2 days of blogs

..couldn't find internet access yesterday so here goes with Tuesday and Weddnesday..

Visited Herber Hoover Museum and Library in West Branch, Iowa...Very nice setting in park like area..low tan stone conservative looking building...what else?...His Library became accepted as one of the 12 Archives supported museums...and is very tastefully presented...AND....after visitng both Daras and I felt that we had done an injustice in the past to his term of office...He really was a very intelligent, self-made very wealthy and talented man...who did his utmost to serve this nation...It is very unfortunate and most likely that the Great Depression he has been given the blame for...was not directly his fault...He was trained as a geologist at Stanford...worked almost in every country of the world...accumulated much money....and was the engineer and initiater of Hoover Dam...wbhgich served to provide much power for the southwest...He was the first President to be elected from west of the Mississippi..and was quite devout...being a Quaker....His wife, Lou was also a geologist ..also trained at Stanford..and made great contribujtions for women's liberation and was of great sujpport to the Pre4sidency...He. like Grant was born in a tiny 2 room house in West Branch which was a frontier town in his day... His father was a blacksnith who died when Hoover was about 6 years of age and he was then shujttled about to grandparents and others who reared him, while being separated from his other siblings...Much more in depth in my book....

We left West Branch and drove...again to Independence, Missouri...and parked for the nitE..

Today which I think is Wednesday we visited Trumans Museum which was sort of a homecoming for us...In driving here however we travelled totally across Iowa and Missouri...and tonite we are in Abilene, Kansas...."There ain't no moss on us!"

The reason for the homecoming feeling was brought about since Kirksville, Missouri, the place where nthe Osteopathic Medical Profession had it's beginning is where I interned...It is located in the north-east corner of Missouri...and when Daras arrived to be with me after her graduation from college...we pinched some pennies together...bouth a $2.00 box camers..got on the Wabash Railroad and travelled down to Kansas city to visit my schoolmate friend (Harold Olan) who was interning there...After spendong some time with him we wandered by foot into Independence...found the house that the practicing President lived in while in Missouri..It was his Mother-in-Law's house...no one was around and I prompted Daras to go up mthe walk to the porch so that I might take her picture...when...secret service sprung from behind every tree ..with bells ringing...and cautioned us that she was not permitted...Bess and Margaret were home...and the President was in the White House...so...we left...a bit dissapointed!

Then, while in General Practice in Cherry Hill several years later (1953?)...I decided to try my new conveertible for a drive to Kansas City to attend a Medical Meeting...and when approaching Independence, realized that I had read that Truman who was retired, had opened his library in Independence...so we found it...and stopped..we parked on the street directly in front of the small non-impressive appearing building with minimal signage identifying it's purpose...and I opened the door to enter...As I entered and noted a small vestibule with a solitary receptionist at a insnificant appearing desk...with 5-6 small cub scouts in short pants and their scout leader similarly attired...President Trumaqn opened a door at the head of the wooden stairs...saw me and said, " Howdy folks...welcome!..I'm just about to show these scouts around the museum...would you like to join the tour"?...Of course, we were in agreement...He needed a shave..wore no tie and had brown scuffed shoes..but we took up his offer...and what a tour we had!...He apparently always spoke without reservation to the usage of 4 letter words...and certainly demonstrated his sense of humor...He took pictures off the wall..made comments..with frequent chuckles and then asked the one security guard for his keys..and escorted us thru the center lane with boxes and cartons piled to the ceiling while remarking, " theres a lot of crap here given to me by ptentates from all over the world, but I really don't know whnatsd here...but it doesn't belong to me...it belongs to you"!.....and then we walked down the back stairs...where I p;rexceded him and stopped at the landing, and in order to make conversation...asked him what he thought of the Republican's chance of winning the next election?"...His response was instantaneous...and with his finger pointing at me, said," Sonny...if this country votes Republican...it deserves to go to Hell"!...I got my answer, and we left...

The museum today is 100 times the size of the original one...the Highway it was on is much widened.. a bridge overpass is there now...and when I inquired of everyone i met as to what happened to the original building everyone looked at me as tho I was daffy!..Noone believed the story...The contents of the building are the best...there is much interactive opportunities to answer questions posed to you about present and past government..that you respoind tom by pushing bujttons...and the resp0onses are calculated by percentages for your observation...It is truly magnificient!....Much more ion my book to come...and hundreds of pictures!
AQfter leaving, I felt somewhat betrayed by no one believing my story...so I made a U-Turn...went back to the Research Library..introduced and identified myself..met withthne \Chief Archivist who listened to my story without laughing ...exchanged business cards with me and promised to find the information I seeked and forward it to me...I finally felt vindicated!

The ride then was over the Missouri/Kansas border..driving 2/2 way across Kansas and we reached Abilene!....Daras mentioned that not only could you place the entire population of nthe USA in this narea..but probably the entire world's!...The expansive Plateau of grain fields, and pasture lands presented itself in high rolling hills which again afforded some magnificient sights..
Until tomorrow...au revoir....