[78-L] Coolidge

[Ken "Silver Showcase"]

David Sanderson wrote:
> On 3/8/2010 5:13 PM, Tom wrote:
>   
>> The story I'd heard was that Mrs. Coolidge had one of her lady
>> friends over for lunch one day, and the friend said to President
>> Coolidge, "I bet Mrs. Coolidge that I could get you to say three
>> words at lunch today."
>>
>> President Coolidge replied, "You lose."
>>     
>
> Notwithstanding his reputation for dourness, Coolidge seems to have had 
> the Yankee instinct for humor.  I have an unlikely object, a Calvin 
> Coolidge calendar for 1933, which has for each month a humorous Coolidge 
> anecdote, including a version of the story above.  I think that he never 
> got to record this material, which would have been a lot of fun.
>   

Another Coolidge anecdote comes from when he became president upon the 
sudden death of Harding in 1923.  Coolidge was at his family farm in 
Vermont where there was no electricity or telephone, thus no way to 
contact the VP without going to the farm and talking to him face to 
face.  That meeting happened in them middle of the night.  He and his 
father were awakened by a messenger and some reporters.  His father, who 
was a notary public, administered the oath just before 3am.  One of the 
reporters asked him how he felt about being president and Coolidge 
reportedly said, "I think I can swing it."

- Ken