Recently the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation hosted our July Fourth at the Notch Celebration, including a remembrance ceremony at the Plymouth Notch Cemetery and a special reading of the Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge to celebrate our thirtieth president’s birthday and the birth of our nation.
The event was held at the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site in Plymouth Notch, Vt. A color guard from the Vermont National Guard, including Adjutant General Steven Cray, led the procession to the Plymouth Notch Cemetery. The celebration featured a moving ceremony where a wreath from the White House was placed on the President’s grave. Members of President Coolidge’s family were in attendance. The great-granddaughter of Calvin and Grace Coolidge, Jennifer Sayles Harville, opened the ceremony by singing the National Anthem. Rich Lowry of National Review gave touching remarks on how the death of Coolidge’s younger son affected his presidency, relating it to the similar tragedy that Abraham Lincoln experienced in the White House. The children present laid a wreath on Coolidge’s younger son’s grave, recognizing the 90th anniversary of the untimely death of Calvin Coolidge, Jr.
The group then proceeded to Plymouth’s Union Christian Church for a full-length, group reading of Coolidge’s Autobiography, which continued until around 6:30 PM.
Other enjoyable events throughout the day included a delicious chicken barbecue at the site’s restaurant, The Wilder House, wine and cheese tasting at the Plymouth Artisan Cheese Factory, and horse-drawn wagon rides with Plymouth resident Fred DePaul.
Thank you to all our wonderful Coolidge Club members who attended. More pictures are posted on the CCPF Facebook and Flickr page.
