You are a gifted story teller, Ken. Thank you for the Dead Presidents Society detailed summary of your trips. It was enjoyable to read. I have not seen the story of West Point cadets visiting Fort Ticonderoga anywhere else. How interesting for the cadets to go through, and for Fort Ticonderoga to provide such a unique experience for them. Thank you!
Thank you Ken for a wonderful piece! With your interest in our US presidents I would encourage you to visit the Red Lion Inn located in Stockbridge Massachusetts, which over the years has hosted six U.S. presidents: Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, and Franklin Roosevelt. Others that have stayed there include Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Cullen Bryant and Henry Wordsworth Longfellow. You can also visit the Norman Rockwell Museum just five minutes from the hotel. PS my wife and I have enjoyed staying there over the years.
I actually had a birthday lunch there a couple years ago before visiting the Rockwell Museum, but I had no idea it had such a rich history of U.S. presidents.
You should write a book about your travels to the homes and resting places of our former presidents. We've visited some, but not all. I am in awe of Springwood and Top Cottage, home to my favorite president and I hope to return for many more visits.
I can scratch one of my bucket list and that would be #45 who has sullied the office of President of the United States. I prefer to forget him if ever I can.
There are actually books that chronicle the gravesite tour. While visiting Franklin Pierce's grave in New Hampshire, someone had left a book there that reviewed each of the presidential gravesites.
I have corresponded with her - Paula Collins. I suggested she talk up the women's reproductive health and rights issue. Explain the threats some pregnancy complications pose to physical health and even life .... how no one should wait in a hospital parking lot for sepsis to "qualify" her for medical care. She answered my email almost immediately. She assured me she was "100%" on my page, and would start including such matters in her campaign communications. I'm betting women in Saranac and Indian Lake are as furious about the overturning of Roe as women in Brooklyn. It's a winning issue!
don’t know how many people read your substack, ken, but mentioning paula collins every so often might persuade some of them to chip in. you never know, elies (intentional misspelling, and it fits) could lose on the abortion issue alone. because every time abortion access has been on a ballot since dobbs, the pro-choice position has prevailed. i’ve spoken with paula collins, and she’s fierce. but she’ll need help. https://www.paulacollinsforcongress.com
Obviously not in her district - and we have a Repub. Rep in our own. I have to admit in many areas he does seem to do good work BUT like other Repubs. also votes with his mob a good deal. So hope someone runs against him.
I really hope shes successful against Stefanik - altho if the orange whosis "picks" her for his VP - just think - she would have to step down from Congress. Whether thats worth it?
I remember watching an interview with Stefanik where she claimed not remembering what bills she voted for or against! Really? Not an uplifting picture of anyone's representative, is it?
Hi Ken. I love your column, and I'm thrilled every time you push back against the Sycophant Stefanik. As for funding, yes it's an issue. But I also think this is a campaign season in which it comes down to one voter talking to another, asking their elders what they are going to do when Social Security is cut, or asking people how they like having the price caps on things like insulin. Money is important, but it's not everything. Ultimately, it doesn't cost a dime to show up at the polls and cast a vote. (At least not yet in America!) We should not feel defeated because the candidate on the opposing side has more money. If that were the case, why should any of us vote? Just check the FEC reports and call it a day.
Remember: in March, the Biden/Harris campaign raised $155 million compared to the multiply-indicted Trump's $44 million raise that month. And still, the polls show the candidates competing within the margin of error.
This election, perhaps more so than any other election, is not about money. Talk to your neighbors. Talk to your weird cousins and elderly relatives who voted for Bush. Let them know -- if they are frustrated with government right now, Project 2025 assures us that the government we know right now will cease to exist if the MAGA Machine is restored to the White House.
Sorry, my cynicism is a symptom of being a long-time journalist and seeing the role that money plays in swaying voters. Challengers have from time to time surprised us - Kirsten Gillibrand's upset of John Sweeney here comes to mind - so I wish you all the luck in a large geographic area that seems to be getting more and more conservative with each redrawing of the district.
I'm not sure my wife always agreed. We were visiting Chicago and I insisted on renting a car for the three-hour drive out into Iowa to see Herbert Hoover. It was actually a nice day.
When my cousin Afsheen told me that he spent most of his vacation time traveling to visit the homes of former presidents I thought it was a little odd, but kind of charming. I’m not sure when Afsheen came to the US from Kabul. It’s possible he arrived before 1979 and is one of the roughly 15% of us first cousins who were not refugees from various wars in Afghanistan over time, but either way it seemed to me a hobby few Americans shared. But Irish, Afghan, American … not all that different. We all had our problems with the British.
Enjoyed reading your Dead Presidents Society journeys. Coincidentally, I was in Indianapolis this weekend for our grandson's graduation from Purdue. As my husband's middle name is Harrison because he supposedly is a direct descendent of President Benjamin Harrison, we toured his home/museum. However, I couldn't convince the rest of the family to visit his grave. We have, however, visited Presidents Coolidge, Washington, FDR, and Jefferson's homes and gravesites, but we've got a long way to go to tie your record! As far as our congresswoman's integrity and ability to be a truth teller, I gave up on that a long time ago.
The great thing is that there are so many presidents within driving distance here to Glens Falls including Chester Arthur in Albany and Calvin Coolidge in Plymouth Notch, Vt.
We've been to Coolidge's home in Plymouth Notch - what a gorgeous area! I will have to check out Arthur's gravesite in Albany, and Van Buren's home/gravesite in Kinderhook.
Arthur has a very interesting sarcophagus. It is worth the look. Van Buren's house was recently renovated and they did a great job with it. The cemetery is nearby.
Thirteen republican party members lie about the monies "they" provided for their constituents and 100% (or close to it) of their fellow party members are shameless obstructionists, constituents and country, democracy ideals be damned. It is hard not to be cynical about partisanship and politics in our country, but it is also a responsibility to be truthful. Thank you Ken, for your persistent work.
I agree and we must do it doggedly. I wanted to acknowledge that there have been bi-partisan laws passed in recent history, and also acknowledge that both parties "play politics" when they see fit.
One of my very favorite museums in the world is the Truman Museum in Independence, Missouri. So well curated. I could visit every week and still stand there in awe.
And somewhere in Bush International Airport in Houston was a bronze statue of Papa Bush with the necktie flying in the wind. Epic.
Calling your friend John to announce your achievement was a terrific ending to your story that really isn't "finished." I worry about poor Jimmy Carter who was only hoping to stay alive long enough to keep his wife company.
I had not talked to John in years so that was a nice extra benefit. I've also seen folks online with their web pages and version of the Dead Presidents Society where they have photos of themselves at each grave. I have a photo at each gravesite, except one - Lincoln. I was alone and I asked this older couple to take my photo, but for some reason the photo did not come out. Way before digital.
There is a bit of dark humor to all this. When we returned from seeing the Reagan library, I was afraid to turn on the news. I thought for sure that I would read that Jimmy Carter had died.
Congratulations Ken! I'm sure the visits to presidential graves was a fascinating history lesson. While I don't wish ill of anyone, I hope that the next grave you visit (I'm assuming and hoping you will be around long after the 45th and 46th presidents expire) is to our current president grave and that you will skip the 45th president, who I consider at least as treasonist as Jefferson Davis.
I think a good case can be made for Jeffersons Davis comparison. I'm not inclined to visit the 45th president. They would have to have an entire wing of his library on documented lies.
Such an enjoyable recap of your years-long quest! Congrats!
Laughed out loud at the line that some might have wondered what you were celebrating at Reagan's grave. Well done :-)
There have been several odd looks in cemeteries as I set the timer on my camera for a photo.
You are a gifted story teller, Ken. Thank you for the Dead Presidents Society detailed summary of your trips. It was enjoyable to read. I have not seen the story of West Point cadets visiting Fort Ticonderoga anywhere else. How interesting for the cadets to go through, and for Fort Ticonderoga to provide such a unique experience for them. Thank you!
Kudos go to my son who found the mention on the West Point History Department side. He is the real history nerd.
Thank you Ken for a wonderful piece! With your interest in our US presidents I would encourage you to visit the Red Lion Inn located in Stockbridge Massachusetts, which over the years has hosted six U.S. presidents: Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, and Franklin Roosevelt. Others that have stayed there include Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Cullen Bryant and Henry Wordsworth Longfellow. You can also visit the Norman Rockwell Museum just five minutes from the hotel. PS my wife and I have enjoyed staying there over the years.
The Red Lion Inn is beautiful, especially around Christmas time. The whole area is lovely.
I actually had a birthday lunch there a couple years ago before visiting the Rockwell Museum, but I had no idea it had such a rich history of U.S. presidents.
You should write a book about your travels to the homes and resting places of our former presidents. We've visited some, but not all. I am in awe of Springwood and Top Cottage, home to my favorite president and I hope to return for many more visits.
I can scratch one of my bucket list and that would be #45 who has sullied the office of President of the United States. I prefer to forget him if ever I can.
There are actually books that chronicle the gravesite tour. While visiting Franklin Pierce's grave in New Hampshire, someone had left a book there that reviewed each of the presidential gravesites.
Yes, but your side stories are interesting as well. Glad you haven't been caught (yet)!
Still amazes me that she can so flawlessly lie! have you looked into the democrat lawyer who's running against her???
I have corresponded with her - Paula Collins. I suggested she talk up the women's reproductive health and rights issue. Explain the threats some pregnancy complications pose to physical health and even life .... how no one should wait in a hospital parking lot for sepsis to "qualify" her for medical care. She answered my email almost immediately. She assured me she was "100%" on my page, and would start including such matters in her campaign communications. I'm betting women in Saranac and Indian Lake are as furious about the overturning of Roe as women in Brooklyn. It's a winning issue!
Sadly, without major fundraising even the best of candidates are going to struggle against the Stefanik political machine.
don’t know how many people read your substack, ken, but mentioning paula collins every so often might persuade some of them to chip in. you never know, elies (intentional misspelling, and it fits) could lose on the abortion issue alone. because every time abortion access has been on a ballot since dobbs, the pro-choice position has prevailed. i’ve spoken with paula collins, and she’s fierce. but she’ll need help. https://www.paulacollinsforcongress.com
Thanks for the link, Steve. Did send a donation to her.
thanks. every little bit helps.
Obviously not in her district - and we have a Repub. Rep in our own. I have to admit in many areas he does seem to do good work BUT like other Repubs. also votes with his mob a good deal. So hope someone runs against him.
I really hope shes successful against Stefanik - altho if the orange whosis "picks" her for his VP - just think - she would have to step down from Congress. Whether thats worth it?
heck, i don’t even vote in ny state, let alone cd21. but elies is just so execrable.
I certainly will try. There have been various candidates who have come and gone so I guess I was waiting for the dust to settle.
I remember watching an interview with Stefanik where she claimed not remembering what bills she voted for or against! Really? Not an uplifting picture of anyone's representative, is it?
Hi Ken. I love your column, and I'm thrilled every time you push back against the Sycophant Stefanik. As for funding, yes it's an issue. But I also think this is a campaign season in which it comes down to one voter talking to another, asking their elders what they are going to do when Social Security is cut, or asking people how they like having the price caps on things like insulin. Money is important, but it's not everything. Ultimately, it doesn't cost a dime to show up at the polls and cast a vote. (At least not yet in America!) We should not feel defeated because the candidate on the opposing side has more money. If that were the case, why should any of us vote? Just check the FEC reports and call it a day.
Remember: in March, the Biden/Harris campaign raised $155 million compared to the multiply-indicted Trump's $44 million raise that month. And still, the polls show the candidates competing within the margin of error.
This election, perhaps more so than any other election, is not about money. Talk to your neighbors. Talk to your weird cousins and elderly relatives who voted for Bush. Let them know -- if they are frustrated with government right now, Project 2025 assures us that the government we know right now will cease to exist if the MAGA Machine is restored to the White House.
Sorry, my cynicism is a symptom of being a long-time journalist and seeing the role that money plays in swaying voters. Challengers have from time to time surprised us - Kirsten Gillibrand's upset of John Sweeney here comes to mind - so I wish you all the luck in a large geographic area that seems to be getting more and more conservative with each redrawing of the district.
Go, Paula!
Mary Ellen -- another Collins! Surely we are related hundreds of years back in Ireland. Let me know where you are. It would be good to meet some day.
Hey, congratulations on completing your mission! I'm a little O.C.D. too, and I know how good the triumph feels.
How impressive!!! Well done!
Love this fun way to see the country and the past president’s graves
I'm not sure my wife always agreed. We were visiting Chicago and I insisted on renting a car for the three-hour drive out into Iowa to see Herbert Hoover. It was actually a nice day.
Dead Presidents piece inspired me to finally pay up for the enjoyment you bring regularly.
Will and I both appreciate your support.
When my cousin Afsheen told me that he spent most of his vacation time traveling to visit the homes of former presidents I thought it was a little odd, but kind of charming. I’m not sure when Afsheen came to the US from Kabul. It’s possible he arrived before 1979 and is one of the roughly 15% of us first cousins who were not refugees from various wars in Afghanistan over time, but either way it seemed to me a hobby few Americans shared. But Irish, Afghan, American … not all that different. We all had our problems with the British.
Enjoyed reading your Dead Presidents Society journeys. Coincidentally, I was in Indianapolis this weekend for our grandson's graduation from Purdue. As my husband's middle name is Harrison because he supposedly is a direct descendent of President Benjamin Harrison, we toured his home/museum. However, I couldn't convince the rest of the family to visit his grave. We have, however, visited Presidents Coolidge, Washington, FDR, and Jefferson's homes and gravesites, but we've got a long way to go to tie your record! As far as our congresswoman's integrity and ability to be a truth teller, I gave up on that a long time ago.
We've also visited Eisenhower's Gettysburg farm in PA, but have not been to his Kansas grave.
I've been to the farm too. Loved the pink bathroom for the general.
The great thing is that there are so many presidents within driving distance here to Glens Falls including Chester Arthur in Albany and Calvin Coolidge in Plymouth Notch, Vt.
We've been to Coolidge's home in Plymouth Notch - what a gorgeous area! I will have to check out Arthur's gravesite in Albany, and Van Buren's home/gravesite in Kinderhook.
Arthur has a very interesting sarcophagus. It is worth the look. Van Buren's house was recently renovated and they did a great job with it. The cemetery is nearby.
Thirteen republican party members lie about the monies "they" provided for their constituents and 100% (or close to it) of their fellow party members are shameless obstructionists, constituents and country, democracy ideals be damned. It is hard not to be cynical about partisanship and politics in our country, but it is also a responsibility to be truthful. Thank you Ken, for your persistent work.
I'd like to think we are fighting the good fight.
I agree and we must do it doggedly. I wanted to acknowledge that there have been bi-partisan laws passed in recent history, and also acknowledge that both parties "play politics" when they see fit.
One of my very favorite museums in the world is the Truman Museum in Independence, Missouri. So well curated. I could visit every week and still stand there in awe.
And somewhere in Bush International Airport in Houston was a bronze statue of Papa Bush with the necktie flying in the wind. Epic.
The recent presidential libraries - Nixon, Ford, H.W, Bush and Reagan - are all very well done and worth seeing.
You had me looking for maybe an actual " Dead Presidents Society group" on the web....and although there are alllll kinds of musical groups, movies, etc.....there are also stories a little like yours......https://wamu.org/story/12/10/19/road_tripper_treks_to_presidential_resting_places/
Calling your friend John to announce your achievement was a terrific ending to your story that really isn't "finished." I worry about poor Jimmy Carter who was only hoping to stay alive long enough to keep his wife company.
I had not talked to John in years so that was a nice extra benefit. I've also seen folks online with their web pages and version of the Dead Presidents Society where they have photos of themselves at each grave. I have a photo at each gravesite, except one - Lincoln. I was alone and I asked this older couple to take my photo, but for some reason the photo did not come out. Way before digital.
There is a bit of dark humor to all this. When we returned from seeing the Reagan library, I was afraid to turn on the news. I thought for sure that I would read that Jimmy Carter had died.
Congratulations Ken! I'm sure the visits to presidential graves was a fascinating history lesson. While I don't wish ill of anyone, I hope that the next grave you visit (I'm assuming and hoping you will be around long after the 45th and 46th presidents expire) is to our current president grave and that you will skip the 45th president, who I consider at least as treasonist as Jefferson Davis.
I think a good case can be made for Jeffersons Davis comparison. I'm not inclined to visit the 45th president. They would have to have an entire wing of his library on documented lies.
You are just SO lucky. I’m envious.😊