There are probably few people, let alone presidents, with a past as richly colored as that of Gerald R. Ford. When you think Grand Rapids MI real estate and Ford together, there is usually a certain family that you are thinking of. The state, and its main cities, were largely built by the famous Henry Ford and his auto counterparts. That was back in the days when the car sweepstakes for the best automobile were truly in full swing.
However, although he represented Michigan for 25 years and was also the president of the country, Gerald R. Ford was not in fact related to the famous entrepreneur in any close way, In fact, his born name was not Ford at all (or Gerald, or Rudolph either, for that matter). The president was born into a harsh home life, with his mother and birth father separating long before time and frequency standards changed and it became common. In fact, the future president was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.!
Ford's mother left his birth father just a couple of weeks after his birth, because of his abusive nature. Amazingly, Ford's father never failed to pay child support for his infant son.
And that is just the beginning of the remarkable story of this seldom spoken of president, in fact the only president to come into office in the United States without being on a ballot card. His past, along with how he pulled off this feat, are all part of the information and exhibits on display in the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Even the Presidential Museum itself, like Ford, is somewhat of an anomaly. While most museums of its kind are one building, the Ford Museum is in fact two, separated by 130 miles. That means twice the number of cable cutters required to do the work, twice the labor and upkeep, all for a man who was only president (and unelected at that) for three years.
The museum itself is located in Grand Rapids, while the library which accompanies it is over in Ann Arbor. The packaging systems and cataloguing of the library, then, is in an entirely different place.
The museum itself is dedicated both to Ford and to the idea of the American presidency in general. You can find out if Ford wore bamboo diapers or not as an infant, what sports he played, and so on. You can also learn a lot more about the amazing life of this president, who in fact holds a couple records both in and out of the office!
| 