Gotta golden tell you that the 11th President of the United States, James Polk…keeps moving around…his remains have been exhumed three times and still…there is another possibility of relocating him yet again.
R.I.GoldenP. President Polk.
Golden Brodie History Nugget
Born in 1782 and died during the Civil War…Kinderhook, New York was his birthplace… of Dutch decent and the son of a tavern owner…made it through middle school…then studied law and passed the bar…had the nickname of “Red Fox of Kinderhook” because of his red flaming hair…served faithfully in Andrew Jackson’s cabinet…was a senator…had a one term presidency from 1837–1841…his presidency began with financial crisis which he inherited…banks failing…know as the “Panic of 1837″…a real run on bad luck for Martin Van Buren…aka Red Fox…8th President of the United States.
No dog paws in the Red Fox White House but Van Buren was given a pair of tiger cubs by the Sultan of Oman…the cubs stayed with Red for a short period of time and then off to the zoo they went. Bet they were beauties…
Golden Brodie the Golden Retriever…digger of history nuggets… signing off…over and out…
Do you know who #7 was? Hint: Initials AJ…yes, you got it…Andrew Jackson. His history is loaded with goodie dog treats… with factoids that will raise your awareness of this man who was loved by many, yet a very controversial figure. Like this…
Jackson’s parents emigrated from Ireland…Jackson killed a man in a duel and carried a bullet in his body as a result of this stand-off…”Old Hickory” won the popular vote for president three times…He was the target of the first attempted presidential assassination…He adopted two Native American boys…and much more…”Old Hickory stabled his steady stead at the White House…Sam Patch…a white stallion that he rode during the War of 1812…AJ also had a racehorse, Truxton and an African grey parrot named Poll…who cussed like a sailor, offending many guests.
Golden interesting…
#6…John Quincy Adams born 1767…first son of a former president to become POTUS…first president photographed… born in Braintree, Massachusetts…Harvard grad… traveled abroad assisting his father…who was a founding father… outstanding multilingual talents…Q spoke English,French and Russian fluently and got by with Greek, Italian and Spanish. John Q’s life had him as a young boy witnessing the Revolutionary War practically in his MA backyard…he knew Thomas Jefferson well and hung out with Benjamin Franklin’s grandchildren…in his father’s footsteps…he dedicated his life to public service…architect of the Monroe Doctrine…after his presidency he served as U.S. Representative from Massachusetts in 1830, serving for the last 17 years of his life with greater acclaim than he had achieved as president.
Best golden digs…Q did not have a dog while in the White House…he did however, have an alligator gifted to him from the Revolutionary War hero the Marquis de Lafayette’s family. In the absence of social media then…ha!… we don’t know how the lovely first lady Abigail Adams felt about the reptile…but the toothy jawed creature lived in a bathtub in the East Wing…constantly shocking people with its mere image…eventually finding a new home (unknown location.) Abigail also raised silk-worms and the silks contributed in the making of her dresses. How about that?! Gator and silks…
5th President of the United States…James Monroe…born in Virginia…graduate of the College of William and Mary…was instrumental and in the room as one of the founding fathers…there are so many “the only or the first to” regarding his presidency that my golden-self had to take a treat and grab a slurp of water. Example…Monroe was the first president to wear long pants…bye bye knee breeches…his daughter was the first bride in the White House…first president to ride in a steamboat and the last to wear a wig. Man he was out there!
His contributions to the development of the United States were monumental.
Here’s the golden part. He had sheep dogs and a black spaniel that enjoyed living in the White House.
This is amazing… this little nugget tugs at my patriotic heart…three of the first five U.S. Presidents died on the 4th of July… John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died in 1826 within hours of each other, while James Monroe, #5, died five years later in 1831 as the fireworks and celebration of our independence rang through the skies and the streets. Golden amazing…Thanks be to these great men.
James Madison…#4…Fourth President of the United States…one of the 8 presidents born in the great state of Virginia…one of the founding fathers…known as the “father of the constitution”…the one responsible for drafting the first 10 amendments to the Bill of Rights…the shortest president at 5′ 4”…there’s more…
My golden digs also uncovered that his wife, Dolley Madison was a very popular and fashionable first lady…she threw great parties..enjoyed wearing a turban..she was the first lady who abandoned the White House with a few precious belongings…fleeing the British soldiers who would set fire to the “People’s House” during the War of 1812…yeah…she left her house open…her food on the dinner table and the invading forces gobbled it up…then burnt and trashed the nation’s capitol…the nerve…
While the Madison’s did not have a dog…they had a green parrot that they adored. Dolley’s quick exit from DC had her clutching the birds cage…the cage that contained her precious talking pet who…by the way… out lived both her and #4. What a sturdy bird!
# 3 President of the USA…TJ…Thomas Jefferson…the renaissance man…true author of the Declaration of Independence…visionary of the manifest destiny of the coming United States of America…and who knew…there’s a dog in there…yeah…the French Briard Sheep Dog.
Big paws up TJ… After being introduced to the Briard breed while in France… Thomas walked the streets of La Havre to find a Briard ready to whelp…purchased her… naming her Buzzy. Buzzy gave birth to two pups in the middle of their Atlantic crossing and there you have the beginnings of this beautiful, intelligent, fierce protector and strong french breed working dog introduced into America.
P.S. TJ also tried to rid his dogs of fleas through a flea prevention…infusion of bitter almonds into their daily diet of barley soaked in milk. Those darn fleas!
Good digs…Our first vice president became the second president of the United States…John Adams was also the first president to live in the White House…he had the first White House stables built…and his dogs…Satan and Juno were the first pups to run on the new White House lawn. Lots of firsts with #2! President Adams was dedicated not only to serving his people…but to caring for his animals. Paws Up for John Adams.
So…here comes President’s Day and of course, my golden retriever research has taken me to a spot in history that celebrates not just #1…but the fact that George Washington loved dogs and horses.
His favorite horse was Nelson, a chestnut with a white blaze…a steady stead…unflappable during Revolutionary War gunfire. Then there was Old Blueskin who was a high-handed gray…oh you know Blueskin…you’ve seen very famous paintings of “The Father of Our Nation” on the back of the gray.
#1, loved dogs so much… after loosing a hard fought battle to the British…his aide-to-camp, Alexander Hamilton brought him a small dog found on the battlefield. The dog wore a collar showing General Howe as the owner…the owner who had just defeated the fighting Americans. George…with haste…hand wrote a note to Howe and sent it along with the dog…safely returning the four-legged friend to the victor. What a golden guy!!!
Still more dog love…well GW raised hounds and it is thought that he perfected the breed of the American Hound.
My dog paws are celebrating President’s Day by reading on about GW and his love for our country…and his animals. Golden wishes to you.
WARNING: DO NOT GIVE CHOCOLATE TO DOGS…it’s makes DOGS SICK! Thank you…Now continue….
Here’s a quick tidbit about St. Valentine’s Day…it’s not just a day to send chocolates and cards…it’s a celebration of a priest during the 3rd Century… named Valentine who stood up against a powerful Roman Emperor. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
So, as an imprisoned priest, Valentine sent the first “Valentine” from behind bars to a woman he loved..he wrote to her “From Your Valentine”….and so we continue.
Dogs can’t send cards but we sure will do our best to spread joy and happiness on this most red day. What a golden Saint and what a golden celebration! Happy St. Valentine’s Day! Paws up…and please don’t give dogs chocolate!
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