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The rise and fall of President Martin Van Buren
In New York’s Hudson Valley, in the village of Kinderhook, sits a lovely estate called Lindenwald, once home to Martin Van Buren. And if you don’t know who that is, you’re in good company!
Van Buren was our eighth president, and the first to be born an American citizen, which is more than guide Zach Anderson knew when he applied for a job here: “I had to kind of admit to my boss over the phone that I was only 85% certain that he was even a president. So, it was not my proudest shining moment!”
Ranger Zach has since become an expert on the man nicknamed “Old Kinderhook.” “He is the only president who spoke Dutch as his first language,” said Anderson. “One of only two presidents to never serve in the military or attend college; the other would be Grover Cleveland.”
And he’s tied for being the second-shortest American president. “He stands at 5’6″ with Monroe, and then Madison takes the crown for being shortest, at 5’4″,” Anderson said.
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But in the facial hair department, Van Buren is second to no one, with some of the wildest facial hair to ever grace the White House. At Lindenwald, they call them not “mutton chops” but “Martin chops” – sideburns that truly defied gravity.
“They are remarkable,” said historian Ted Widmer. “They stretch out. If he couldn’t claim vertical space, he’s claiming some horizontal space.”
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Widmer wrote a biography of Martin Van Buren: “I was attracted to the idea of trying to make an obscure president a little bit less obscure. I think I succeeded in that very small goal. I don’t think I made him famous. In fact, it’s fifteen years since I wrote the book, and you were the first people to have found me.”
(That’s what “Sunday Morning” is here for!)
Van Buren did enjoy a brief moment in the pop culture spotlight, on “Seinfeld,” when Kramer took on a street gang named the Van Buren Boys, who even had a secret sign [eight fingers for the eighth president].
But, Widmer said, in office, Van Buren was more than a punchline. “Van Buren deserves credit for inventing our two-party system, which is nowhere in the founding documents,” he said. “In fact, the founders, most of them, said it would be a terrible thing if we had parties. And Van Buren comes along and says, no, these are a positive good. When one party gets too powerful, it’s good to have the other party start to rise up again.”
Although he may have seemed to the manor born, Van Buren was actually the son of a tavern keeper. A striver, he rose quickly through the ranks: senator, secretary of state, and then vice president to the original populist president, Andrew Jackson.
But their personalities, and their images, could not be more different. Widmer said, “Van Buren is short and sort of stout; Jackson is tall and emaciated, kind of a Clint Eastwood sort of tough guy. Van Buren is much more of a politician, and he knows everybody in Washington in a way that Andrew Jackson does not. So, Van Buren was better at going out and talking over politics and getting the Jacksonian program through Congress, which is a part of being a successful president.”
So, why is Van Buren considered such a mediocre president? Well, you might say it was the economy, stupid. Just weeks after taking the oath of office, the Panic of 1837 set in – a financial crisis that triggered a six-year depression. “It’s incredible how fast he fell, given how high he had climbed up,” Widmer said.
It was during his administration that Van Buren purchased his lavish (for the time) home, with one of the very first, and certainly most attractive, presidential flush toilets. “To have indoor plumbing was almost kind of unheard of,” said Anderson.
A hand-painted toilet bowl, at that.
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“It’s a little over the top,” said Anderson. “It did not sit well with the American public. And that probably was the nail in the coffin for his failed reelection attempt come 1840.”
After which, Martin Van Buren returned home to entertain and hold court in his capacious dining room, which still has the original wallpaper on the walls.
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[FYI, if you want your home to look like Martin Van Buren’s, this wallpaper, “Paysage à Chasses,” is still available from Zuber, the manufacturer.]
Van Buren would run for the White House two more times, both times unsuccessfully. He’d travel extensively in Europe, write his autobiography, and enjoy farming, fishing, and his family. In 1862, at age 79, Van Buren died, by most accounts content.
Widmer said, “I thought he made a good point, which is that you can have a dismal presidency and a successful life.”
For more info:
Story produced by Mary Lou Teel. Editor: Ed Givnish.
More presidential history from Mo Rocca:
WESTON – A small group of loyal customers gathered in Weston Saturday morning to thank a pharmacist who is relocating as Walgreens closes the location where he served the community for almost three decades.
The celebration was led by an 11-year-old boy who shocked the pharmacist by presenting him with thousands of dollars that he raised as a thank you gift.
Weston Walgreens closing
In the midst of corporate cutbacks at Walgreens, the location on Boston Post Road is closing permanently. So a small group came out to thank the pharmacist at the store.
“It’s humbling. I can’t believe it. It’s amazing,” said veteran pharmacist Bob Hesselberg, who has worked at the store for nearly 30 years. “I don’t want to retire, even though I am 75. I don’t want to retire. I’m not ready for it.”
Hesselberg is moving on to a store in Waltham. The sendoff was led by 11-year-old Aarav Khanna, whose school bus routinely drops him off right across from the Walgreens location.
“I’ve seen the amount of kindness and hard work he puts into his job,” Khanna said.
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Money raised for pharmacist
Khanna got the idea to raise money for Hesselberg as a going away present. And the total grew quickly. Thanks to the community, Kanna was able to present Hesselberg with a check for $6,000 on Saturday, leaving the pharmacist in shock.
During the Saturday celebration, a young girl gave a handmade card to Hesselberg, who people in the community call “Pharmacist Bob.”
“You walk in, he not only greets you by name, but he wants to know how your family is, and how is that medication you had last time, and how are you doing? And he means it,” customer Carol Ott said.
The Weston Walgreens closes in the middle of November. Hesselberg hopes some customers will follow him to Waltham, but he worries about some of the older residents driving that distance, especially since the chain won’t be doing home delivery anymore.
“I’m gonna miss everybody. And I’m very grateful for all of this. And thank you so much,” Hesselberg told the crowd.
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Harris tells Philadelphia church election will “decide the fate of our nation for generations to come”
Vice President Kamala Harris is back in Philadelphia Sunday as the countdown to election day nears one week.
Harris, who spent several days in the Delaware Valley over the past week, spoke at the Church of Christian Compassion in Philadelphia on Sunday morning and will hold a campaign rally in the city later in the night.
“In just nine days we have the power to decide the fate of our nation for generations to come,” she told the congregation.
Several minutes into her speech, some shouting broke out in the crowd. Harris paused during the disruption. “That’s why we fight for our democracy. Every voice is important,” she said while the outburst was quieted.
Harris went on to encourage the Philadelphia church to lean on faith in the days leading up to the election, and urged worshippers to use their feet to get to the polls.
“Here in Pennsylvania, right now each of us has an opportunity to make a difference. Because in this moment we do face a real question. What kind of country to we we want to live in,” she said. “The great thing about living in a democracy is we the people have the choice to answer that question. So let us answer not just with our words, but with our works.”
On Wednesday, Oct. 23, Harris visited the Famous 4th Street Deli in Philadelphia’s Queen Village neighborhood before attending a town hall in Delaware County. Earlier in the week, the vice president sat down with former Congresswoman Liz Cheney in Chester County in the first of three moderated conversations in battleground states.
During that conversation, Harris appealed to Republican voters who are on the fence about voting for former President Donald Trump, and claimed he used the presidency as a way to “demean and to divide” Americans.
“I think people are exhausted with that, rightly,” Harris said. “And it does not lead to the strength of our nation to tell American people that we must be suspicious of one another, distrust one another.”
On Monday, Harris will harness the star power of some of her biggest supporters during a benefit concert at Temple University’s Liacouras Center, according to multiple sources.
Twenty-time Grammy winner Bruce Springsteen will headline a concert and a rally with former President Barack Obama as part of the Harris campaign’s effort to mobilize voters in the final weeks of the 2024 presidential election.
Speaking to CBS News Philadelphia’s Joe Holden, Harris said she’s “honored” to have Obama’s support on the campaign trail. “And people like Bruce Springsteen, to have their support, and of course he is an American icon, I think it just shows the breadth and depth of the support that we have,” Harris said.
When asked if any other big name supporters are planning to turn out for the event Monday, Harris said with a laugh, “I have nothing to report at this moment. Stay tuned, however.”
Earlier this month, Springsteen endorsed Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
The Indiana Fever fired coach Christie Sides on Sunday, the organization announced.
Sides went 33-47 in her two seasons with the squad, including going 20-20 this season. The Fever made the playoffs as the sixth seed and were swept in the first round by the Connecticut Sun.
Indiana is the sixth team to make a coaching change this offseason, joining Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington and Los Angeles. All of the coaches let go had three years or less experience.
Jessica Hill / AP
Whoever takes over the Fever will have a strong young core to work with, led by Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston. The pair have won the last two WNBA Rookie of the Year awards.
“We are incredibly thankful to Coach Sides for embracing the challenge of leading us through an integral transition period over the last two seasons, while also positioning us well for future growth,” Fever president of basketball operations Kelly Krauskopf said.
“While decisions like these are never easy, it is also imperative that we remain bold and assertive in the pursuit of our goals, which includes maximizing our talent and bringing another WNBA championship back to Indiana. Coach Sides was an incredible representative of the Fever and our community, and we wish her nothing but success in the future.”
Krauskopf came back to the Fever earlier this month after spending time with the Indiana Pacers.
Ashley Landis / AP
Sides was a longtime assistant in the league, spending time with Chicago (2011-16), the Fever (2017-19) and Atlanta (2022) before getting the head coaching job. She replaced Marianne Stanley and her interim successor, Carlos Knox, who coached in the 2022 season.
Sides had two years left on her contract.
The Fever haven’t had a head coach last for more than three years since Lin Dunn, who coached from 2008-14. Since then, they’ve had Stephanie White (2015-16), Pokey Chatman (2017-19) and Stanley (2020-22).
Indiana had a brutal schedule to start the season and lost eight of their first nine games. The Fever finally got going after the Olympic break, winning seven of eight to get into playoff contention.
11-year-old stuns pharmacist at shuttering Massachusetts Walgreens with $6,000 gift
Harris tells Philadelphia church election will “decide the fate of our nation for generations to come”
Indiana Fever fire coach Christie Sides after Caitlin Clark’s breakout season
11-year-old stuns pharmacist at shuttering Massachusetts Walgreens with $6,000 gift
Harris tells Philadelphia church election will “decide the fate of our nation for generations to come”