Sculptor Gutzon Borglum arrived in South Dakota at the invitation of historian Doane Robinson to carry out plans to carve an epic statue of four Presidents, Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt in the state's Black Hills.
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Today was Memorial Day for 1922, the date at that time coming on May 30 and not being tied to a Sunday.
The event drew many notables, including the surviving son of the late President, Robert Todd Lincoln.
Speeches were delivered by a collection of dignatories, including former President Taft and current President Harding.
One of the big events was the Indianapolis 500, then as now.
And what a week it was.
I don't usually comment on "the week that was", but this week has been truly exceptional. Over the past week a COVID 19 vaccine was approved by the FDA and the British National Health Service, the socialized medicine system that the British love and the Americans, who don't benefit from it, hate (the most hated health care system in the US next to the Canadian one, which Canadians love and Americans also hate) started vaccinations. At least one 90+ year old British citizen stepped up to be vaccinated.
During the same week, the nation lived through another series of "surely this will be it" Trump moments as President Trump, unique for American Presidents, disputed the results of a national election to an extent not previously matched since Jefferson Davis was elected to head the collection of states that couldn't accept that Lincoln had been elected. Indeed, the spectre of Jefferson Davis rose up, ironically in the form of a pronunciation from the Republican Party of Texas, suggesting that if the courts wouldn't assist Trump loyalist with a reading of the Constitution that no competent jurist and the vast plethora of lawyers would allow, that perhaps Texas ought to leave with the like minded and form a new union of states that "respect" the Constitution, which by definition would be the states that didn't join in a seditious or near seditious attempt to subvert the results of the election lead by Texas. Lincoln, beyond these concerns now, must nonetheless be shaking his head a bit.
Elections are supposed to be the thing Americans do well, and respect for elections the thing that sets us apart. We've defied, so far, Benjamin Franklin's gloomy "if you can keep it" declaration about the republic, but this week tends to demonstrate that Franklin may have been correct.
Democracy isn't about liking the results, after all, it's about respecting democracy. A lot of us don't respect it anymore, or aren't right now anyhow.
So, here's the "best" post of a week the entire nation ought to be ashamed of in some ways. Not because of what the courts didn't do, we ought to be proud of that, but because we can't seem to respect what our forefathers did.
An American hero who passed on December 7, right in the midst of our embarrassing episode:
We managed to be shocked by the obvious yet again, somehow:
Ground was broken on this day for the Lincoln Memorial.
The groundbreaking was barely attended. Sen. Blackburn stated that "The memorial will show that (President Abraham) Lincoln is now regarded as the greatest of all Americans" in a speech he delivered on the occasion.
Czar Nicolas II recalled Ivan Goremykin into service as Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, replacing Vladimir Kokovtsov.
The Squaw Man, Cecille B. Demille's directorial debut, which is a melodrama set in Wyoming, premiered. Not surprisingly, the film is not without its critics, and certainly would never be named that today. It does feature a Native American heroine played by an actual Native American, Red Wing (Lilian Margaret St. Cyr). St. Cyr died in 1974, at which time she was either 90, or 101, years old.
The Plan of Chicago, a long range plan for the city, was unveiled.
In Scanton, Pennsylvania, a 16 foot high (including an intricately carved pedestal) bust of Abraham Lincoln was dedicated. It was a gift from Italy.
It's now missing and nobody knows what happened to it . . .which is odd.
The French battleship Denton, the first battleship to have turbine engines, was launched. It was sunk on March 19, 1917.
The first fireworks display in Major League Baseball occured at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field.
The Stanley Hotel opened in Estes Park, Colorado.
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The Lincoln portrait penny was introduced with the current design by Victor David Brenner. The reverse side were shocks of wheat, which gives this version which was minted until 1958 the nickname of being the "Wheat Head Penny".
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