LUDLOW, Vt. – Tracy W. Messer of the Calvin Coolidge Foundation, portraying President Calvin Coolidge, addressed the Ludlow Rotary Club at its Aug. 15 meeting. On the heels of the Centennial Celebration of his Aug. 3, 1923, inauguration, the reenacted 30th President of the United States told stories and recited from his biography.
One of the stories Messer told was that, as president, Coolidge raised over $10 million for the 1927 floods in Mississippi. However, many people were upset by his failure to come visit the devastation. Consequently, when Vermont flooded later that year, he did not come home because he had not gone to Mississippi. Instead, he sent the best engineer in the country, Herbert H. Hoover, to oversee repairs.
During his tenure, Coolidge oversaw the economic prosperity of the Roaring 20s. Families installed indoor plumbing and electricity in their homes, and the five-day work week was adopted as the national standard. Coolidge did not choose to run in 1928, as he wanted to get out after six years in office. Had he run and won again, he would have served 10 years, and he felt that was too long for any one person to hold the office.
As Calvin Coolidge, Messer quoted the poem “Vermont is a state I love” in closing.