COOLIDGE ENCOURAGES 'HEALTH-GIVING RECREATION' FOR AMERICANS
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On May 22, 1924, President Calvin Coolidge addressed the opening session of the New National Museum. The President said...
"Every possible interest in out-of-door, health-giving recreation" should be pursued because modern-living requires little physical effort.
Mr. Coolidge went on to say the learning of a trade should be supplemented by recreation.
More than 300 delegates from across the United States are in the Nation's Capital attending the conference.
JFK+50 NOTE
President Kennedy also addressed the issue of physical fitness. Before his inaugural he wrote an article published in Sports Illustrated titled "The Soft American." As President, he reorganized the President's Council on Youth Fitness.
Ironically neither Coolidge nor Kennedy made the "Top 5" POTUS in personal physical fitness. One source identifies the five "most athletic" as Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower & Barack Obama.
George Mason University lists the five "most fit" at Theodore Roosevelt, John Quincy Adams, George Washington, George W. Bush & Barack Obama.
SOURCES
"Outdoor Recreation Is Vital Need Of Nation, Says Coolidge," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., May 22, 1924, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
"The Top Five Most Fit U.S. Presidents," George Mason University, Recreation, www.recreation.gmu.edu/
