Tag Archives: President’s Day

New Ford bobblehead offers reminder of the contributions of those who served as president

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By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

The recently released bobblehead of Gerald R. Ford is the second one to feature the 38th president. (Supplied)

He has an elementary school, amphitheater, post office, gardens, airport and numerous roadways named after him and now Grand Rapids’ favorite son, Gerald R. Ford, has his likeness on a bobblehead.

Actually, the newly release bobblehead in honor of Presidents’ Day is not the first time the 38th President of the United States has been memorialized on a bobblehead, but it is the first time a complete series of United States presidential bobbleheads have been released. Milwaukee’s National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum — think Madame Trussauds’ wax figures only in bobbleheads — released the series today, the day designated to celebrate the U.S. Office of the President.

“We’re excited to release this complete collection of bobbleheads featuring all 46 U.S. Presidents to celebrate Presidents’ Day,” said Phil Sklar, CEO and co-founder of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum. “Each president played an important part in our country’s history, and we think people will enjoy this new series of presidential bobbleheads.”

Presidents’ Day started in 1879 by an Act of Congress to honor the nation’s first president, George Washington, whose birthday in the Gregorian calendar is on Feb. 22. (Washington was born on Feb. 11 under the Julian calendar which because it did not account for leap days, was about 11 days  behind the Gregorian calendar, the calendar that had been adopted by the countries tied to the Catholic church. In 1752, the British Empire switched to the Gregorian calendar.)

Miwaukee’s National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum released the first complete set of presidential bobbleheads. (Supplied)

There was a movement in 1951, to have a “Presidents’ Day.” It wasn’t until 1971 that the official holiday was shifted to the third Monday in February under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which was a move to shift many federal holidays to a three-day weekend. The act also combined the birthdays of Washington and Abraham Lincoln, who was born on Feb. 12, into a single holiday that honored all of the U.S. Presidents.

This change took effect with an executive order from the President Richard Nixon whose vice president at the time was Spiro Agnew. In 1973, Agnew resigned with Nixon choosing Ford as his new vice president. As Ford and his wife Betty prepared to  move to the new vice president’s residence, Ford received a call to be ready to become the next U.S. President, which he did on Aug. 9, 1974.

Ford is the only person to serve as U.S. president without ever having been elected to the office. He would lose his bid for reelection to Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Today, Ford’s museum is in Grand Rapids, his childhood home, and his library is in Ann Arbor, where he attended the University of Michigan. Over the years, several other places have honored Ford by bestowing his name on several buildings such as the Gerald R. Ford Elementary School in Indian Wells, California; the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail, Colorado; the Gerald R. Ford Post Office in Vail, Colorado; the Gerald R. Ford Birth Site and Gardens in Omaha, Nebraska; and the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There are also several roadways in Tennessee, California, Texas, Nebraska, and Michigan, such as the Gerald R. Ford Freeway, I-196, that are named after the former president along with the Gerald R. Ford Fieldhouse at Grand Rapids Community College as well as several books about his life.

The Ford bobblehead, along with the other 45 presidents, is available individuals or as part of the set through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s online store. The museum is located at 170 S. 1st. St. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is open seven days a week.

Next Mr. Sid’s Video Series will focus on the people behind the presidents

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By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

Martha Washington and Betty Ford were former First Ladies who worked hard to help their husband’s achieve the highest office in the United States. (Wikipedia)

A focus on the presidents will be the presentation of the next Mr. Sid’s Video Series Program set for Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 2 p.m. at Marge’s Donut Den, 1751 28th St. SW.

Mike Martin, along with his wife Ginny and their friend Connie, will showcase a story too often missed in school, the story of greatness bubbling over by heroism of individuals aided and abetted by the love of family and friends. The presentation will focus on the wives of presidents George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Gerald R. Ford, who had to play a steep price for their husbands to achieve so much during their lifetimes.

“The presentation will bring a new understanding to your President’s Day celebration both this year and in the future,” Martin said. “Come ready to laugh and cry and be inspired during an hour you won’t forget.”

The program is free. There will be a gospel sing hosted by Lavonne Ritsema, Sid Lenger’s daughter, beginning at 1:45 p.m.

Upcoming Mr. Sid’s Wednesday Afternoon Programs are:

March 16: Executive Director of theHolland Tulip Festival Gwen Auwerda will discuss the Tulip Festival and one of Sid’s favorite events, the Tulip Festival Parade.

April 20: WOOD TV8’s Sports Director Jack Doles will talk about covering the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

May 18: Rick Vuyst from Fruit Basket-Flowerland will discuss how to prepare for spring from planting flowers and lawn care.

June 15: Chris Stevens, the chaplain for the LPGA, will again join the group and update on the Meijer Charity Golf Classic and Professional Women’s Golf.

Secretary of State upgrading computer system during Presidents Day weekend closure

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By State of Michigan


During a Presidents Day weekend closure, the Michigan Department of State will replace the outdated vehicle records system Secretary of State offices have used for decades with a modern computer system to better serve customers.


The Customer and Automotive Records System (CARS) will add new online options, improve existing online and kiosk services, and give staff a more efficient tool to process transactions.


New online options will include ordering license plates, renewing snowmobile registrations and ordering a Recreation Passport and replacement tab for a plate. Many transactions for auto dealers, repair facilities, mechanics and driver education instructors and providers also will be possible online.


During the upgrade, Secretary of State branch offices, online services and auto business transactions will be offline and unavailable from 5pm Friday, Feb. 15, until 9am Tuesday, Feb. 19. Self-service kiosks will be taken offline in phases beginning Friday, Feb. 8. The seven Super Centers usually open Saturday will be closed Saturday, Feb. 16. All branches will be closed on Presidents Day (Monday, Feb. 18).


For a few weeks, as staff gets accustomed to the new computer system, service in offices may take longer. Customers are encouraged to use CARS e-Services at ExpressSOS.com or to complete their transactions outside this timeframe.


Late fees will be waived for transactions with expiration dates between Feb. 11 and March 2.


“This is a vital project for our department and its millions of customers and the first step in implementing our 30-minute guarantee,” Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said. “When fully implemented, the new system will transform our technology, making our work more efficient and our service to customers better than before.”


After the vehicle records phase, the driver records system will be replaced over the next two years.


For more information, visit Michigan.gov/SOS.

President’s Day: Adventures with POTUS and Technology

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AbeLincolnBy: Deidre Doezema-Burkholder

President’s Day, a federal holiday originally meant as a day to remember our first President, George Washington, now is a day in which we remember all presidents that have served the office. In the over 200 years that our country has had a President, technology has evolved. In the interest of this holiday and technology, and with 2016 being a presidential election year, here are a few factoids about technology and the leader of the free world.

President Andrew Jackson, the 7th man to hold the position, was the first president to travel by train in June of 1833. President Jackson traveled a few miles down the road, 12 to be exact, from Relay to Mt. Claire Depot, Maryland.

While many of us are familiar with President Abraham Lincoln, the 16th to serve our country, did you know he is the only one to hold a patent? Patent #6469, “A device for buoying vessels over shoals” was revised by Honest Abe May of 1849. A couple of trips on waterways, including the Great Lakes, led him to his invention. You can see the patent details here.

Interesting enough it wasn’t until 1891 that the White House was wired for electricity. We owe our 23rd President, Benjamin Harrison, for pushing ahead with this form of technology. According to The White House Historical Association, while President Harrison may have installed the electricity, it didn’t mean he trusted the fairly new invention. The President and First Lady had the domestic staff operate the switches over the fear they might get shocked.

With social media and cell phones being such an integral part to election campaigns in 2016, I found it interesting that President William McKinley, our 25th president, was the first president to campaign using the telephone.

We blast into the twentieth century with number 26, President Theodore Roosevelt. This Rough Rider seemed to embrace new technologies. The first president to been seen in a car, the first to ride in an airplane and the first president to be filmed on the job.

It wasn’t until June in 1922 that the voice of the President, in this case 29th president Warren G Harding, was transmitted and heard on the radio. Those who listened heard the President dedicating a memorial for Francis Scott Key, the man who gave us our National Anthem.

It was nearly 20 years later that we were able to see the president on a television. In April of 1939, in beautiful black and white, we were able to watch President Franklin D. Roosevelt open the World’s Fair. We would have to wait until 1955 to see the President in “living color.”

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter was responsible for being forward thinking and installed solar-panels on the White House roof. Way to be green, number 39!

Do you wear contact lenses? So did your 40th President Ronald Regan, the first president to do so.

Finally, President Bill Clinton and the internet. He was the first president to have a White House website, to send an e-mail via the internet, and hold an online chat. Interestingly enough, his relationship with a White House intern broke online. You could read the article online before you could see it in print.

Happy President’s Day!

Deidre owns and operates Organisum: Technology Services, a business serving the West Michigan area. In her free time she likes to hike & bike local trails with friends and family when she isn’t pinning, instagram’ing or Netflix’ing.