It so happened that I had to go to Grand Rapids so on a whim I said let’s go see the Ford library. Boy was I impressed. The library like all libraries for Presidents are slanted to the good which a president has done during his life. Gerald Ford was a man who did not want to be President but he took over office and did the best he could during the troubling times of our nation, in the early 1970’s. The library has information about his childhood, and something that struck me was that his father was his step father as him mom divorced his real father soon after he was born. That is something that is hard to believe in the mid 1910’s. Ford was an Eagle Scout and an athlete while growing up. During high school he went to the integrated school in Grand Rapids and then onward to the University of Michigan. Playing football at the school he even supported his African-American teammate in not wanting to play against Georgia Tech who stated they would not play Michigan if their lone African-American was going to play. He did end up playing at the request of his teammate who did not play. Ford showed integrity at a young age. Law school at Yale was next and he was the JV football coach while getting his degree. Seems that not everything was given to him but he had to earn it. After law school he went into the Navy during WWII and was on an aircraft carrier. The carrier went into a typhoon and was almost lost but the crew did a great job in saving the ship. Ford almost lost his life falling off the deck during the typhoon but his foot caught a lip of the deck and he was able to swing to a catwalk and save his own life.
Politics aș a US Congressman was something he did when he got back to the States. He had a law practice but wanted more. The same time he was running for Congress he got married to Betty. They raised their children in Alexandria, VA their residence during his time in Washington. I find it interesting that he still lived in Alexandria when he was President, the first day in office. Ford did not have the luxury of a transition period from winning an election to taking office, his was hours from the time Nixon resigned and he was into making decisions. The first day’s agenda is in the museum and to see the names of the people who were on his team when he stated was interesting. The same people were in politics many years later. The names like Greenspan, Haig, and Rumsfeld are ones that I recall.
Ford did some unpopular things like pardon Nixon but he felt that it was the right thing for the country to do and get us healing after the Watergate scandal. I would say that both of our major political parties need to thing about this and rethink what their agenda’s are for their party and our country. Outside the library, you can walk along the river to the final resting place of Gerald and Betty Ford.
I am sure glad that I came to this library and look forward to many more libraries of Presidents.
