August 23, 2021 @ 09:00 EDT
Site Visit #2
Today’s visit offered quite a juxtaposition to yesterday’s. Whereas Herbert Hoover was born in a two-room cabin in a tiny Iowa town, William Howard Taft (I’m not sure why he is known by his full name) was born and raised in a large house situated on a hill overlooking Cincinnati, Ohio. Neither grew up with a goal of becoming President of the United States, yet both reached that pinnacle.
I lived in the Cincinnati area for around 35 years, yet never made it to this Historic Site. Isn’t that always the truth – you don’t visit the sites in your own backyard. With my first official post-retirement trip to parks simply being a return drive from Iowa to Florida, passing through Ohio, I immediately added this location to my initial group.
The National Park has a small parking lot and Visitor’s Center located next door to the actual house. On nice summer days like this one, they set up a table outside with information and the famous park “unigrid” brochure. A ranger is available to answer any questions. Inside, there is a small gift shop (always, a gift shop!) and the Passport stamp station. A short biographical movie also played in a small attached room, giving a nice background on Taft.
After seeing the movie, I headed over to the main house. The Park Service used to offer guided tours of the home, but some virus put a stop (hopefully temporarily) to those. Rather, visitors can wander the home following a self-guided tour.
The house was splendid, with each room decked out in fine furniture and accessories. In addition, each room featured informational posters – often hanging in frames in lieu of artwork – highlighting some aspect of Taft’s life.
The Taft family was already well known in Ohio for their work in the law, both as lawyers and judges. William followed the same path as a lawyer but was soon appointed a judge in Cincinnati. This started a career in public service both as a judge at various levels, and in other roles. He was appointed governor of the Philippines by President McKinley, tasked with moving the newly acquired islands from a military to a civilian government. He became friends with Theodore Roosevelt, who backed Taft for President in 1908.
Sadly, the two men had a falling out during Taft’s administration. Roosevelt chose to oppose Taft in 1912 and split the Republican ticket, allowing the highly racist Woodrow Wilson to win the election.
Perhaps Taft got the last laugh, though. Most boys of that time wanted to grow up and be President, but from his earliest days, he had wanted to be a Supreme Court justice. In 1921, the Chief Justice died and newly elected President Harding appointed Taft to fill the vacancy. For him, a boyhood dream had come true.
Steve
