1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of I Heart Radio. Welcome 2 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 1: to the show, Ridiculous Historians. Thank you so much for 3 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:34,240 Speaker 1: tuning in. If you've been paying attention to UH to 4 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: domestic US politics, you may have noticed that the current president, 5 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:42,200 Speaker 1: Donald Trump has been receiving a little bit of criticism 6 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:45,960 Speaker 1: for his golf habit and his trips to Mara Lago 7 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: in Florida. As a matter of fact, one of the 8 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,519 Speaker 1: things people point out in January was that the County 9 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 1: of Palm Beach estimates that his recent golf trips have 10 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 1: cost around thirteen point eight million, and just for local security. However, 11 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,720 Speaker 1: today's story is about a time when that wasn't maybe 12 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:10,240 Speaker 1: so bad. Hi, I'm Ben, Hey, Ben, I know it's sure. 13 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: You're talking about just local security. So that's just the 14 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:15,760 Speaker 1: hit that the local infrastructure and law enforcement takes, not 15 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:18,319 Speaker 1: to mention like all of the Secret Service and stuff on, 16 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: you know, the taxpayer side of things that goes into 17 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 1: a trip like that in this day and age. Right, 18 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:26,399 Speaker 1: but back, let's travel back in time, back to a 19 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:30,960 Speaker 1: simpler time, back to in Calvin Coolidge, the coolest name 20 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:35,959 Speaker 1: in presidential history was the president, right, and technically the 21 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:41,480 Speaker 1: coolest only because our super producer, Casey Pegram has not 22 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 1: yet accepted the people's call for him to run for office. 23 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: But hey, Casey, I think you and I talked about 24 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 1: this off air. Awhile ago. Uh you you said you 25 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: would never want that job. Is that correct? Yeah, that's correct. 26 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 1: That's um, that's a job for somebody else. Okay, well, 27 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 1: well we'll keep you in mind for an ambassadorship. Yes. 28 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 1: Alvin Coolidge, I love alliteration. Uh, as a bend bowling myself. 29 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:08,520 Speaker 1: Calvin Coolidge served as the thirtie president of the US 30 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:14,120 Speaker 1: from nineteen twenty three to nineteen twenty nine, and, like 31 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:19,280 Speaker 1: many presidents regardless of what political party you find yourself in, uh, 32 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 1: he was the subject of no small amount of criticism. 33 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 1: The famously witty and sharp tongue social critic H. L. 34 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 1: Mankin once described Coolidge's administration this way. Coolidge's chief feat, 35 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:38,520 Speaker 1: wrote Mankin, was to sleep more than any other president. 36 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 1: Not only was he lazy, but his perpetually dour expressions 37 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:46,919 Speaker 1: seemed to indicate he had been quote weaned on a 38 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: pickle ouch hl harsh words. I love how he's characterized 39 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:57,119 Speaker 1: as a quote professional deflator in this article from South 40 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: Dakota Magazine. So, yeah, it's true, and he he wasn't alone. 41 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 1: A lot of social critics from the time would certainly 42 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:09,239 Speaker 1: rag on our boy Coolidge. Um Mankin in particular was 43 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: one of the most acid tongue of the lot. But 44 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 1: but he did kind of speak for the zeitgeist at 45 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 1: the time. There there was a sense that Coolidge was 46 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:20,639 Speaker 1: a bit of a do nothing president, a bit of 47 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: a lazy bones let's say, right, yeah, it was actually 48 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:28,640 Speaker 1: and this is again according to South Dakota Magazine, difficult 49 00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:33,160 Speaker 1: to find people who had over the top, extraordinarily good 50 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:36,080 Speaker 1: things to say about President Coolidge. A lot of it 51 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:38,120 Speaker 1: had to do with just his demeanor. He was not 52 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 1: a particularly good order, which just we know makes a 53 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: huge difference in the way a president is perceived. He wasn't. 54 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:46,080 Speaker 1: He was a little bit. He was considered kind of 55 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: borish and a little bit ghost in his social behavior, 56 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 1: and just wasn't particularly clever in the way he comported himself. 57 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 1: And he just didn't have very very good people skills. 58 00:03:56,640 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 1: Let's say, right bedside manner goes a long way. He 59 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 1: was not quick on his feet in terms of the 60 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: funny factor. Uh, he was shy. He didn't have a 61 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: lot of the social niceties that would be expected of 62 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: the time. One of his common monikers or nicknames was 63 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:20,160 Speaker 1: silent cal Uh and people said he spoke as if 64 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:24,120 Speaker 1: he expected to live for one hundred years, but feared 65 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:27,679 Speaker 1: he had only been given enough words to last fifty years. 66 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 1: The literati, the tastemakers of the time said that he 67 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:37,160 Speaker 1: was just He was at best incredibly dull, if not 68 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 1: a genuine patent fool. That's right. And the business community 69 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:44,280 Speaker 1: liked him just fine, mainly because he didn't really do 70 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:47,600 Speaker 1: anything to upset the apple cart. You know, he was 71 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:51,040 Speaker 1: not pushing through some kind of crazy agenda of reforms 72 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:55,000 Speaker 1: that would have helped or hindered the business community. Therefore, 73 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:57,240 Speaker 1: as far as they were concerned, he was just fine 74 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 1: because he was allowing the status quo to remain, which 75 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 1: was quite lucrative. He was an establishment candidate, that's true. 76 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 1: The we're we're painting a pretty um I wouldn't say inaccurate, 77 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:14,680 Speaker 1: but we're painting a pretty critical picture of Coolidge at 78 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 1: this time. We do have to remember that he was 79 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:22,600 Speaker 1: still the president, which meant that whenever he was doing something, 80 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: whatever he was doing people would follow him, especially the press. 81 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 1: So this gave some people in Black Hills, South Dakota 82 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:36,320 Speaker 1: an idea. They had the lightbulb moment. Then Senator Peter 83 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:39,920 Speaker 1: Norbeck and a couple of his compatriots said, you know what, 84 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:43,720 Speaker 1: let's invite the President for a visit to Black Hills, 85 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: South Dakota. And for some reason everything just worked out. 86 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:53,039 Speaker 1: Fortune smiled upon them and good old silent cal agreed 87 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: to show up. We should point out also, this is 88 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:59,599 Speaker 1: in the days before air conditioning, which historians believe may 89 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: have played a role. Yeah, and it's easy to forget that, 90 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:06,760 Speaker 1: Um Washington, d C was sort of a planned community 91 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:08,880 Speaker 1: a plane, you know, a city that was built for 92 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,680 Speaker 1: a purpose a k a. The government on a quite 93 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 1: large swamp um And and when the summer months would hit, 94 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:20,600 Speaker 1: residents there um would be reminded of that fact by 95 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:25,280 Speaker 1: its muggy, stifling nastiness. Yeah. I've spent a lot of 96 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:27,920 Speaker 1: time at d C. When I was first going up there, 97 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:31,920 Speaker 1: especially in the spring and summer, I was so naive. 98 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 1: I just you look at the place on a map 99 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:36,760 Speaker 1: and you think, oh, it's it doesn't look like it's 100 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:40,080 Speaker 1: very far south, but it is still incredibly muggy. It's 101 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:43,000 Speaker 1: still definitely a swamp. That is not any kind of 102 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:48,080 Speaker 1: political statement. It's just environmentally, it is swamp weather. And 103 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:52,360 Speaker 1: this is especially tough for Coolidge because he had bronchitis, 104 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 1: and that kind of air can be very difficult for 105 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:58,880 Speaker 1: you if you have that condition. A wet, kind of sticky, 106 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 1: muggy situation not good. They always tend to people that 107 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 1: have chronic bronchial conditions or respiratory conditions are always um 108 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:10,600 Speaker 1: encouraged to go to where the air is dry. Two 109 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:14,560 Speaker 1: more arid climates like New Mexico or Arizona or California, 110 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 1: which were the Tombstone fans in the audience. Is how 111 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:21,080 Speaker 1: Doc Holiday ended up working with Wide Earth because of 112 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 1: his consumption he had moved out West Coolidge, of course, 113 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:29,760 Speaker 1: I'm gonna say it, in my opinion, based just on 114 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:34,120 Speaker 1: the fictional portrayals, not as cool as Doc Holiday. But 115 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:38,720 Speaker 1: few people aside from Casey are we know that he 116 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 1: had gone a couple of other places in earlier attempts 117 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:47,880 Speaker 1: to get away from that, Uh, that cloyone Washington swamp air. Right. Yes, 118 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: he was known to mass summer at the Massachusetts shore 119 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:54,640 Speaker 1: and uh, the following that was in and then the 120 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 1: following year. Um, he went to the Adirondack Mountains where 121 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:02,360 Speaker 1: they're famous for those chairs. Uh that that you often 122 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:05,680 Speaker 1: seek large versions of. You ever seen giant Adirondack chairs 123 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:08,960 Speaker 1: as some sort of like roadside attraction. Yeah. Uh, some 124 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:12,160 Speaker 1: of my family members used to own one, a giant Adirondack. 125 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:15,320 Speaker 1: They're fun for photo ops because you look really small 126 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 1: sitting in it. It looks like you're a tiny, tiny person. 127 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,320 Speaker 1: This is an uncle of mine who had a collection 128 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:24,000 Speaker 1: of bizarre to things. Um. Yeah, he also went to 129 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 1: Uh that was in twenty six that he went to 130 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:30,760 Speaker 1: the Adirondacks, and then in twenty seven he went somewhere 131 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:34,599 Speaker 1: west of the Alleghenies and east of the Rockies, so 132 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:39,200 Speaker 1: South Dakota and Senator Norbech said we're gonna go all 133 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:43,439 Speaker 1: in on this, So we're actually going to pass a 134 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:48,839 Speaker 1: resolution in the state Congress inviting the president on January seventh, 135 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:53,080 Speaker 1: nine seven. They said, it's weird this guy. Rex Allen 136 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 1: Smith notes they spared no adjectives when drafting it and 137 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:00,800 Speaker 1: indulged in no false modesty. So they were really doing 138 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:04,280 Speaker 1: the hard cell like an Oscar campaign, right, they're really 139 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:09,480 Speaker 1: trying to woo the president to vote for vote for 140 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:13,679 Speaker 1: the Black Hills. You know, lended his endorsement, right because 141 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: they were hoping this would be a boon for the 142 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:21,679 Speaker 1: their tourism industry. Um so what did that campaign look like. Well, 143 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:25,719 Speaker 1: you gotta admit their their game was on point, or 144 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:28,640 Speaker 1: their their pattern, as you may hear it referred to 145 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:32,760 Speaker 1: in the world of sales, was you know, left little 146 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:36,959 Speaker 1: to be desired, lofty peaks, you know what I mean, 147 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:41,920 Speaker 1: snow capped mountains, magnificent forests, fresh sparkling streams. They hit 148 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:44,400 Speaker 1: on the ideal climate. But also they said, you know 149 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:48,200 Speaker 1: there is We've got fishing, we've got golf, we've got polo, 150 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,800 Speaker 1: we've got tennis, all splendid. That's right. They characterized the 151 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:55,400 Speaker 1: people as well of this region. Uh quote the population 152 00:09:55,600 --> 00:10:00,800 Speaker 1: in and about the mountains, uh is intelligent and more. Yeah, 153 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:04,120 Speaker 1: morality was really big at the time. Or calling people 154 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:06,480 Speaker 1: moral was very big at the time, because they might 155 00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:08,880 Speaker 1: you know, there's one thing that no one was saying 156 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:11,679 Speaker 1: about about Coolidge. They might have said he was boring, 157 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:14,920 Speaker 1: might have borderline called him an idiot, but no one 158 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:18,080 Speaker 1: really questioned his morality. Yeah, it didn't really come up. 159 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:20,840 Speaker 1: They're too busy slamming him for literally everything else. Right, 160 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:24,520 Speaker 1: And of course, you know, if you look at his 161 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:30,079 Speaker 1: policies in the early twentieth century, they aged terribly and 162 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:34,120 Speaker 1: they did perpetrate some oppressive systems, but that was par 163 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:36,360 Speaker 1: for the course for the people in power of the day. 164 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:41,800 Speaker 1: Senator Norbech travels to Washington, as you do when you're 165 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:46,880 Speaker 1: a senator, and he delivers this invitation to Coolidge, where 166 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:52,040 Speaker 1: Coolidge says one of the quote few funny things really 167 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:55,760 Speaker 1: that he ever said during his time as president. This 168 00:10:56,080 --> 00:10:59,559 Speaker 1: whoever is writing this article for South Dakota Magazine is 169 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:02,720 Speaker 1: is is really good at at zinging the president. Here 170 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:06,719 Speaker 1: it's Roger Holtzman um and this is fantastic um. So 171 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:11,280 Speaker 1: he quotes the President as saying, uh santata. I can't 172 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:15,079 Speaker 1: tell whether this is a chapter from revelations of Moahammed's 173 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:19,000 Speaker 1: idea of the seventh Heaven. And then again are our 174 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:22,679 Speaker 1: witty South Dakota Magazine writer says, true to his nature, 175 00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:26,439 Speaker 1: though the president said nothing further that day. And like 176 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:31,719 Speaker 1: Bernie Sanders, Calvin Coolidge is from Vermont jigital I think 177 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:34,679 Speaker 1: by by the accident and the way he uh, the 178 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:38,199 Speaker 1: way he casually references seventh heaven uh. There there is 179 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:41,800 Speaker 1: one thing they want to interject it here. We have 180 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:47,120 Speaker 1: to remember that during this time Black Hills, South Dakota 181 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:52,080 Speaker 1: is on a on a larger mission to become more 182 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:57,079 Speaker 1: prominent in the United States. Is when the construction on 183 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:00,959 Speaker 1: Mount Rushmore began. You guys remember Mount Rushmore, right, it's 184 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,679 Speaker 1: the It's the gigantic sculpture with sixty foot heads of presidents. 185 00:12:05,559 --> 00:12:08,439 Speaker 1: Not ostentatious at all. No, man, Coolidge is not one 186 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:11,560 Speaker 1: of them. No, definitely not. But maybe if this trip 187 00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:15,160 Speaker 1: went differently, it would have been. So it must have 188 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:18,680 Speaker 1: been a slow news cycle. They're in the roaring twenties, 189 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:23,760 Speaker 1: because for the next month, almost all the daily papers 190 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:29,439 Speaker 1: dedicated some part of their page space to speculating on 191 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:34,040 Speaker 1: whether or not the president would actually come to Black Hills. 192 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:39,800 Speaker 1: The administration did not officially reply until May, when Colonel 193 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:46,640 Speaker 1: Starling and several Coolidge assistants arrived without prior announcement at 194 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:50,040 Speaker 1: a train station in Rapid City. Well v train station 195 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:52,400 Speaker 1: in Rapid City. It's in Rapid City. Sound like the 196 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:54,959 Speaker 1: name of something from Pokemon. I don't know. Why. It 197 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 1: just sounds very like retro futuristic, like something from a 198 00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:01,679 Speaker 1: Mega Man game. Yeah, Rapid City makes me think like 199 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:07,000 Speaker 1: maybe it would also be the uh, the Weird, the 200 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:09,800 Speaker 1: Weird title of one of those mixed tapes you can 201 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:12,319 Speaker 1: find at a gas station. Also true. You know, I'm 202 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:16,160 Speaker 1: assuming it has something to do with Whitewater rapids. That 203 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:19,280 Speaker 1: makes sense unless there there are a lot of a 204 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:22,319 Speaker 1: lot of on the edge physicists, study in time, or 205 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:24,959 Speaker 1: just very quick people. They're very like impatient and rapid 206 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:28,800 Speaker 1: City they get things done. Or horologist word of the day, 207 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 1: horology study of time. And Starling's uh diplomatic visit to 208 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:39,000 Speaker 1: Rapid City Um created a real stir. Every major newspaper 209 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:43,040 Speaker 1: in the entire state got word from the office of 210 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:48,040 Speaker 1: Senator norbuck Um and they printed in their their following 211 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:52,880 Speaker 1: subsequent editions Um the announcement that this likely, you know, 212 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:57,079 Speaker 1: meant that Coolidge was going to arrive. The headline screamed 213 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:00,280 Speaker 1: President Coolidge to arrive on June the six. So they 214 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:01,839 Speaker 1: must have gotten a little bit of a scoop there 215 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:04,719 Speaker 1: from from Norbech right, And maybe it was just the 216 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:09,120 Speaker 1: power positive thinking. So we know that the whenever the 217 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:14,199 Speaker 1: president travels then as now it's a big deal. Security 218 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:18,439 Speaker 1: is high. There's a lot of logistical shuffling that goes on, 219 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:21,760 Speaker 1: and now that they can be public with it, they 220 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:25,280 Speaker 1: don't have to be as discreet. So they announced that 221 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:28,360 Speaker 1: Coolidge will be residing at the State Game Lodge and 222 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:32,640 Speaker 1: Custer State Park, UH staying in the Governor's suite, and 223 00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:35,880 Speaker 1: they give details about this that you know, the society 224 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:38,600 Speaker 1: pages of the time are very interested in those details. 225 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:42,400 Speaker 1: They also undertake a ton of last minute projects to 226 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:46,320 Speaker 1: get everything in tip top shape and perfect. They put 227 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:50,920 Speaker 1: gravel all along thirty two mile road between the summer 228 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:54,600 Speaker 1: Lodge and the train station, and then they they start 229 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:59,320 Speaker 1: rapid city executive offices in a high school. They install 230 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:03,240 Speaker 1: a telephone switchboard that can connect the president directly to 231 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:05,760 Speaker 1: d C. So it's like he's never really away, that's right. 232 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:09,520 Speaker 1: So essentially they're establishing like a a situation room, a 233 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:12,560 Speaker 1: base camp, you know, where none existed in a high 234 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:15,960 Speaker 1: school like you do. And that switchboard you mentioned connected 235 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:19,400 Speaker 1: directly to uh's referred to as I've never heard this 236 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:23,400 Speaker 1: term before, the executive mansion in Washington, d C. So Wait, 237 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:26,040 Speaker 1: is that separate from the White House. There's like another 238 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 1: domicile for the president. Or is this before the president 239 00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:33,240 Speaker 1: took residence in the White House. The executive mansion is 240 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:35,040 Speaker 1: what you think of when you think of a picture 241 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:37,680 Speaker 1: of the White House. Oh, I've never heard that term 242 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:42,040 Speaker 1: used before. It's interesting. Um. Right. So they also had 243 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:47,480 Speaker 1: special planes just for the president's mail, and they had 244 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:52,080 Speaker 1: to install special gas pumps to fuel up the presidential motorcade. 245 00:15:53,640 --> 00:16:00,000 Speaker 1: And Coolidge keeps his his entourage fairly small, especially considered 246 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:03,640 Speaker 1: that he's the President of the United States. His wife 247 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:06,360 Speaker 1: Grace is there with him with staff members, secret service 248 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:12,160 Speaker 1: agents of course, uh, three dozen newspaper reporters glom on uh. 249 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:14,880 Speaker 1: And then they take their their two dogs, rob Roy 250 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:19,200 Speaker 1: and Prudence prim as well as their pet Raccoon. Rebecca. 251 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:22,560 Speaker 1: Favorite detail about Rebecca She lived in a wicker basket. 252 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:25,840 Speaker 1: Did we do an episode on weird presidential pets? And 253 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:28,520 Speaker 1: this made the cut? I believe. I believe Rebecca does 254 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:33,440 Speaker 1: make an appearance. She is officially returning guests to Ridiculous History. Congratulations, Rebecca, 255 00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:38,920 Speaker 1: you are joining the rarefied air with other famous guest 256 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:44,119 Speaker 1: of ours such as Rowan Nubi, Frank Moharron, Christopher haciotis 257 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:46,800 Speaker 1: tinker Bell the Frog. There was a crocodile in there. 258 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:50,280 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, there definitely was a crocodile or a gator. Yeah. 259 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:52,880 Speaker 1: I think that the gator hung out on like the 260 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:57,400 Speaker 1: Presidential golf course or something like that. And you know, 261 00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:00,560 Speaker 1: you gotta take your raccoon. They're going out into nature. 262 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:08,400 Speaker 1: I'm sure Rebecca loved it. So here's the thing we said. 263 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:11,840 Speaker 1: It was a fishing trip, right. Coolidge was known for 264 00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:15,760 Speaker 1: fishing trips. Again, the society papers followed him pretty closely. 265 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:19,920 Speaker 1: They reported on all his vacations and stuff. Uh. Then, 266 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:25,480 Speaker 1: as in recent years, the implication always being how does 267 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:29,879 Speaker 1: this person have time for vacation? Uh. This rep for 268 00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:35,280 Speaker 1: being a fishing fanatic came about during the six New 269 00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:37,119 Speaker 1: York vacation, the one we mentioned where he went to 270 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:41,560 Speaker 1: the Adirondacks h And now that he was known as 271 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:46,239 Speaker 1: a fisherman, the people of Dakota were saying, all right, 272 00:17:46,359 --> 00:17:49,760 Speaker 1: we're going to We're going to paint the Black Hills 273 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:54,320 Speaker 1: as a fisher's paradise. That's right. And um, the takeaway 274 00:17:54,359 --> 00:17:59,320 Speaker 1: here is that he actually fell a victim to one 275 00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:01,840 Speaker 1: of the earlier mentions of of the idea of a 276 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:04,960 Speaker 1: fishing scam, but that's spelled f I s h I NERG, 277 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:07,600 Speaker 1: not what we know today as p h I s 278 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:09,840 Speaker 1: I n G, where you get an email from a 279 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:12,239 Speaker 1: spurious source and then you click a link and then 280 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:16,040 Speaker 1: all of a sudden you're you know, all virused out. Because, 281 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:19,320 Speaker 1: like you said, ben Um, there were some that, you know, 282 00:18:19,359 --> 00:18:23,200 Speaker 1: in addition to this boon to the tourist industry that 283 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:25,680 Speaker 1: would come along with the presidential visit in the first place, 284 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:28,520 Speaker 1: they were really hoping to capitalize on the president the 285 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:31,560 Speaker 1: optics of the President being an avid outdoorsman and fisherman 286 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:35,960 Speaker 1: and establish u South Dakota, the Black Hills specifically as 287 00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:39,840 Speaker 1: as a real place, a real destination location for fisher fisherman. 288 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:44,119 Speaker 1: So um, they invited him. Some select kind of dignitaries 289 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:46,760 Speaker 1: let's call them, from the city invited the President on 290 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:49,080 Speaker 1: a fishing expedition. And at first he was kind of 291 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:51,240 Speaker 1: a little bit reluctantly and they had to do a 292 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:54,560 Speaker 1: little arm twisting, but um, you know, before you knew it, 293 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:57,800 Speaker 1: he agreed and they took him out to a place 294 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:01,840 Speaker 1: called Squaw Creek, uh Um, where he was fully suited 295 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:04,560 Speaker 1: up and like his his his waiters, I guess you know, 296 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:09,040 Speaker 1: and uh, he really had all the gear and absolutely 297 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:12,040 Speaker 1: looked the part. And um, I was hoping to have 298 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:16,000 Speaker 1: a really lucky day catching fish. Yeah, so here's the 299 00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:19,000 Speaker 1: scam part of it. Good people of Black Hills, South 300 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:22,760 Speaker 1: Dakota decided that they were going to make it very, 301 00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:29,000 Speaker 1: very easy to catch these fish, specifically trout. You'll recall 302 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:33,800 Speaker 1: longtime listeners that in previous episode we mentioned a great 303 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:38,800 Speaker 1: diamond hoax wherein the hoaxters had spoiler alert literally just 304 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:42,680 Speaker 1: spread precious gems on the ground and had a kind 305 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:45,040 Speaker 1: of Easter egg hunt. This was what it was for 306 00:19:45,119 --> 00:19:48,840 Speaker 1: Coolidge for sure. Although I have to say it's a 307 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:51,480 Speaker 1: lot easier to believe that the waters are just leaping 308 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:55,280 Speaker 1: with fish than to believe that the earth is rich 309 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:57,879 Speaker 1: in diamond just because there are a few sprinkled across 310 00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:01,040 Speaker 1: the top soil. Right, So I let's give let's give 311 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:03,560 Speaker 1: Coolidge a little credit here for not being quite as 312 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:07,800 Speaker 1: gullible as our characters and the Diamond Hooks episode. Yeah, yeah, agreed, 313 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:10,280 Speaker 1: I mean it's oh and also shout out to the 314 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:14,679 Speaker 1: listener who wrote a fantastic email to a fantastic email 315 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:17,399 Speaker 1: to us I was reading this last night and said, actually, 316 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:20,240 Speaker 1: they are called diamond fields because you can find diamonds 317 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:23,000 Speaker 1: just laying on the ground. Loose diamonds. Diamonds, that's the 318 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:27,159 Speaker 1: millionaires currency right there. The dream, that's the dream. So 319 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:30,640 Speaker 1: billionaires even yeah, yeah, I would say even more so billionaires. 320 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:33,080 Speaker 1: You know, if you're a millionaire, you probably still use 321 00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:35,600 Speaker 1: like cards or banks or something like a rube. But 322 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:39,200 Speaker 1: loose diamonds, that's where it's at. Anyway, for Calvin Coolidge, 323 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:41,920 Speaker 1: fish are where it's at. And here's what they do. 324 00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:46,000 Speaker 1: Here's why it's a scamp. Some South Dakotan's who shall 325 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:50,920 Speaker 1: not be named in this episode, Uh, we're large park officials. 326 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:57,480 Speaker 1: And they went about a mile above and below the 327 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:00,960 Speaker 1: area where they knew Coolie was going to be fishing, 328 00:21:01,359 --> 00:21:05,320 Speaker 1: and they installed fish nets across the creek and then 329 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:09,040 Speaker 1: in that roughly twish mile area they dumped more than 330 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:12,720 Speaker 1: two thousand trout from the state fish hatchery. These fish 331 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:17,159 Speaker 1: were old, they were huge, they were lazy because they 332 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:19,480 Speaker 1: had just been living on ground liver and horse meat, 333 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:22,320 Speaker 1: so they're fat, flabby. They had no fear of being 334 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:24,760 Speaker 1: caught because they had just they had been farmed you 335 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:28,080 Speaker 1: know been When you first said that, my interpretation was 336 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:32,320 Speaker 1: they were living on ground, as in dirt, liver and horsemeat, 337 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:35,240 Speaker 1: and that's just any insult injury right there. You know, 338 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:37,560 Speaker 1: you use the dirt to sprinkle and add a little 339 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,080 Speaker 1: seasoning to your liver and horse meat. You know, I 340 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:43,080 Speaker 1: gotta tell you, I am not the biggest liver fan, 341 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:45,960 Speaker 1: and I I'm not the biggest horse meat fan. I 342 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:48,000 Speaker 1: thought you said the horse meat was Okay, it was, 343 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:50,320 Speaker 1: but it's still horse meat, that's true. You can't just 344 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:52,840 Speaker 1: fool yourself into thinking, I mean, what does it really 345 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:55,160 Speaker 1: taste gamey? Well, it's kind of like saying the best 346 00:21:55,760 --> 00:22:00,960 Speaker 1: snowboarding in Georgia, you know what I mean? Right? So, yeah, 347 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:02,840 Speaker 1: I like liver though, by the way, I was raised 348 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:06,040 Speaker 1: on liver and onions and stuff like that. I like it. 349 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:07,960 Speaker 1: You don't like pete. How do you feel about like 350 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:10,440 Speaker 1: that tastes good? Yeah? I think it's a it's it's 351 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:13,840 Speaker 1: all in the preparations and the sauce. Good cookery is 352 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:18,000 Speaker 1: all about the sauce. So uh, We've got to introduce 353 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:21,440 Speaker 1: the Governor of South Dakota. At this time, he was 354 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:23,960 Speaker 1: in on Norbeck's plan right from the jump, and he 355 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:28,440 Speaker 1: was also in on this this UH fishery plan, this 356 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:32,959 Speaker 1: scam to make Calvin Coolidge feel like the world's best fisherman. UH. 357 00:22:33,119 --> 00:22:35,560 Speaker 1: And he and his wife, the governor's wife, were invited 358 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:38,160 Speaker 1: to the lodge for dinner one evening, and the main 359 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:42,240 Speaker 1: course was trout. And the President says, UH that he 360 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:46,480 Speaker 1: caught this trout himself in the creek. Please eat of 361 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:50,000 Speaker 1: my you know, fish winnings, these loaves and fishes, and 362 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:53,080 Speaker 1: I might feed the multitudes. And so the governor takes 363 00:22:53,119 --> 00:22:56,080 Speaker 1: a bite, and then he says, from the first bite 364 00:22:56,119 --> 00:22:58,920 Speaker 1: I took, I could taste liver and horse meat, which 365 00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:02,680 Speaker 1: that trout had of Dalton Foggias. Coolidge did not seem 366 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:04,960 Speaker 1: to mind. He was pleased as punched to have caught 367 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:10,320 Speaker 1: his own fish. And people are pretty sure that this 368 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 1: fishing scam his love of fishing and his like belief 369 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:18,080 Speaker 1: that he was amazing at it. Here they believed these 370 00:23:18,119 --> 00:23:21,920 Speaker 1: were some of the primary reasons that his vacation in 371 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:25,040 Speaker 1: South Dakota, which was originally planned for only three weeks, 372 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:30,880 Speaker 1: ended up lasting get this three months, three months, one 373 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:34,119 Speaker 1: fourth of the year President of the United States. But 374 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:35,960 Speaker 1: I mean, you know, to be fair. He had this 375 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 1: this huge calm center there, he was receiving his males, 376 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:42,800 Speaker 1: he was receiving all his presidential paperwork that he had 377 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:44,320 Speaker 1: to sign. I mean, it's not like he was just 378 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:49,400 Speaker 1: checked out for three months, right, Yeah. Yeah, that's working vacation. 379 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:54,440 Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, which I think many of us today are 380 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:59,120 Speaker 1: all too familiar with. So there there are some things 381 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:03,600 Speaker 1: that happened. One of the biggest things is a bombshell 382 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:08,160 Speaker 1: that he drops towards the end of his vacation. It's 383 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:11,600 Speaker 1: weird because you know, sometimes you'll see this thing and 384 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:14,840 Speaker 1: maybe with your coworkers where someone seems kind of checked 385 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:18,200 Speaker 1: out of their job or something. And maybe this was 386 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:22,960 Speaker 1: a similar situation for Coolidge, because you know, we said 387 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:28,719 Speaker 1: we had like what almost three dozen newspaper reporters right 388 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:32,400 Speaker 1: that we're traveling around with him by August second, these 389 00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:35,280 Speaker 1: folks were bored. They had done all, they had had 390 00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:37,800 Speaker 1: the entire Rapid city experience, you know what I mean. 391 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:41,280 Speaker 1: They had the hats, they had the T shirts. If 392 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:43,480 Speaker 1: they sold those, probably not, but they had whatever that 393 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:47,000 Speaker 1: version of it was, and they're thinking, well, shouldn't I 394 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:51,040 Speaker 1: be covering other breaking news? I am a reporter After all, 395 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:54,280 Speaker 1: and that's when Coolidge invites them to his office. It's 396 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:56,520 Speaker 1: interesting because it's like, you know, on the one hand, 397 00:24:56,840 --> 00:25:00,200 Speaker 1: this is absolutely like the longest, most drawn out puff 398 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:02,800 Speaker 1: piece you could possibly imagine, right where. It's like, and 399 00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:07,000 Speaker 1: today the president took his respite in the calming waters 400 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:11,000 Speaker 1: of lake uh was a squaw lake or whatever, you know, 401 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:14,240 Speaker 1: and it's like, come on, there's nothing to it. There's nothing. 402 00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:15,959 Speaker 1: I mean, I guess the fact that it's the president 403 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:18,600 Speaker 1: elevates it. And maybe they're reporting on some of the 404 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:20,440 Speaker 1: policy that he was in acting or some of the 405 00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:23,239 Speaker 1: aspects of it that made today working vacation. But at 406 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:25,240 Speaker 1: the end of the day, it's kind of like, you know, 407 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:27,640 Speaker 1: see how the other half lives, you know, that kind 408 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:31,000 Speaker 1: of thing. Who is that guy Robin Leach Lifestyles of 409 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:35,480 Speaker 1: the Rich and Famous? Just so uh so, I totally 410 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:39,639 Speaker 1: forgot that guy's accent, but you guys remember that totally. Anyhow, So, 411 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:42,560 Speaker 1: Coolidge of Viteshiman's office and they say, oh, what's up, 412 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:45,880 Speaker 1: what's up with this guy? And when they're all present, 413 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:51,040 Speaker 1: instead of speaking to them, he has slips of paper 414 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:54,200 Speaker 1: on which he has written in the same message, and 415 00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:57,520 Speaker 1: he hands each of these thirty something people a slip 416 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:00,920 Speaker 1: of paper, and on it there is typed a single line, 417 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:06,480 Speaker 1: I do not choose to run for presidents in got 418 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:11,560 Speaker 1: you boom crickets immediately after casey, can we have some crickets? 419 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:17,000 Speaker 1: Perfect crickets? What a way to break the news. No 420 00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:20,720 Speaker 1: one is expecting this. And then someone else, someone else 421 00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:23,399 Speaker 1: says Mr President, ms the president, have you anything to 422 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:28,320 Speaker 1: out do your statement? And Calvin Coolidge says no, and 423 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:32,000 Speaker 1: then he leaves. Right, that's that. That was his press conference. 424 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:35,720 Speaker 1: I'm gonna have to side with the social critics of 425 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:38,440 Speaker 1: of of the day and that this guy did seem 426 00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:42,159 Speaker 1: like not a barrel of laughs, you know, now, the 427 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:43,879 Speaker 1: kind of guy you'd want to have a scotch with, 428 00:26:45,359 --> 00:26:47,560 Speaker 1: or like play around a golf with. I can understand 429 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:49,720 Speaker 1: why he liked the like fishing. Do you think he 430 00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:53,840 Speaker 1: liked to be alone? He was a solitary man, surely 431 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:58,200 Speaker 1: had interesting thoughts, had a very rich, vibrant internal life, 432 00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:00,920 Speaker 1: you know, but outwardly he really was kind of a 433 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:03,760 Speaker 1: like a weekended Bernie's type figure, you know, just sort 434 00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:11,800 Speaker 1: of propped up and pushed along. Well, this is where 435 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:15,160 Speaker 1: we run into some interesting stuff here, because it turns 436 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:18,680 Speaker 1: out that the public image was maybe not an accurate 437 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:21,680 Speaker 1: portrayal of the private man. Oh by the way, once 438 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:25,479 Speaker 1: he announced that he wasn't running again, he stayed at 439 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:28,159 Speaker 1: the game lodge. He kept fishing. He really did love 440 00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:30,679 Speaker 1: it there. Huh, he really did, he appears to. Uh. 441 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:33,879 Speaker 1: And maybe you know, we will never know if he 442 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:37,280 Speaker 1: if he ever found out that they they gend up 443 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:42,159 Speaker 1: the fishery for him. But here's the thing. Although he 444 00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:46,520 Speaker 1: was considered borish by society of the day and and um, 445 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:51,240 Speaker 1: people thought he was super quiet and taciturn and had 446 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:56,679 Speaker 1: no sense of humor, he was also apparently apparently kind 447 00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:58,880 Speaker 1: of kind of funny, like he was a funny guy 448 00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:02,040 Speaker 1: that people didn't under stand. Uh he was. He was 449 00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:05,360 Speaker 1: super religious, first, we have to say, and he uh 450 00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:09,159 Speaker 1: he even though he lived in the executive mansion of 451 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:13,879 Speaker 1: the White House at the time of his presidency, he 452 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:18,320 Speaker 1: didn't like all the bells and whistles. He actually enjoyed 453 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:21,920 Speaker 1: the idea of living in a place without electricity and 454 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:27,240 Speaker 1: without phones. He hated small talk. And uh, and I 455 00:28:27,359 --> 00:28:31,840 Speaker 1: think you're right. We don't think that he liked people 456 00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:35,159 Speaker 1: in particular. He didn't like to speak at events he 457 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:38,320 Speaker 1: had to go to. Uh someone asked him why he 458 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:42,680 Speaker 1: bothered to attend one social function because he didn't talk 459 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:45,720 Speaker 1: to anyone, and then he said, I've got to eat somewhere. 460 00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:49,680 Speaker 1: And they are apparently a ton of anecdotes where this 461 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:53,400 Speaker 1: guy would call his advisors into the oval office and 462 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:55,640 Speaker 1: instead of talking to him, he would just sit there 463 00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:58,280 Speaker 1: and stare at them. Wow, like Larry David style, like 464 00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:01,280 Speaker 1: trying to like suck them out, psyched them out, look 465 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:05,080 Speaker 1: deep into their souls, or like maybe like cult leaders 466 00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:09,680 Speaker 1: do that a lot like Bntino. What's his face? Yeah? Yeah, 467 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:12,720 Speaker 1: what's what was his He was like the the startup 468 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:15,200 Speaker 1: kind of cult leader guy, right, yeah, like a like 469 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:17,920 Speaker 1: a tech ro based I wonder what's up with them? 470 00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:21,080 Speaker 1: We should do a follow up? Maybe not. I don't know. 471 00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:24,400 Speaker 1: I don't want too much platform. I think you're right 472 00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:27,400 Speaker 1: about that. Um. This is an interesting story though, because 473 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:29,840 Speaker 1: it's a president that I've only ever really known by 474 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:33,520 Speaker 1: the name, because it is sort of an interesting name, 475 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:36,120 Speaker 1: Calvin Coolidge. You're right. I I too. I'm a fan 476 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:39,400 Speaker 1: of a literation and the last name Coolidge just makes 477 00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:41,640 Speaker 1: you think of a guy that's that's really you know, 478 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:45,960 Speaker 1: a hip cat. But he just wasn't exactly, but he 479 00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:48,520 Speaker 1: didn't really care what you thought of him. He knew 480 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:52,280 Speaker 1: who he was. And uh, I really respect this notion 481 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:57,000 Speaker 1: of him taking this extended, you know, working vacation announcing 482 00:29:57,360 --> 00:30:01,000 Speaker 1: that he's done with the presidency. Uh. Probably because largely 483 00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:02,880 Speaker 1: he didn't like the lifestyle. He didn't like all of 484 00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:05,360 Speaker 1: the things that went along with being the president, which 485 00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:07,120 Speaker 1: you kind of have to be a part of. You 486 00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:09,040 Speaker 1: have to do the glad handing, you have to be 487 00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:11,520 Speaker 1: a good diplomat, you have to make nice with people 488 00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:13,800 Speaker 1: that maybe you'd rather not. Uh. He just didn't have 489 00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:15,760 Speaker 1: any time for that. And then he just stuck around 490 00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:19,440 Speaker 1: in this place that from the very beginning, despite us 491 00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:21,440 Speaker 1: knowing that it was sort of a ploy to get 492 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:24,080 Speaker 1: him there and that the fishing was largely a scam, 493 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:27,160 Speaker 1: he was taken by it and he very much loved 494 00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:29,280 Speaker 1: it and found some solace in that. And for that 495 00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:33,520 Speaker 1: I I appreciate the man. One more Coolidge anecdote is 496 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:37,880 Speaker 1: just beautiful. Uh. So he was at this social function 497 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:42,160 Speaker 1: and social obligation and the hostess, a prominent social lite, said, 498 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:44,920 Speaker 1: you know, I'm gonna draw him out I'm you know, 499 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:48,320 Speaker 1: I'm outgoing, and people people like me. Gosh darn ittt 500 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:51,600 Speaker 1: very Stuart Smiley of her. She corners the president at 501 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:55,040 Speaker 1: a party and she says, Mr President, you must help 502 00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:57,200 Speaker 1: me out. I've made a bet that I can get 503 00:30:57,240 --> 00:30:59,640 Speaker 1: you to say more than two words at this party. 504 00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:04,280 Speaker 1: And his reply was you lose, at which point he left. 505 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:09,000 Speaker 1: By the way you lose, you get nothing. Yeah. So 506 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:13,000 Speaker 1: this is weird because there's also a pretty strong argument, 507 00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:19,800 Speaker 1: and this comes from Atlas Obscura, that Coolidge was playing 508 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:22,440 Speaker 1: a role that he was just deep in a roll 509 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:25,200 Speaker 1: sort of the way that Andy Kaufman would get because 510 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:28,320 Speaker 1: Coolidge apparently didn't like the way he sounded when he spoke. 511 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:31,080 Speaker 1: That's a common thing, and so he wanted to seem 512 00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:34,960 Speaker 1: more mysterious and he thought if he spoke less when 513 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:37,600 Speaker 1: he did speak, it would be treated with more importance, 514 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:42,600 Speaker 1: which you know is is the strategy people have used today. 515 00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:46,720 Speaker 1: But that's that's it, Calvin Coolidge. I you know, I 516 00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:51,040 Speaker 1: don't think a lot of us uh in no ah 517 00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:54,239 Speaker 1: Ton about this president. There are a lot of presidents. Now. 518 00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:56,960 Speaker 1: The thing that's ringing about now that now that we're 519 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:00,720 Speaker 1: going into this is that pretty odd pres residential pet, 520 00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:03,600 Speaker 1: which is there's a really interesting backstory behind what was 521 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:07,160 Speaker 1: the was the raccoon's name again, Rebecca? Rebecca the raccoon? 522 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:11,240 Speaker 1: Moral literation, A literation abounds in this story. Rebecca was 523 00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:15,720 Speaker 1: apparently the result of uh, one of those famous presidential 524 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:21,120 Speaker 1: pardonings around Thanksgiving time. But it wasn't a turkey, It 525 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:24,960 Speaker 1: was Rebecca. What does that mean? That means Rebecca was 526 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:27,440 Speaker 1: destined for the dinner table because this again was a 527 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:31,120 Speaker 1: simpler time when eating a raccoon at a presidential dinner 528 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:35,320 Speaker 1: table would have been just fine. Yeah, that's something I 529 00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:39,080 Speaker 1: think my dad, the Colonel, would would probably enjoy too. Oh. 530 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:41,360 Speaker 1: Before we end, though, I guess say there's a guy 531 00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:44,640 Speaker 1: that I think would be perfect for a future episode, 532 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:47,160 Speaker 1: not just because of his name, but because of his 533 00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:52,320 Speaker 1: weird obsession. Is the sculptor Gutson Borglum, who is responsible 534 00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:57,719 Speaker 1: not just for creating Mount Rushmore, but also for creating uh, 535 00:32:57,880 --> 00:33:02,120 Speaker 1: that gigantic stone harving not too far away from us 536 00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:05,000 Speaker 1: in Stone Mountain. The racist one, Yeah, the racist one 537 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:08,680 Speaker 1: from the Civil War. He wanted to push Coolidge to 538 00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:14,160 Speaker 1: to help him build Mount Rushmore. But I'm personally uh, 539 00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:20,200 Speaker 1: fascinated by Borgolm's story, which is a story for another day. 540 00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:24,400 Speaker 1: So hats off to you, Calvin Coolidge. It sounds like 541 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:27,200 Speaker 1: you did. You did get the wool pulled over your 542 00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:30,520 Speaker 1: eyes or the trout slapped over your face. Um, but 543 00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:34,560 Speaker 1: you enjoyed fishing. I don't know, It's just three months vacation. 544 00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:39,280 Speaker 1: Seems like a long amount of vacation for any profession. 545 00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:41,840 Speaker 1: But he was checked out. He was in his mind. 546 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:43,480 Speaker 1: He was a lame duck. You know, he knew it 547 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:47,040 Speaker 1: was up, and he was setting the tone for his retirement. 548 00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:50,080 Speaker 1: I get the sense that he already knew going in 549 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:54,920 Speaker 1: that he was going to uh decline the nomination and 550 00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:56,960 Speaker 1: declined to run again. That's what it feels like to me. 551 00:33:57,040 --> 00:33:58,680 Speaker 1: And to that end, I bet he was tired of 552 00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:02,280 Speaker 1: getting uh, you know, piled on for being a dullard 553 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:04,920 Speaker 1: and all these negative things, and these social critics and 554 00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:08,160 Speaker 1: probably cartoons that were making fun of him and mocking 555 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:10,360 Speaker 1: him for being a little bit straight laced and not 556 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:14,480 Speaker 1: particularly enthusiastic, and he was like, you know what, screw 557 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:17,960 Speaker 1: you guys. I'm gonna go on a taxpayer funded vacation 558 00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:20,160 Speaker 1: and then just ride it out. As long as I 559 00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:23,160 Speaker 1: possibly can, and then this is gonna be my new life. 560 00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:27,839 Speaker 1: And with that, President Coolidge, we bid you ado. Thank 561 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:30,360 Speaker 1: you so much for tuning in. Everyone. We hope you 562 00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:34,279 Speaker 1: enjoyed this episode. As always, of course, thanks to our 563 00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:39,400 Speaker 1: super producer, Casey not Coolidge Pegroom, and thank you to 564 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:44,880 Speaker 1: Gabe Lousier. Thank you to Christopher Hasiotis Eve's Jeff Coach. Oh, 565 00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:47,200 Speaker 1: so many people to thank. I love I love that 566 00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:49,080 Speaker 1: it feels a little like an award speech at the 567 00:34:49,160 --> 00:34:51,239 Speaker 1: end of the episode. Gives me a sense of accomplishment. 568 00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:54,439 Speaker 1: I'd like to thank my mom uh, and Casey's mom 569 00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:58,200 Speaker 1: and your mom too, mainly just for giving birth to 570 00:34:58,239 --> 00:35:01,200 Speaker 1: all three of us respectively. I'd also like to thank 571 00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:05,440 Speaker 1: Alex Williams again for the slapping track. He has composed 572 00:35:05,480 --> 00:35:09,359 Speaker 1: some great stuff lately. Uh. And of course we wanted 573 00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:11,959 Speaker 1: to hear from you. You're our favorite part of the show. 574 00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:15,760 Speaker 1: So if you and these are strange and hurried times, 575 00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:18,960 Speaker 1: were somehow able to take a vacation for three months, 576 00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:21,439 Speaker 1: where would you go? What would you do? Three months 577 00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:24,320 Speaker 1: is a long time. I'm thinking, like, I don't know 578 00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:26,680 Speaker 1: if I could stay one place for three months. I'm 579 00:35:26,719 --> 00:35:29,080 Speaker 1: all two driven. I think I would, I would get weird. 580 00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:35,439 Speaker 1: I'm thinking Borneo, you Borneo Borneo for that. I'm trying 581 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:39,600 Speaker 1: to it feels good. Hey. By the way, if you 582 00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:42,759 Speaker 1: want to try us out individually as human people on 583 00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:44,920 Speaker 1: the Internet, you can do so. I am at how 584 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:48,719 Speaker 1: Now Noel Brown exclusively on Instagram. I am at Ben 585 00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:52,600 Speaker 1: Bulling on Instagram. Uh, and you can see my various 586 00:35:52,719 --> 00:35:56,200 Speaker 1: misadventures and days of your and days to come. Uh. 587 00:35:56,239 --> 00:35:59,760 Speaker 1: And I'm also at Ben Bulan hs W on Twitter 588 00:36:00,239 --> 00:36:03,839 Speaker 1: and uh. The one thing we can say with certitude 589 00:36:04,160 --> 00:36:07,320 Speaker 1: about our our new pal, Calvin Coolidge is that he 590 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:10,919 Speaker 1: would have been a terrible podcast guest. He probably knew 591 00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:20,520 Speaker 1: how to party. We'll see you next time, folks. For 592 00:36:20,640 --> 00:36:22,799 Speaker 1: more podcasts for my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart 593 00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:25,719 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your 594 00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:26,480 Speaker 1: favorite shows.