When it came to cigars, President Ulysses S. Grant wasn’t about to come up short. In fact, the Savior of the Union allegedly smoked 20 stogies per day and in 1885, Grant’s habit finally caught up with him as he…
Tag: Abraham Lincoln
367: ANDREW JOHNSON FILLED BIG SHOES DURING HIS YOUTUBE APPEARANCE
When President Abraham Lincoln was shot in Ford’s Theater on April 14, 1865 and died the next morning at 7:22am, Vice President Andrew Johnson knew he had big shoes to fill. And while most people remember Johnson for being the…
366: THE ESCAPE AND MAN-HUNT FOR LINCOLN ASSASSIN JOHN WILKES BOOTH
After actor John Wilkes Booth pulled the trigger on his derringer and assassinated President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865, he fled Ford’s Theater and was on the run for twelve days. Have you ever wondered where Booth went, who…
365: THE LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN IS CELEBRATED ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Although Thomas Jefferson is Tom’s and my favorite President, it’s hard to argue that Abraham Lincoln was America’s greatest President. After all, Lincoln devoted his life to keep our country united during the Civil War and he died in that…
342: FROM DUTCH BOY SHOES TO HIS RAWHIDE BOOTS, REAGAN NEVER FORGOT HIS DIXON ROOTS
During the afternoon of Wednesday July 23, 2025, my companions and I had become completely enthralled with the childhood of Ronald Reagan. We had spent a little over an hour in Tampico, Illinois where we toured Reagan’s birthplace, and then…
325: OH, GIVE ME A HOME, WHERE BUFFALO BILL ROAMED
My photographer’s alarm rang at 6:00am on Sunday July 6, 2025, and the second day of our trip was about to begin in West Branch, Iowa. The first site of the day, however, would be visited by Tom and me…
323: A HISTORY-LOVIN’ TEN-YEAR-OLD SPENT SPRING BREAK WITH RUTHERFORD B. HAYES AND ME
Four months and seven days ago, my photographer and I returned from our final trip of 2024. Now we have a new notion, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all bobble heads are created equal. The world…
310: THE FINALE IN THE LAND OF LINCOLN ENDED WITH A TRIPLE XXX RATING
When Tom’s alarm went off at six o’clock on Sunday August 4, 2024, it was a bittersweet moment for the entire clan. It was time to pack up and start the laborious journey home – which was only a short…
304: THE TALE OF TWO BIRTHPLACES – FROM THE UNSINKABLE TO THE UNTHINKABLE
It was Sunday morning July 28, 2024 when Tom’s alarm went off at 6:00am in our Springfield, Illinois Ramada hotel room. As soon as my two companions got themselves ready and all of their belongings packed, they headed downstairs to…
303: MY DAY IN SPRINGFIELD WHERE I STOOD IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF LINCOLN AND JFK
Just over ten years ago, on July 11, 2014, I visited Springfield, Illinois for the first time. For me and my photographer, it seemed great to be back, and I was anxious to take on a day full of Lincoln…