Christmas at Bulloch Hall with US Presidents - Part 1

I was going to continue writing about our trip to Venice, but yesterday we returned to Bulloch Hall which is decorated for the holidays in December.  To be more in keeping with the Christmas season, I'll share some of the photos I took there.  In December 2010, we had already visited gracious and elegant Bulloch Hall in Roswell, Georgia (a part of the metro Atlanta area.)  The 2010 Holiday theme was "The Symbols and Traditions of Christmas."  I wrote a post on it showing pictures of the house and decorations.  Click here to see this post.  We bought our entrance tickets and walked up to the front door.

There was a panel by the side of the door explaining that this year the Holiday theme was "Christmas in the White House at Bulloch Hall."  Please click on the picture below to read this panel.

Bulloch Hall was completed in 1839 as a home for Major James Stephens Bulloch and his family. In December 1853 Mittie Bulloch married Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. in this house.  Later their second child, Teddy, became President of the United States.  Their third child, Elliott, was the father of Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of Franklin D.Roosevelt (her father's fifth cousin.)  Bulloch Hall is a Greek Revival mansion listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  I enjoyed walking on the front porch and taking several photos.

Maybe Mittie sat in a similar rocking chair in the front porch waiting for the Christmas guests to arrive.

Inside the home two docents gave us a brochure for the self-guided tour explaining the decor of each room. It gave information on the eleven US presidents represented there.  On this post we'll visit with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, George Washington., Grover Cleveland and John F. Kennedy.  We will visit the other presidents in my second post - part 2.  The front hall is decorated in a patriotic scheme.

On the walls were campaign poster portraits of several US Presidents

and a patriotic Christmas tree.

From the front hall I could see President Franklin D.Roosevelt sitting by the fireplace with his dog Fala on his lap. (32nd President - 1933-1945.)

As we entered the front Parlor, we saw Eleanor, the wife of the president, standing near the piano.  Was she going to play, go and eat a cookie or sit on the sofa and proceed with her knitting?

The Roosevelt grandchildren will enjoy the Christmas tree in the Parlor with the original 1930s and 40s decorations.

Approaching the dining room we could see President Dwight D. Eisenhower (34th President 1953 to 1961) at attention near the Christmas tree.  (The life size presidents and first ladies were made by local artist Mary Jane Stone and are on loan from the Teaching Museum North.)

 

First Lady, Mamie Eisenhower, loved the color pink and had the first pink Christmas tree in the White House.  In 1958 she had 27 trees throughout the house.  She also wrapped all the gifts herself. President Eisenhower was an avid golfer.  His sport is represented by bronze statues of golfers on top of a cabinet.

 As we move to the breakfast nook we see an inviting tea and cookies set on the table near the radio.  Are there good news?  What are the headlines?  

The East Liverpool newspaper on the table says "Britain Intervenes - Yanks Blast Japs In Town After Taking Shuri Castle."  So we are back in May 1945 when the US battleship USS Mississippi began shelling Shuri Castle in Okinawa and then burnt it down.  "Rebel Company A" of the 5th Marine Regiment even hoisted a Confederate Battle Ship Flag on the castle site as they said it was the only flag available.  It stayed there for 3 days until removed.  Below is a photo of Shuri Castle taken in 1925 and another photo of the rebuilt castle after the war. (courtesy Wikipedia Commons.)

Now we are going downstairs to the kitchen and first we take a look at the cellar.  

Under the stairs we find a starkly handsome fox.

I guess he escaped the hunt that President George Washington (1st President - 1789-1797) organized this morning with his guests at Mount Vernon.  The President, in front of a bountiful repast, is waiting with First Lady Martha to greet the tired and famished hunters.

There is a large Virginia ham, home baked breads, cheese, fruits and succulent desserts waiting on the pie safe.

The room exudes warmth and companionship.  Near a bright fire many gifts have been placed under the Christmas tree. 

Now we are going upstairs to Mittie's bedroom.  There we meet President Grover Cleveland (22nd and 24th President - 1885-1889 and 1893-1897.)  I remember him well - in 1886 he presided over the dedication of the Statue of Liberty (a gift from the people of France.)

President Cleveland was a bachelor until the second year of his first term and then married Frances Folsom - being the first President to have his wedding at the White House.  At 21 years old, Frances was the youngest First Lady - President Cleveland was 49 years old.  (The White House Historical Association issued an ornament in 2007 in honor of their wedding.)

They had five children.  Frances became the first wife of a President to give birth in the White House.  Another first for the White House was when President Cleveland started using electric lights.  His Christmas tree was decorated with red white and blue lights and a small model of the White house was placed under the tree.  One of his presents to his daughter was a pretty dollhouse.  The Clevelands considered Christmas a children's festival.  Frances Cleveland was a member of a "Christmas Club" that offered gifts to poor children.

Now we pass to the Wing Room where President John F. Kennedy (34th President - 1961-1963) is standing by the fireplace.

Presently First Lady Jacqueline is joining him.

In 1961 she initiated the idea of having a theme for the official Christmas tree at the White House. In 1962 the theme was "The Children's Tree"

We said "goodbye" to Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy as they were waiting for their guests.

As we walked near the Sewing Room we saw Archie Roosevelt, age 8, fifth child of President Theodore Roosevelt.  With the help of the White House staff, he secretly brought a tree into the house with a gift for each member of the family including the dog, the cat and the pony.

Archie had a large amount of "Teddy" bears next to him - they were named in honor of his father, President Theodore Roosevelt.

But we could not stay long to admire them as we had more US Presidents to visit...

More to come in part 2 ...