"HAS FOUND ETERNITY IN HAVEN FROM STORMS & SORROWS"

IN THE LAST MOMENTS, WOODROW WILSON SAID 'I AM READY'

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On February 4, 1924, the Associated Press reports "Woodrow Wilson has found in eternity a haven from the storms and sorrows of a troubled world."

In he former president's last moments on earth, he conveyed to his loved ones and he was "ready" to go.

President Calvin Coolidge has issued a proclamation of official mourning to last for thirty days.  A private funeral service is scheduled for Wednesday at the family residence here in Washington.

Mr. Wilson spent his last days in a bed of massive oak, a reproduction that he had made of the Lincoln bed at the White House.  It is unusually long with a golden American eagle over the head.

JFK+50 NOTE

According to the White House Historical Association, the original solid rosewood and walnut Lincoln bed in the Executive Mansion is 8 feet wide and 9 feet long.  

The sides are cushioned and covered with purple figured satin.  The headboard rises 8 feet above the bed and the canopy is 20 feet above the floor.

SOURCES

"Last Rites For Wilson To Be Held Wednesday, Funeral To Be Private," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., February 4, 1924, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

"The Lincoln Bedroom:  Refurbishing a Famous White House Room," by William G. Allman, The White House Historical Association, www.whitehousehistory.org/

 

 

Lincoln Bedroom

The White House

White House History

www.twitter.com@WhiteHouseHstry

WHY IS THE LINCOLN BEDROOM SO PEACEFUL?

JFK+50:  Volume 7, No. 2188

REFLECTIONS ON "JACKIE": PART XIII

Knoxville, Tennessee (JFK+50) JFK+50 begins the year 2017 with a review of "Jackie" starring Natalie Portman.  "Jackie" is a Fox Searchlight Pictures film directed by Pablo Larrain.

The screenplay was written by Noah Oppenheim.  Released on December 2, 2016, the movie has an "R" rating and lasts 1 hour and 40 minutes.

We move on to a scene in the Lincoln Bedroom* at the White House with Jackie sitting at the edge of Lincoln's mahogany bed staring up at the portrait of Mary Todd Lincoln that hangs above it.

Jackie asks Bobby...

"Do you think Lincoln's widow knew...that we'd build a monument (Lincoln Memorial) to her husband?"

Bobby does not answer.

Jackie continues...

"Why is this room so peaceful?"

Bobby replies...

"Every time I walk by this room I'm reminded that on January 1, 1863 an ordinary man signed a document that freed 4 million people from slavery.  So I don't think of it as much as peaceful as a place of profound legacy."**

and Bobby continues...

"And its too bad that ours is totally...wasted.  We could have done so much...."

*The Lincoln Bedroom was actually President Lincoln's office from 1861-1865.  After his death it became a guest room.  The bed, actually owned by Lincoln, is 8 x 6 feet and has an "enormous headboard."  According to The White House Museum, the bed "was probably never used by President Lincoln."

**According to Eyewitness to History there was no ceremony with the official signing.  It was accomplished with "less than a dozen persons" in attendance. After the signing, the document was dispatched to the Department of State. The President wrote the final draft in his own hand.

SOURCES

"Abraham Lincoln, a History, vol. 6" by John Hay and John G. Nicolay, 1890.

"Jackie-Screenplay," by Script Pipeline, www.scriptpipeline.com/jackie-screenplay

"Lincoln Bedroom," The White House Museum, www.whitehousemuseum.org/

"President Lincoln Signs the Emancipation Proclamation, 1863," Eyewitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/

Lincoln Bedroom

The White House (1963)

JFK Library Photo