I had the pleasure of joining Trav and 30 other 3rd graders on a fieldtrip to the Margaret Chase Smith Library and house today. I wasn't completely excited about the 3 hour bus ride (each way), but I must admit that I'm very glad I went. I learned more about this woman than I had ever expected... I could go on all day, but in a nutshell she was the 1st female voted into both the House and Senate and for many years was the only female Senator in the country. She was also the 1st female to run for President (she came in 2nd to Goldwater in the Republican Primary). What amazing accomplishments and standards she has set for future generations. After her career in Washington (which spanned 32 years) she returned to her hometown of Skowhegan, Maine, which is where she opened up a library next to her home, and this is where she died at 97 years of age. Her house still looks today as it did the day she died. Nothing is out of place... it's amazing. Her cremated remains are on a shelf in the living room, per her request, so that she will always be in her beloved home.
Trav playing this antique piano - it was given as a gift to Margaret Chase Smith many years ago, although she said she could never play very well...
The "Eisenhower Room"... Pres. Eisenhower, while on a visit to Skowhegan, became tired and napped in this bed at Senator Smith's home. The bedspread was handmade by Senator Smith's mother very long ago... this picture doesn't do it justice at all...
Campaign poster
Don't mind the flash (ugh), but I really liked these words spoken by her:
