19: NO PRESIDENTIAL SKELTON IN MY CLOSET

Wednesday July 9, 2014 was a day of rest and relaxation for me as my photographer and his wife took Nashville by storm; well, maybe it was more like a slight sprinkle. I knew they had planned on winging it most of the day with only one concrete stop on their agenda: they had tickets for an evening performance at the Grand Ole Opry. I was happy that they left me at the cottage as I am a Classic Rock bobble head. The last thing I needed to do was to sit in my case all night and listen to country music – especially Charlie Daniels. When they returned to the cottage around midnight, I just shook my head.

Our three-day stay in the Nashville area was finished and I was just happy that my 1792 resin shoes hadn’t been replaced with cowboy boots. By 8:00am on July 10 2014, we said our “goodbyes” to LuAnn Reid and headed north along the back highways towards Southwest Indiana.

At 11:45am, we arrived at our only Presidential site of the day; William Henry Harrison’s mansion known as ‘Grouseland’ which was located in Vincennes, Indiana. When I heard my photographer say out loud that we were at Grouseland, I said to myself: “I thought Elvis lived in Memphis, not Vincennes.” Without hesitation, I was whisked out of my protective case and carried to the front yard of the historic home for my first photo-op in over a day.

The two and a half-story red brick home was built in 1804 for William Henry Harrison during his term as Governor of the Indiana Territory.  Harrison called his new digs “Grouseland” because of the abundance of grouse in the area.  Harrison’s new home was located in a walnut grove that overlooked the Wabash River and its design was inspired by Berkeley Plantation in Virginia; which was Harrison’s birthplace.

As I stood on the wooden porch of Grouseland thinking about how the Native American’s were taken advantage of there, a younger man in his late 20’s came out of the home and asked if we were there for a tour.  At that moment my photographer asked him the same two important questions that he asks at most historical sites:  Is photography allowed inside and are the furnishings authentic?  The answer to both of the questions was “no” – so he declined the offer for a paid tour. Once again I wondered if my photographer was just cheap or if it was truly about the authenticity and pictures.

After the decision was made to skip a tour of Grouseland, I was disappointed and thought it was a mistake.  That elegant 13-room mansion, which was the first brick home in Indiana, played a huge part in the life of William Henry Harrison.  Of William and Anna’s ten children, four of them were born in Grouseland – including John Scott Harrison who fathered future 23^rd President Benjamin Harrison.  John Scott was the only person in history to be both a son and father of a U.S. President – and he was born inside that mansion. Even without photos, it would’ve been worthwhile for me to stand in the footsteps of a future President inside his home. Perhaps someday I will get back to Vincennes and we can talk our way into some candid photographs of Grouseland’s interior.

We spent another half hour or so walking the grounds of Grouseland as we looked at some of the other buildings that were situated on the property. Since those buildings appeared to be replicas of ones that once graced the grounds, we returned to the Avenger and drove nearly a mile north to the birthplace home of comedian Red Skelton.

Richard Bernard Skelton was born July 18, 1913 in Vincennes, Indiana and later was known professionally as Red Skelton. For my photographer and his wife who grew up in the 1960s, The Red Skelton Show was a staple of their family’s entertainment and Skelton was Tom’s father’s favorite comedian. Although I stayed inside the camera bag, I was carried onto the porch of the birthplace house as my photographer tried to look inside the lone front window.

Off in the distance, beyond a large parking lot, we could see the Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy. We had known about the birth house in advance, but the museum was a pleasant surprise; especially once we went inside.

As I was carried around the museum, I could hear the childhood stories that my photographer was telling of his memories from the Red Skelton Show. The final statement that he said about Skelton really brought the comedian to life for me: “When he was on TV, Red Skelton was the funniest and kindest entertainer there was. Red was pure and gentle and he was never replaced.”

The museum’s displays brought back to life times gone by; costumes, quotes, and everything Red Skelton. Once again we had stumbled upon an unexpected diamond when the Presidential site brought us to Vincennes.

My photographer and Vicki had their share of laughs and their childhood memories flooded back at the Red Skelton museum, but our goal was to find a motel in Springfield, Illinois before day’s end and be in position for the Abraham Lincoln sites the following day. We made the 160-mile drive along the small highways of Indiana and Illinois; from my camera case all I heard was Vicki talk about seeing nothing but miles and miles of corn. I was happy that I missed that!

In Springfield, we once again we found a Drury Inn and once again hot dogs were on the menu. I was placed alongside the TV set for the night, which was my usual place most nights. But on that particular night, as I stood silently in the darkness, I had imagined the TV coming on and I watched the Red Skelton Show. And just as the night turned into morning, I saw Red look into the camera and sincerely say: “Good night and may God bless”.