Calvin Coolidge, age 3

Calvin's parents, John Calvin Coolidge and Victoria Josephine Moor, grew up in Plymouth Notch and were married in 1868. Both were from families that had helped settle the town shortly after the Revolutionary War. Everyone in Plymouth Notch worked hard to keep the farms and community running smoothly. Calvin's father ran the general store in the village. After he sold the business in 1877, John Coolidge continued to serve the community in many ways - as a selectman, school superintendent, state legislator, constable and Justice of the Peace. He was given the honorary title of "Colonel" when he was a member of Governor William Stickney's staff. Although Calvin's mother was very ill during much of his childhood, she taught Calvin how to read and helped him sew a quilt when he was 10 years old. Calvin had one sister, Abbie, who was born in 1875.

	Abbie Coolidge, Calvin's sister

Calvin and Abbie were expected to do chores and help run the house. One of young Calvin's chores was to make sure the woodbox was full and that there was plenty of kindling. This was a big responsibility because the wood was needed to heat the house, cook food and heat water. When Calvin was about ten years old, he remembered late one night that he had forgotten to fill the woodbox. So he got out of bed and dressed very quietly. He crept down the stairs and filled the woodbox in the middle of the night. Calvin knew that the wood needed to be near the stove before breakfast the next morning.

Calvin also helped out on his Grandfather Coolidge's farm. Early on, Calvin helped with haying in the summer and harvesting in the fall. Of all the farm activities, Calvin loved maple sugaring the most. His father said that Calvin could get more sap from trees than anyone else he knew. Calvin was allowed to stir the boiling sap. He had to be careful not to burn the liquid as it became syrup. It took about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup.

Sugaring season heralded the end of a long winter. Everyone lent a hand.

Calvin and his sister were very good friends. They liked to visit their grandparents who lived in a house across the meadow. Calvin's grandfather, Calvin Galusha Coolidge, raised Arabian horses. Calvin Galusha also kept peacocks on his farm and liked to play practical jokes on anyone he could fool. Calvin's grandmother ran a Sunday school and often read stories aloud to him. Everyone called her Aunt Mede. Aunt Mede helped raise Calvin after his mother died when he was twelve years old.

Like his grandfather, Calvin enjoyed practical jokes, but people often didn't suspect him because he was so quiet. One story says that he and a few of his friends once locked a mule in their classroom! Calvin was also shy and found it difficult to meet new people. When he was much older he told a friend, "I would go into a panic if I heard strange voices in the kitchen. I felt I just couldn't meet the people and shake hands with them. Most of the visitors would sit with Father and Mother in the kitchen, and the hardest thing in the world was to have to go through the kitchen door and give them a greeting." Calvin said he felt fine with old friends, "but every time I meet a stranger, I've got to go through the old kitchen door, back home, and it's not easy."

President and Mrs. Coolidge at Plymouth

Calvin went to the one-room school-house in Plymouth Notch with all the other neighborhood children. In the 1880s it was common for all the grades to be in one room. The older children helped the younger ones with their lessons. Some boys went to school only during the winter because their help was needed on the farm at other times. Calvin was not the best student in his class, but he worked hard. When he was twelve years old, he went away to school at the Black River Academy in nearby Ludlow. There, Calvin learned advanced subjects like French, algebra and Latin. After he graduated from Black River Academy, Calvin went to Amherst College in Massachusetts.

Calvin Coolidge stayed in Massachusetts and became a lawyer. It was about this time that he met his future wife, Grace Anna Goodhue, who was from Burlington, Vermont. Grace taught hearing-impaired children and was a bright and charming woman. Calvin and Grace soon fell in love and were married in 1905. They had two sons named John and Calvin, Jr.

	Governor and Mrs. Coolidge with their sons John and Calvin, Jr.

Calvin Coolidge discovered that he liked being in politics. He was a proud Republican and held many local and state offices. He eventually became the Governor of Massachusetts. While he was governor, the Boston police went on strike. Governor Coolidge didn't believe that the police should have stopped working. He said, "There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, anytime." People all over the country thought this remark made good sense. In fact, Calvin Coolidge was known for his common sense, patience and humor. For these and other qualities, he was nominated for Vice President of the United States in 1920.

Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge were elected President and Vice President in 1920. When President Harding died suddenly in the summer of 1923, everyone was shocked. Calvin and Grace Coolidge happened to be visiting his family in Plymouth Notch at the time. They went to bed without any idea that early the next morning, on August 3, 1923, Calvin Coolidge would become the President of the United States.

It was Colonel John who woke Calvin to tell him that President Harding had died. Everyone got dressed, prayed, and went downstairs to decide what to do. All agreed it was very important to make Calvin Coolidge the official President as soon as possible. A telephone was temporarily installed so they could call Washington, D.C. They learned that Colonel John could administer the Presidential Oath of Office because he was a notary public. By the light of a kerosene lamp (the house had no electricity), Calvin Coolidge became the thirtieth President of the United States. Coolidge was the only President to be sworn in by his father and in his family's home.

Coolidge was a popular President. He was known throughout Washington as a quiet, industrious man whose nickname was "Silent Cal." He easily won the election in 1924 with his Vice Presidential running mate Charles Dawes. While he was President, Calvin Coolidge met many famous people like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Charles Lindbergh. This was an exciting time in American history known as "The Roaring Twenties".

Entertaining visitors on the lawn at Plymouth.

From the left: Harvey Firestone, the President, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Russell Firestone (standing), Mrs. Coolidge, and Col. John Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge did not run for another term as President in 1928. He and Grace returned to Massachusetts with many memories and gifts that people had given them when they were in the White House. They visited Plymouth Notch whenever they could. Calvin Coolidge died in 1933. He was buried in the Plymouth Notch Cemetery near his family and boyhood friends.

For more information on the Coolidge Era, visit the Library of Congress' web site, Thrift and Prosperity. For more information on the Presidency in general, visit The American Presidency.