Tag: Road Trip

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The Hoover Overlap

Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum exterior with a portrait of President Herbert Hoover and text reading "The U.S. History Brain-Teaser Most of Us Don't Know..."

Anybody that knows me well at all knows I love history and I love trivia. And today, while doing some reading, I ran across some historical trivia that is absolutely intriguing and almost unbelievable. In fact, I had to do additional research just to make sure it’s actually true! Get ready for this!

​My cousin Betty Patterson, my friend Kay Hughes Marchand and I are on a mission to visit all the presidential libraries in the United States. History is important to us and the libraries are so very fascinating. Back in October of 2024, we visited the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch, Iowa. We all agreed it was one of the best libraries we visited so far. We learned so much about President Hoover, but we didn’t learn this fact that I learned today. Are you ready???

​We all know President Abraham Lincoln was tragically assassinated in 1865. Here’s the unbelievable part: since that day, every single US president—in other words, every US president who has served as our nation’s leader since President Lincoln’s assassination until now—was alive during some part of President Herbert Hoover’s life.

Think on that just a moment, let it sink in…

​It doesn’t sound right, does it?

​I mean, it almost sounds like a trick—like it just couldn’t make sense….but it’s true!

The secret lies in just how long President Hoover lived. Born on August 10th, 1874 in West Branch and passing away on October 20th, 1964, he was alive at the same time as 29 U.S. Presidents—(including himself of course!). That’s nearly two-thirds of every president in American history…or 29 out the 45 men who have served.

​Let’s look at the math and the facts:

​The presidents from the 1800s:

President Andrew Johnson took over right after President Lincoln died in 1865. Pres. Johnson didn’t pass away until 1875, which means he was alive during the first year of baby Herbert Hoover’s life.

The next President, Ulysses S. Grant lived until 1885 and every other 19th century president that came after hin overlapped with President Hoover’s life easily.

​Now let’s jump forward to our modern presidents.

For the chain to stay unbroken today, our most recent presidents had to be born before President Hoover died in October of 1964… and they ALL were.

Here’s some examples:

President Joe Biden was born in 1942.

President Donald Trump, President Bill Clinton, and President George W. Bush were all born in 1946.

President Barack Obama was born in August of 1961. He was a three-year-old toddler when President Herbert Hoover passed away.

​Because President Obama, our youngest living president, was alive before President Hoover died, the chain remains perfectly intact.

Until our country elects a president who was born after October 20th, 1964, this incredible line of history connects every single leader straight back to President Hoover.

I hope you found it as interesting as I do. Please share this post with other history lovers today.

Seriously – this is really pretty cool!l, y’all!

Now – a bonus question for those of you who are still with me! What U.S. President set the record for living the longest? Was it President Hoover? Yes? No? If not him, then who???

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Meeting Mr. Edwards

A Garth Williams illustration from Little House on the Prairie showing Mr. Edwards dancing, signed in blue ink by Gary Mason.

How many of you loved the character of Mr. Edwards, played so beautifully by Victor French in the 1970’s television series Little House on the Prairie?

How many of you loved reading about the character of Mr. Edwards in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books?

He was one of my favorites in both the series and the books.

I was in second grade when Michael Landon’s Little House on the Prairie television movie—the premiere for the highly anticipated upcoming series—first aired. My mother bought me the book Little House on the Prairie, the first of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s writings I had ever read, and I immediately fell in love with her stories. I enjoyed reading about the Ingalls family’s lives and I loved the chapters that included their kindhearted, fun-loving neighbor, Mr. Edwards. I so enjoyed his pioneer spirit and his caring heart. He pitched in to help the family build their cabin. When Pa was away, he came over twice a day to do the chores so Ma wouldn’t have to. Laura’s love for him was evident in the way she wrote about him. I never imagined that decades later a weekend road trip would bring me face to face with his family tree.

My friend Kay and I took a drive last Saturday over to the Little House on the Prairie Museum near Independence, Kansas. It is the homestead where Charles and Caroline Ingalls settled with their family back in the 1870s. I’ve been over there before – I love visiting all the Ingalls’ homesites. I wanted to go back to do a bit of research and take some photos for a little story I’m working on, and I was so excited to see it again. If you’re a fan of the books and you’ve never been, it’s a great place to visit!

I was excited when we got there and took a few pictures before we went inside the gift shop to buy tickets for the tour. The young lady behind the register was helping some other folks, so I decided to shop a bit before paying my admission. As I was walking around, a pleasant looking gentleman in a bright T-shirt came up and asked me what had happened to my arm. He told me that he had trouble with his own arm back in the day and warned me to be careful with mine while it healed. We struck up a warm conversation. He had a bright, warm smile, a beautiful twinkle in his eyes, and he was a delight to visit with… He said that his name is Gary Mason, and he’s 90 years old. He proudly told me that he is the great-grandson of Edmund Mason—a gentleman who lived on a piece of land right behind the Ingalls family and served as an inspiration for the character of Mr. Edwards. (While some scholars believe Mr. Edwards was actually a composite character made up of a few different neighbors Laura knew, most agree that Edmund Mason was definitely one of the primary influences.)

Mr. Mason proudly showed me a case hanging on the wall in the gift shop containing an old hand-forged axe that had belonged to his great-grandfather. He told me that the axe had spent years on his farm before he decided to donate it to the museum so people could enjoy seeing it. He also mentioned that it’s entirely possible – even probable – that this very axe was used to help build the original Ingalls’ cabin. Seriously, that’s pretty cool!

A museum display case containing the antique hand-forged axe belonging to Edmund Mason, alongside historical photos and newspaper articles.
The display featuring Edmund Mason’s hand-forged axe, donated to the museum by his great-grandson, Gary Mason.

I visited with Mr. Mason for a while and then asked if he would mind if I took his picture. He was happy to oblige, asking if I’d like for him to pose next to the axe. (Of course I would!) Before I left the gift shop, I bought a copy of Little House on the Prairie and asked if he’d sign it for me.

Mr. Gary Mason, the 90-year-old great-grandson of Edmund Mason (the inspiration for Mr. Edwards), standing in the Little House on the Prairie Museum gift shop.
Mr. Gary Mason, great-grandson of Edmund Mason, visiting with folks at the Little House on the Prairie Museum in Independence, Kansas.

He opened the book cover carefully and started flipping through the pages while asking, “Now… I sign it inside the story if that’s okay?”

As I said, I’m a pretty big student of these books and I also love Garth Williams’ beautiful pencil illustrations… so I smiled at him and replied, “Are you going to sign it right by the picture where Mr. Edwards dances?”

He instantly looked up with a happy smile, his eyes twinkling even more. The young lady behind the counter beamed right along with him. “Yeah,” Mr. Mason grinned proudly, “that’s exactly where I sign it!”

I loved my day at the Prairie Museum, and I’m going to write more about it soon. But I have to say, meeting Mr. Mason was the highlight of our visit. He spends a lot of his weekends at the museum because he loves greeting visitors, sharing his stories, and keeping his family’s pioneer legacy alive. If you ever find yourself near Independence (Kansas, not Missouri!), stop by. You might just get to meet him yourself and shake hands with “Mr. Edwards” family tree. How cool is that!

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A Surprise Detour

Good day! If you’ve been reading here for a while, you know how much I love a good story—especially when it happens in real life.

A couple of years ago, a friend and I took a completely unexpected detour on our way home from Savannah. It turned out to be one of my favorite travel memories!

I’ve started writing about this adventure, the history we uncovered, and the charm of this little town over on my Facebook page. I’m telling the story in a few parts (for quick reads), and I’ve included some pictures to go along with it.

I hope you’ll “go” for a visit to this little “off the beaten path” town with me through my stories. It’s such a charming little place! I invite you to click the link below and join the fun. I so hope you enjoy it! More to come!

[Please click here to read Part 1 of the story!]