning out
Presidential grave site road trips!
 Before
leaving, we stopped in at the gift shop (a mainstay, we would later
learn, of these Presidential sites). We encountered and immediately
purchased a book called "Presidents: Birthplaces, Homes, and
Burial Sites" authored by Rachel M Kochmann. The author, a
professional musician, lived in Sedona, AZ and had taken one long
monster road trip, obviously well organized, to visit each of the
significant locations of each of the presidents. She took nearly an
entire year to visit and photograph the various houses and roadside
markers, birthplaces and tombstones and organized them in her book by
president, rather than by state. By limiting my hobby to only graves,
I should be finished with godspeed. It was interesting to learn, for
instance, that Teddy Roosevelt had been sworn into office (upon
William McKinley's assassination) within 5 or so miles of Millard
Fillmore's final resting place. Boyhood homes crossed paths with
historic speeches and roadside markers and presented pictures and
stories from almost every state. This simple investment was a delight
to read and enjoy, and made our later trips very productive. I was
definitely hooked!
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