Community Chat

[On It]

Harry Truman is my first memory of a sitting President. This was before we had television. President Truman came to a nearby city. My grandfather and my dad took me with them to see him. I remember the event clearly. We had excellent seats.

[ninjawife]

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@Coastalcarolina wrote:

President Nixon for me.  Remember well the summer of Watergate.  Home from school and nothing on the networks but those long hearings with the men in black suits.  Boring for a young child.  I still remember him saluting from Marine One after he was impeached.  My mom cried.

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@Coastalcarolina I was 5 years old in 1974 and I vividly remember the Watergate hearings.  They interupted my mother's soap opera General Hospital.  I do not remember if I knew the hearings were related to President Nixon. 

[haddon9]

While I don't really remember Eisenhower, I do remember wating in line with my mother for her to vote for Kennedy.

[Biftu]

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@Coastalcarolina wrote:

President Nixon for me.  Remember well the summer of Watergate.  Home from school and nothing on the networks but those long hearings with the men in black suits.  Boring for a young child.  I still remember him saluting from Marine One after he was impeached.  My mom cried.

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@Coastalcarolina  She should have cried when he got elected.

[Sooner]

How smart am I?  Smart enough not to answer that.

Smart about Presidents?  Yes I am!  I have read so many books about them, both biographies and autobiographies and books about their terms in office and their policies.

Plus books about those who served with them in cabinet positions, and also books about the first ladies.  

And I have learned a lot about many of them through what their autobiographies don't say.  

[Burnsite]

My parents were second-gen immigrants (from rural Ireland and rural Canada, the maritimes) and both grew up in Quincy, MA--then and now a gateway city for new Americans.

The first president I knew anything about was therefore the second prez, John Adams, as his farm, originally  just a farm, by the mid-20th century was a city, Quincy. 

We were taken to see his house when visiting the city for visits to our grandparents.

My parents had unique positions on presidential campaigns--I suspect they differed in their politics.  But when we asked during campaigns who was the better candidate, they told us to decide for ourselves.  They taught us that the individual decides the candidates for whom they vote.

[Coastalcarolina]

@Biftu , If I recall correctly, she cried to see the state of our union.....not necessarily the man himself. 

[Sooner]

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@Biftu wrote:

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@Coastalcarolina wrote:

President Nixon for me.  Remember well the summer of Watergate.  Home from school and nothing on the networks but those long hearings with the men in black suits.  Boring for a young child.  I still remember him saluting from Marine One after he was impeached.  My mom cried.

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@Coastalcarolina  She should have cried when he got elected.

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@Biftu Interesting to me that even after he was out of office, pesidents would call him to talk about foreign affairs.  He was brilliant in that area and they respected his opinions and knowledge of foreign policy.  

That came as a surprise to me.  Of course he had issues, he had a rotten personality, and he'd had an "unusual" upbringing. But to read about him is fascinating.  I've never been a fan of his, but there is a lot to him I never imagined.  

[ROMARY]

I'm not smart at all.   

But, now-a-days, I can 'look up' just about everything.  Or ask Alexa.

Btw, I very vividly recall President Kennedy, his wife Jackie, John-John, and Caroline.

I still (very often) think of them.

[Mersha]

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@icezeus wrote:

The first president that I personally remember would be Ronald Reagan. I was in Elementary school when he was shot, and I remember we collected jelly beans to send to him.

I was always aware of John F. Kennedy, because I grew up in a household with my grandmother. On one of her Walls there were three pictures. Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King jr. and John F. Kennedy. We were also Roman Catholic. So he had high standing in our household. Hence the picture placement on the wall. 

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@icezeus   I understand completely.

My father's family was Irish Catholic as well.  In addition, my father served on a PT boat with JFK in the Pacific Theater during WWII so I remember pictures of him and the PT boats throughout the house.

The thought that someone Irish and Catholic was in the White House was a glorious time for my family.  It indicated to them anything was possible in this great country. 

JFK is the President I remembered and knew about first.