The first day of our grand trip is done!
Today, we’ve visited different historical places in Northern Texas, as we continued on further north to Kansas. We’ve seen Dealey Plaza (Where John F. Kennedy was assassinated in his motorcade), The George W. Bush Presidential Center (For the passport), and most notably, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site in Denison.
Dealey Plaza (Dallas, TX)
Well, this was one place we certainly didn’t expect to visit, but since it was a street over from our trip to the Bush 43 Library, we thought, “Why not?”
We have been to Dealey Plaza twice in the past, and each time we visited, we left with watery eyes remembering the horrific events nearly 55 years ago. Naturally, this was no exception either.
From this vantage point, the famous Zapruder Film footage of the Assassination was shot on November 22, 1963, and today the view is nearly unchanged from that time period. (Editor’s Note: The darkened corner that you see in this picture was the result of a phone-case that wasn’t exactly compatible with my phone, or it’s camera. It’ll be a recurring event until we reach Day 3.)
Even more harrowing was seeing the X’s on the ground, which mark the places where the bullets struck the Motorcade… you can’t help but feel a little queasy each time you look at them.
The building further up the road above the trees was the Texas Schoolbook Depository, where Lee Harvey Oswald supposedly fired the fatal shots with a rifle. The window is in the farthest right column of windows, second from the top.
The building now serves as the Sixth Floor Museum, showcasing exhibits dedicated to the tragic events of November 22, 1963. As we were on a schedule, we didn’t go in this time.
This plaque atop the Grassy Knoll gives an excerpt of the speech that President Kennedy was going to recite to a crowd of people later that evening. It certainly echoes the principles he believed in, and helps to immortalize him as America’s fallen son. I think it serves eloquently as a fitting parting from this ground.
George W. Bush Presidential Center (Dallas, TX)
Minutes after leaving the plaza, we arrived at the George W. Bush Presidential Center.
This has been the second time we’ve visited this library (it being the most recently dedicated of the main thirteen presidential libraries, which consist of the libraries from Hoover to Bush 43), the first being about two years ago. As we didn’t acquire the Passport until visiting the Reagan Library a while back, now was the perfect time to get that stamp…
And get it we did!
Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay for too awfully long, as we still had to make good time further north. But to tell you a bit about the library, it was opened to the public in 2014, and is a state-of-the-art facility that delves into the turbulent times of the 2000’s. It places special emphasis on the numerous national emergencies that took place during Bush’s administration, including the September 11th Attacks, the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and the Economic Crisis of 2008.
So with reluctance, we left the library behind us to head to Denison, and probably the highlight of our day.
Dwight D. Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site (Denison, TX)
Most people associate both Presidents Bush 41 and Bush 43 as being Texans through and through, but the funny part is, neither Bush originally lived in Texas, they were born in the Northeast! But two presidents HAVE been born in Texas. While Lyndon B. Johnson was born nearby Johnson City (One of my favorite Historical Sites btw), Dwight D. Eisenhower was born in the homely town of Denison, close to the border of Oklahoma.
First, let me paint you a little picture of Denison, and the Eisenhower Family…
Denison was a major hub of the railroad system in the late 1800’s, so much so that in three months, the population of 3,000 people quadrupled to nearly 11,000. Denison had a very large poverty rate, and as such, it’s residents had very difficult lives to lead, as such were the Eisenhowers’…
Ida Eisenhower was an incredibly strong willed woman whose parents were both deceased by the time she was 5, and running away from her grandparents, decided to live in Kansas to pursue an education, all the while working to maintain a living. After meeting David J. Eisenhower, a businessman who struggled to gain solid financial ground, the couple married, and lived in Abilene Kansas. Needing new jobs to help support their family (They would come to have six children overall, all sons), they moved to Denison, and leased a small property only a few yards away from the railroad tracks…
But before I get back to the family’s story, I should come back to our trip!
After a few minutes of trying to find the place (including a road that didn’t exist and the site having only one open gate), we finally found it!
As my uncle is named Dwight, and my dad is named David, you can probably tell that our family loved General Eisenhower.
This map covers the six acres that make up the site, and starting out at the visitor center, we hurried on over to the memorial statue for our tour of the actual house (tours take place every half hour.)
This intricate bronze statue was cast in great detail to capture the impressions of President Eisenhower. It was dedicated in 1955 at the site’s unveiling.
Eventually, our tour guide, Maxine, met us (the only visitors on that particular tour), and told us a lot of what i’m telling you right now, she was a very good guide, and you could just feel that all that transpired here meant something.
And here is the house itself… again, yards from where the railway used to run, where 12-20 trains a day would run by the often soot-colored house, which had no window screens at all to prevent bugs from flying into the opened windows, or soot, or other exterior materials.
Inside, we found the place as much as it was in 1890, when, during a stormy night foreboding great conflict (or so Ida Eisenhower predicted… which isn’t so far off considering what her son would grow up to do during the war), Dwight David Eisenhower was born in this very room, in this very bed.
To picture how humble the circumstances were, his crib/cradle was basically a drawer to a cabinet stuffed with blankets, and put on a small rocking chair… can you imagine that?
This room was the dining room, very simple enough, and nearby was the stairs to the second floor, which was off limits. Nearby was also the small kitchen, which I unfortunately did not get a picture of.
After Dwight was barely a year and a half old, the family left to head back to Abilene in Kansas, where the family would live on. Nearly 60 years later, Ike returned to this place to help dedicate it as a State Historic Site, after learning from his mother shortly before she died that he was born here.
Eisenhower is the perfect example of the ability of human capability. He was raised in the humblest and poorest of conditions, where hard-work and humility were critical to success in life. Raised by loving parents who valued morals and devotion to god, Eisenhower would gradually rise to graduate from West Point University, serve in both World Wars, become the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, leader of the Invasion of Normandy during D-Day, and finally as 34th President of the United States. Eisenhower’s journey stands as testament to the fact that anyone, no matter their wealth, circumstances or background, can grow to be successful in life. And that, is a very encouraging thought.
After departing Denison, (with a Eisenhower pin and “I LIKE IKE” badge), we ate our last Whataburger meals (sigh.. how i’ll miss that place…), and crossed into Oklahoma, where we are currently staying in Oklahoma City.
Tomorrow, we venture forth to Abilene, Kansas to explore the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, which we hopefully intend to reach by noon, after which, we hope to end the day in Kansas City, in Missouri.
Thanks for reading, and see you tomorrow!
Mark's Historical Roadtrips! 