Presidents and First Ladies Trivia

[J. Beckert]

If that's the correct answer, I can't wait to hear what Hint # 1 has to do with President Reagan. This should be good.....

[L Verge]

I'm working on that. Was he president when Lennon was murdered?

[Eva Elisabeth]

Sorry for delay! Brilliant, Laurie, it was RR - Ronald Reagan. As I said, it was a picture puzzle.... John Lennon's was just the the "coolest" RR I could think of. BTW, he was murdered on Dec 8, 1980.

[L Verge]

I would never have figured the RR symbolism between Reagan and the Rolls Royce. I just assumed that the assassination of one and the attempt on the other was the link. I already knew that Reagan had switched political parties.

[Eva Elisabeth]

AFAIK, Ronald Reagan was one of the oldest to take office. Was there any older president?

[Jim Garrett]

AFAIK, Ronald Reagan was one of the oldest to take office. Was there any older president?

Ronald Reagan was the oldest at 69 followed closely by William Henry Harrison. Ronald Reagan served two terms, William Henry Harrison served two minutes.

[Anita]

Who is the gentleman in the portrait and what is his connection to George Washington? Click image to enlarge.

   

[RJNorton]

Good morning, Anita. I think that gentleman is Parson Weems, and he wrote about the George Washington/cherry tree story in The Life of Washington. I have seen lists of books Abraham Lincoln read during his Indiana years, and several works by Parson Weems are included in the list.

[Anita]

Hello Roger. You are amazing. It is indeed Parson Weems. I figured this would be a real stumper!
(Just realized I posted on the wrong thread, but you win anyway!)

Have you seen this? http://carlanthonyonline.com/2012/02/20/...tree-tale/

Your prize is a glass of Martha Washington's Cherry Bounce. Martha Washington’s own recipe for Cherry Bounce.

TRADITIONAL CHERRY BOUNCE

2 quarts of unpitted sweet, sour or wild cherries

1 quart of bourbon whiskey

3 cups of sugar

Combine the cherries, sugar in a glass container and cover tightly, letting it rest in a warm cupboard for at least two months or until a thick brown syrup develops. After this, pour the bourbon in and mix, then return it to rest for another month, after which drain the solids from the liquid and imbibe the latter or seal it and return to sit until ready for serving.

[L Verge]

We used to make something similar with plums and vodka. We were the ones who bounced -- off the walls. Ours was called Plum-Dum, as in being plum-dumb to drink it. But it was sure good.

[Anita]

We used to make something similar with plums and vodka. We were the ones who bounced -- off the walls. Ours was called Plum-Dum, as in being plum-dumb to drink it. But it was sure good.

Thank you. I needed a laugh. It's been a long day. I never thought about what the "Bounce" referred to in those old Southern recipes. Makes complete sense.

[RJNorton]

Anita, thank you for posting that link! I enjoyed that article. Now, if that be the case and as an animal lover, I will set about to prove this story true. It's one of my favorite Lincoln stories and comes from an old book (1906) by J. B. McClure:

"An amusing incident occurred in connection with 'riding the circuit,' which gives a pleasant glimpse into the good lawyer's heart. He was riding by a deep slough, in which, to his exceeding pain, he saw a pig struggling, and with such faint efforts that it was evident that he could not extricate himself from the mud. Mr. Lincoln looked at the pig and the mud which enveloped him, and then looked at some new clothes with which he had but a short time before enveloped himself. Deciding against the claims of the pig, he rode on, but he could not get rid of the vision of the poor brute, and, at last, after riding two miles, he turned back, determined to rescue the animal at the expense of his new clothes. Arrived at the spot, he tied his horse, and coolly went to work to build of old rails a passage to the bottom of the hole. Descending on these rails, he seized the pig and dragged him out, but not without serious damage to the clothes he wore. Washing his hands in the nearest brook, and wiping them on on the grass, he mounted his gig and rode along. He then fell to examining the motive that sent him back to the release of the pig. At the first thought, it seemed to be pure benevolence, but, at length, he came to the conclusion that it was selfishness, for he certainly went to the pig's relief in order (as he said to the friend to whom he related the incident) to "take a pain out of his mind." This is certainly a new view of the nature of sympathy, and one which it will be well for the casuist to examine."

[L Verge]

We used to make something similar with plums and vodka. We were the ones who bounced -- off the walls. Ours was called Plum-Dum, as in being plum-dumb to drink it. But it was sure good.

Thank you. I needed a laugh. It's been a long day. I never thought about what the "Bounce" referred to in those old Southern recipes. Makes complete sense.

Bet that's where the term, "Puts a bounce in your step" came from.

[Anita]

Anita, thank you for posting that link! I enjoyed that article. Now, if that be the case and as an animal lover, I will set about to prove this story true. It's one of my favorite Lincoln stories and comes from an old book (1906) by J. B. McClure:

"An amusing incident occurred in connection with 'riding the circuit,' which gives a pleasant glimpse into the good lawyer's heart. He was riding by a deep slough, in which, to his exceeding pain, he saw a pig struggling, and with such faint efforts that it was evident that he could not extricate himself from the mud. Mr. Lincoln looked at the pig and the mud which enveloped him, and then looked at some new clothes with which he had but a short time before enveloped himself. Deciding against the claims of the pig, he rode on, but he could not get rid of the vision of the poor brute, and, at last, after riding two miles, he turned back, determined to rescue the animal at the expense of his new clothes. Arrived at the spot, he tied his horse, and coolly went to work to build of old rails a passage to the bottom of the hole. Descending on these rails, he seized the pig and dragged him out, but not without serious damage to the clothes he wore. Washing his hands in the nearest brook, and wiping them on on the grass, he mounted his gig and rode along. He then fell to examining the motive that sent him back to the release of the pig. At the first thought, it seemed to be pure benevolence, but, at length, he came to the conclusion that it was selfishness, for he certainly went to the pig's relief in order (as he said to the friend to whom he related the incident) to "take a pain out of his mind." This is certainly a new view of the nature of sympathy, and one which it will be well for the casuist to examine."

Roger, I love this story. If only more people experienced "pain in the mind" at the suffering of others, including our animal friends, there would be less suffering in the world.

[Eva Elisabeth]

I wish people would stop to let animals suffer for their (the people's) egoistic purposes - I'm thinking e.g of the big chicken farms that cause the poor creatures lifelong pain under awful conditions, it's so cruel! (Don't know if such farms exist in America, but satisfying the customers' endless desire by animals kept in species-appropriate environment should be the same problem worldwide. No, I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm willing to pay a little more and eat meat less often instead).