Potus Geeks Turns Five!
Five years ago today 
potus_geeks posted its first entry. Today, 2,215 entries later, potus_geeks has posted numerous articles about every Chief Executive, remembered their birthdays, and marked the anniversaries of their passing. We've visited presidential libraries and museums, reviewed hundreds of books, documentaries and movies about presidents and the potus_geeks library has expanded to over six hundred volumes. Here's a recap of some of the things potus_geeks has done:
YEAR ONE: In our first year 416 journal entries were posted. Among the reports were visits to the LBJ Library and Museum in Austin, Texas, the Eisenhower Museum and Library in Abilene, Kansas, and Benjamin Harrison's home in Indianapolis, Indiana.
YEAR TWO: In our second year we looked at the civil rights record of every President, and
direcorrector posted biographies of all of the oval office occupants as well. It was also the first year we began our look at Christmas in the White House and as the calendar clicked over to 2012, we began our journey on the road to the 2012 Presidential Election.
YEAR THREE: In year three we followed the first presidential election in this community's history (preceded by primaries and conventions). We also visited the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, and reviewed two movies about Abraham Lincoln (one award winning, another vampire hunting). In an ambitious undertaking,potus_geeks conducted its own ranking of the Presidents (with a top three of Washington, Lincoln and Roosevelt, but not the Roosevelt some expected). We reviewed more terrific new books, looked at past elections, the potus_geeks library continued to expand, saw the completion of direcorrector's wonderful biographies of the presidents, the first potus_geeks election day poetry slam, another annual reading list, the first presidential inauguration in this community's history, and profiles of the first ladies.
YEAR FOUR: Our fourth year was a year of many interesting themes, including Presidents portrayed in Movies and TV (April, 2013), Runners-up and Also Rans (May, 2013), Presidential Libraries and Museums (July, 2013), and Vice Presidents (September, 2013). We also marked the 50th Anniversary of the Assassination of John F. Kennedy and his final month in office (November, 2013) with a look at JFK's last days. We continued our look at the Presidents at Christmas (December 2013) and began the New Year with themes of Presidents and their Advisers (January, 2014), First Lovebirds (February, 2014) and Presidents at War (March, 2014). Year Four saw visits to the William Henry Harrison monument in West Bend, Ohio and the William Howard Taft Presidential Historic Site in Cincinnati. (An intended visit to the Nixon Library was foiled by the government shutdown!)
YEAR FIVE: Year five began with a conclusion to our series on Presidents at War, and this transitioned into a series on Presidents at Peace (April 2014). Other themes for the year included the Civil War Presidents (May 2014), Presidents and the Economy (June 2014), Presidential Places (i.e. good spots forpotus_geeks to check out on summer vacation) and potus_geeks summer reruns with repeat posts of some of our best articles of the past, which allowed me to be lazy in August. We also visited the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois in August, and the Hermitage, home of Andrew Jackson and Polk House, the James K. Polk Museum, both in October. While in Nashville, we also looked in on the resting place of James K. Polk. We resumed our look at various themes with Presidents and the Law (September 2014), the Presidential Diarists (October 2014), we completed our series on Presidents and their Advisors (October 2014) and Christmas at the White House (December 2014). The New Year began with a look at each President's road to the White House in our "Paths to the Presidency" series, and the year concluded with the beginning of our series on Abraham Lincoln's Last Days, as we approach the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's Assassination.
As we begin our sixth year, we will continue to follow the day-by-day activities of Abraham Lincoln each day leading up to his assassination. We are also beginning another presidential election season and soon we will be up to our waists in all-candidates debates for both parties. There are still lots of other interesting themes to be explored. A visit to Atlanta in July will entail a visit to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and the next year will also provide more interesting new Presidential biographies to review.
Thank you for reading the dorky offerings of this magnificent obsession. Here's to another happy year of Potus Geekery!
potus_geeks posted its first entry. Today, 2,215 entries later, potus_geeks has posted numerous articles about every Chief Executive, remembered their birthdays, and marked the anniversaries of their passing. We've visited presidential libraries and museums, reviewed hundreds of books, documentaries and movies about presidents and the potus_geeks library has expanded to over six hundred volumes. Here's a recap of some of the things potus_geeks has done:YEAR ONE: In our first year 416 journal entries were posted. Among the reports were visits to the LBJ Library and Museum in Austin, Texas, the Eisenhower Museum and Library in Abilene, Kansas, and Benjamin Harrison's home in Indianapolis, Indiana.
YEAR TWO: In our second year we looked at the civil rights record of every President, and
direcorrector posted biographies of all of the oval office occupants as well. It was also the first year we began our look at Christmas in the White House and as the calendar clicked over to 2012, we began our journey on the road to the 2012 Presidential Election.YEAR THREE: In year three we followed the first presidential election in this community's history (preceded by primaries and conventions). We also visited the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, and reviewed two movies about Abraham Lincoln (one award winning, another vampire hunting). In an ambitious undertaking,
potus_geeks conducted its own ranking of the Presidents (with a top three of Washington, Lincoln and Roosevelt, but not the Roosevelt some expected). We reviewed more terrific new books, looked at past elections, the potus_geeks library continued to expand, saw the completion of direcorrector's wonderful biographies of the presidents, the first potus_geeks election day poetry slam, another annual reading list, the first presidential inauguration in this community's history, and profiles of the first ladies.YEAR FOUR: Our fourth year was a year of many interesting themes, including Presidents portrayed in Movies and TV (April, 2013), Runners-up and Also Rans (May, 2013), Presidential Libraries and Museums (July, 2013), and Vice Presidents (September, 2013). We also marked the 50th Anniversary of the Assassination of John F. Kennedy and his final month in office (November, 2013) with a look at JFK's last days. We continued our look at the Presidents at Christmas (December 2013) and began the New Year with themes of Presidents and their Advisers (January, 2014), First Lovebirds (February, 2014) and Presidents at War (March, 2014). Year Four saw visits to the William Henry Harrison monument in West Bend, Ohio and the William Howard Taft Presidential Historic Site in Cincinnati. (An intended visit to the Nixon Library was foiled by the government shutdown!)
YEAR FIVE: Year five began with a conclusion to our series on Presidents at War, and this transitioned into a series on Presidents at Peace (April 2014). Other themes for the year included the Civil War Presidents (May 2014), Presidents and the Economy (June 2014), Presidential Places (i.e. good spots for
potus_geeks to check out on summer vacation) and potus_geeks summer reruns with repeat posts of some of our best articles of the past, which allowed me to be lazy in August. We also visited the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois in August, and the Hermitage, home of Andrew Jackson and Polk House, the James K. Polk Museum, both in October. While in Nashville, we also looked in on the resting place of James K. Polk. We resumed our look at various themes with Presidents and the Law (September 2014), the Presidential Diarists (October 2014), we completed our series on Presidents and their Advisors (October 2014) and Christmas at the White House (December 2014). The New Year began with a look at each President's road to the White House in our "Paths to the Presidency" series, and the year concluded with the beginning of our series on Abraham Lincoln's Last Days, as we approach the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's Assassination.As we begin our sixth year, we will continue to follow the day-by-day activities of Abraham Lincoln each day leading up to his assassination. We are also beginning another presidential election season and soon we will be up to our waists in all-candidates debates for both parties. There are still lots of other interesting themes to be explored. A visit to Atlanta in July will entail a visit to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and the next year will also provide more interesting new Presidential biographies to review.
Thank you for reading the dorky offerings of this magnificent obsession. Here's to another happy year of Potus Geekery!