Presidential Proclamation: Thanksgiving 2006

As Americans gather with family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving Day, we give thanks for the many ways that our Nation and our people have been blessed.

The Thanksgiving tradition dates back to the earliest days of our society, celebrated in decisive moments in our history and in quiet times around family tables. Nearly four centuries have passed since early settlers gave thanks for their safe arrival and pilgrims enjoyed a harvest feast to thank God for allowing them to survive a harsh winter in the New World. General George Washington observed Thanksgiving during the Revolutionary War, and in his first proclamation after becoming President, he declared November 26, 1789, a national day of “thanksgiving and prayer.” During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln revived the tradition of proclaiming a day of thanksgiving, reminding a divided Nation of its founding ideals.

At this time of great promise for America, we are grateful for the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution and defended by our Armed Forces throughout the generations. Today, many of these courageous men and women are securing our peace in places far from home, and we pay tribute to them and to their families for their service, sacrifice, and strength. We also honor the families of the fallen and lift them up in our prayers.

Our citizens are privileged to live in the world’s freest country, where the hope of the American dream is within the reach of every person. Americans share a desire to answer the universal call to serve something greater than ourselves, and we see this spirit every day in the millions of volunteers throughout our country who bring hope and healing to those in need. On this Thanksgiving Day, and throughout the year, let us show our gratitude for the blessings of freedom, family, and faith, and may God continue to bless America.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 23, 2006, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all Americans to gather together in their homes and places of worship with family, friends, and loved ones to reinforce the ties that bind us and give thanks for the freedoms and many blessings we enjoy.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first.

GEORGE W. BUSH

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The Presidential Speech that Never Was

Photo Credit: George Bush Presidential Library

This is the text of remarks written for President George H.W. Bush, to be delivered on November 3, 1992 at the Westin Galleria, in Houston, Texas. But it was a victory speech, a speech that was never to be delivered and has not, to my knowledge, ever been published. In honor of Election Night 2006, here it is:

PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: ELECTION NIGHT
NOVEMBER 3, 1992
WESTIN GALLERIA
HOUSTON, TEXAS

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Move over, Harry Truman.

Just a few moments ago, I received a call from Governor Clinton. He said that the people had made their decision, and he offered his cooperation as we move forward together.

Let me congratulate Governor Clinton and Senator Gore. They waged a skilled and hard fought campaign. They presented their case well and with conviction.

To Ross Perot, let me express my appreciation and respect. He energized millions of Americans and brought freshness and frankness to our democratic process.

And to you, my friends and supporters, to the American people, to the thousands of volunteers who stood in the rain and worked in the phone banks and put up the signs — who kept the faith — let me say thank you.

Tonight, the people have spoken.

Many doubted this victory. Many said that it couldn’t be done. But you did it.

Our triumph is the triumph of an idea — the idea that the power of America rests with its people.

The depth of that power knows no limits; its strength is irresistible; its potential knows no bounds.

Our triumph is another page in freedom’s remarkable story. It is an acknowledgment — a verification — that America’s strength and America’s hope lies not in its government in Washington, but in all the places we visited — in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and Vineland, New Jersey, and Akron, Ohio, and Riverside, California. We have always known that the greatest strength of any nation is its people — and nowhere more so than here, the home of the most resourceful, energetic, kind and generous people in the history of the Earth.

I have many people to thank tonight. To our great Vice President, Dan Quayle — who performed so brilliantly and so valiantly in this campaign — to Marilyn and your family — you have earned the respect of a nation.

To our campaign organization, led by Bob Teeter, to Jim Baker and all those who worked so hard to make this night possible, you have my gratitude.

To the people of Texas, who gave me my start, you have shown again that no hearts are bigger than those of Texans.

To the millions of Americans who honored me with your vote: I will do my best to earn the trust you have bestowed upon me. To those who supported others, I will work to earn yours — and I will work to bring us together as Americans.

Elections are a choice — a choice of ideas, a choice of directions. But there is one direction on which all Americans agree — and that is forward. From tonight, we move forward.

Our mission remains to build a better America. I mean to fulfill that mission: with better schools for our children, with health care that is affordable and accessible to all, with a cleaner environment and a safer world, and with a growing economy that provides opportunity to all.

All societies have their rituals, and democracy’s is the most majestic of all. It is the process of renewal — the strengthening of a Nation made new again every four years by the voice of its own people.

From tonight we move forward. Our agenda is nothing less than American renewal. For the small businessman and the shop owner, we will offer the tools to help our country grow and create jobs. For those without hope in our inner cities, we will offer the opportunity that springs from empowerment, from having a greater stake in your own lives. For those without jobs, we will create them by developing new markets and new technologies and new ideas and new skills. And for the young people of America — the young people — remember this. No challenge has ever been too great for any generation of Americans. And none is too great for yours.

Yours is the first generation in a long while to look out at a world at peace — unhindered by major conflict — blessed by freedom in more places for more people than at any time in human history.

My responsibility is to help you take advantage of that unprecedented opportunity. Yours is to do so.

God has blessed this great land and each of us with unlimited potential. And now we go forward, knowing that America is another name for opportunity. Knowing that America’s best days are yet to come.

With a full heart, I ask for God’s blessing and your help. Together, we can renew America.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

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President Benjamin Harrison’s Adirondack Lodge

President Benjamin Harrison was an avid outdoorsman and loved the Adirondacks. He purchased a piece of property on Second Lake in the Fulton Chain of lakes near Old Forge and built a true Adirondack lodge, which appears in a photo at right. The President’s home fell into disrepair in later years. It was most recently owned by Sarah Cohen and her sister Linda Cohen, whose family founded the venerable Old Forge Hardware store generations before. The house was known as the Harrison House or Berkeley Lodge. The Cohen sisters recently sold the lodge as well as the adjoining estate where they grew up, Pine Acres. The new owners restored Harrison House successfully in 2005.

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Pine Acres

Pine Acres was the home of Richard Cohen and his family and is located on First Lake, Old Forge, New York. It is a massive, pagoda style mansion with brown shingles and red trim. The Cohen Family owns the Old Forge Hardware, founded by Moses Cohen, who traveled the wilderness with a pack on his back selling goods to the locals in small towns throughout the region. Pine Acres was sold in 2005. The asking price of the property was $3 million. At the same time, the Harrison House, former Summer White House of President Harrison, was sold by Sarah and Linda Cohen, the daughters of Richard Cohen and proprietors of Old Forge Hardware to this day. President Harrison has the distinction of having started the unique mail delivery service active on the Fulton Chain – the Mail Boat. Eager to receive his mail, the President insisted that it be delivered to him by boat twice daily. The new owners of Pine Acres restored the main lodge and outbuildings, especially the boathouse. The estate is now a great showplace and hosted the annual Old Forge Tennis Classic cocktail party in the summer of 2006.

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