3/11/2011:
There is a sense of prestige that accompanies a visiting President – but there is even more pride when a President comes to live in the area, even if only for a little while. So, when President Calvin Coolidge announced that he wanted to spend a summer away from Washington D.C., it is no surprise that several states extended an invitation.
On this date in 1927, North Dakotans tried to get the 30th president to come and visit. He wanted to spend his summer vacation somewhere in the West, where there was “comfortable coolness and some elevation,” away from the big city, its crowds of people, and away from a scheduled White House renovation.
According to the Killdeer Herald, the perfect solution was for Coolidge to come to North Dakota. They wrote the following, encouraging him to come, and citing specifically why – in terms no cowboy could refuse:
“The Killdeer Herald, on behalf of the only real western country left, sweeps the dust with its ten gallon Stetson and bowing in humble homage, presents the Killdeer mountains for his consideration. …
Out where the salubrious summer breezes are spiced with the tang of the cedar and the sage, where a warm welcome and a cool summer home await you – out where west is west, beyond where the west begins.
Out where Teddy Roosevelt was inspired amidst the rugged, lofty heighths (sic) of the Killdeers – elevation 3,000 feet.
The cool glades and glens shaded by the beautiful white birch and the sturdy oak, cooled by purling icy brooks, invite you.
On the Mountains’ summit is the historic Medicine Hole round which the mighty Chiefs of the Tribes who ruled this country gathered for Council, listening to the Voice of the Great Sprit in the Whispering Winds for guidance.
Come and do likewise, Cal!”
The Herald even promised to keep out the curiosity-seekers who might like to peek in at the president:
“A bodyguard of one hundred cowboys, ready to rope and hog-tie the snoopy politicians and inquisitive reporters, guarantees a summer of undisturbed rest in the cool Killdeers.”
In the end, however, South Dakota won the honor of his visit.
Dakota Datebook written by Sarah Walker
Sources:
The Killdeer Herald, March 17, 1927, p1
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/calvincoolidge/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rushmore/peopleevents/p_coolidge.html