Since we're on the way home, our only real activity today (Friday) is visiting the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and birthplace. in Staunton, VA. The schedule allowed an hour and a half there with a short guided tour and then time to browse . It was sufficient and I don't think anyone felt they didn't get to see what they wanted. However picture taking in the museum was prohibited, so I can't show you what we saw.
First we went thru the Presbyterian Manse where little Tommy was born. We saw the parlor, formal dining room, parent's bedroom, then visited the kitchen, scullery and children's room in the basement. Period furnishings along with some of the Wilson's personal books and furniture were in the house. A lovely hand stitched quilt was on the bed in the bedroom we saw, as was a cradle. I thought it interesting that the (treadle) sewing machine was in the parlor where guests were entertained. The docent mentioned that it was a status thing, to have a sewing machine, so they wanted to show it off. It was a fore-runner to the treadle machines that I've seen. The kitchen was most interesting with a cast iron cook stove called a "range" taking prominence. It was a new invention in the 1850's to have a cook stove with a "range of temperatures". Cool! didn't know where that term came from. We were told that Wilson was slow to learn to read, a skill he didn't master til he was about 10-- it is thought that he was dyslexic, but when he learned, he did extremely well. He is the only president to earn a Phd-- many have received honorary degrees, but his was earned. Before he became the 28th U S President, he was president of Princeton and governor of New Jersey.
The household consisted of Wilson's father( a Presbyterian minister), his mother and 3 servants. The folks talking to us called these people slaves, but slavery had been abolished by then, so I'm calling them servants. It was mentioned that the workers came with the house and were not hired by the Wilsons. They were "rented" (hired?) by the Presbyterian church. They were a cook, a scullery maid and a house man who took care of the heavy chores and slept by the back door as protection.
The museum had a short film to watch about Woodrow Wilson and had various displays. The one which interested us the most was WW's 1919 Pierce Arrow, which is in beautiful condition, having been completely redone. It is absolutely pristine looking and had the interesting addition of a little pump knob on the dashboard for the driver to keep the pressure up in the gas tank. Wonder why the steering wheel is on the "wrong" side, it was built in Buffalo, NY. It is still used in parades.
We ate lunch at Cracker Barrel-- it is amazing how efficiently they can feed large groups with a minimum of fuss.
We drove, we had a rest stop, we drove some more, we ate this time at the Sagebrush Steakhouse in Kingsport, Tenn. (one of our best meals on the trip) and we drove some more to get to our hotel for the night in Kodak, Tenn. We are on page 14 of a 15 page itinerary. Yeah, only two more days on the bus.
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