BACK AT THE ORIGINAL “CAVE DWELLINGS”..AND FINDING “HOPE”.

  We left Jefferson Monday AM and drove the 100 miles to Hope AR to stay at the Fairgrounds Park …and see the birthplace of William Jefferson Clinton…(yep, another history tour for the Cave Dwellers).   The Fair Park isn’t anything fancy, but it worked for us. We parked in the middle of a grassy area about 11AM and we were the only ones…but by 4PM, there were a couple others.

 

 

Just a big open area of grass…and mosquitos!!  We didn’t spend any time sitting outside feeding them, either!!

 

 

As it turns out, we drove right by Clinton’s birthplace and never knew it when we entered town…His home was just recently taken over by the National Park Service..and the tour is now free.  They give a tour every 30 minutes 9AM to 4PM…We arrived about 1PM, and we were the only ones there…and the only ones on the tour..I love it when I get a Park Ranger’s undivided attention!..

This home is completely surrounded by fence now and there is only one way into it… through the office and gift store.. It was a real blast from the past for McGyver and me…we are of the same ancient 1950’s vintage…

None of the furnishings are original..If they were, people would be wanting a piece of Clinton history to sell on Ebay..and the break-ins would abound.  Hey, we had that same kitchen sink when we moved into our house we live in now!

These are original letters actually written by the Bill Clinton (I think to his grandma) from college at Georgetown University. The photos are original…and trust me,  Ranger Rick didn’t let McGyver and me out of his sight!!

 

Virginia, his mother, was a very pretty lady….with her own interesting story.

 

This is President William Jefferson Clinton’s bedroom as a little boy. Note the Hopalong Cassidy bedspread.  His grandparents’ last name was Cassidy..Check out the picture on the right of “Hopalong Bill”, with a photo of his hero on his T-shirt!..God, I LOVE this photo!  You just cannot make this stuff up!

 

Left, his Mother’s room…and right are his Mother and Father.  His birth father, last name Blythe,  was killed in a car accident 3 months before he was born.     When he was killed, “Bill and his mother lived with her parents, James Eldridge Cassidy and Edith Grisham Cassidy in this house.  He spent the first 4 years of his life here in Hope.   They took care of him when his mother went to New Orleans to complete her training as a nurse anesthetist.  Although he went by the name of Clinton from the time his mother remarried, Roger Clinton never formally adopted him.  When Bill Clinton’s younger brother,  Roger Cassidy Clinton, started school, Bill Clinton legally changed his name.”( There is a 10 year difference in Bill and Roger’s age.)

  We really enjoyed the tour, and they had some great photos of him in the office and gift shop area..I love the middle photo below, and especially what it says……

 

I’m in my element…HISTORY!!!!(Thanks to “Ranger Rick” for taking our photo!)

“…my grandparents and my mother always made me feel I was the most important person in the world to them. Most children will make it if they have just one person who makes them feel that way. I had three.”

~President Bill Clinton.

As you may have guessed, we are back home in Sandwich, IL…On the way home, I got myself a new “smart” phone, as my contract with AT&T was expired…I got me a brand spankin’ new Samsung INFUSE 4G..I have NO idea how to use this thing, let alone how many migs, zigs and bytes it has…I DO know it only cost McGyver $1.00…(somehow I think that was the attraction).

  I finally figured out how to answer and make calls.  My old “dumb” phone had to be “finger punched”…this “smart” one likes to be brushed lightly with my fingertips.(sounds somewhat voyeuristic, in my opinion).  At any rate, I finally got me a cell phone I can look up to…and I instantly loaded the app Zedge, so I could download some awesome ringtones…Hey!, that’s what it’s all about to me..ringtones!!..You can tell LOTS about a person from their ringtone.  My current ringtone is the NFL football music..but I also downloaded the creepy music from the movie “Halloween”…and the music from “Looneytunes”….See what I mean???

So, now that we are home, the blogs will be fairly mild…Wait a minute…Nothing I do can ever be considered mild, right?..I will try to keep you informed of any excitement in our family….Come to think of it, Easter weekend we will be having the entire family here for a “Cave-apalooza”..Trust me, those are never dull…  Also, McGyver turns 70 this Sunday…April Fool’s Day…and no, I am NOT joking about his age…April 1st IS his birthday!!!

…Soooo, I guess all of you who piled OUT of the GMC can jump in someone else’s..But you better stay tuned here, too!! You just never know what will happen!!

“I like my new telephone, my computer works just fine, my calculator is perfect, but Lord, I miss my mind!” ~Author Unknown