Frankie comes to Jacksonville
Grover Cleveland is the only man to be President of the United States, twice. Sequentially, he is listed as both our 22nd and 24th POTUS. At the time, he was also the heaviest President. That record would be surpassed by William Howard Taft, a man of such prodigious girth that he once got stuck in the White House bath tub. Cleveland is also the only President to get married while in office. In 1886, in the midst of his first term, the 49-year-old chief executive married his 21-year-old ward, Frances Folsom in the White House “Blue Room.” John Philip Sousa and the Marine Corps Band provided the music.
The wedding caused a small scandal at the time, but the pretty, young First Lady soon became a darling of the American public. Her image appeared in thousands of advertising campaigns, often without her permission. Grover Cleveland is also the first President to visit Jacksonville. He and Francis came to see the Sub-Tropical Exposition. Expositions were all the rage in the late 1800s. Paris built the Eiffel Tower for theirs. The Columbian Exposition in Chicago brought the world the first Ferris Wheel. Jacksonville saw the Sub-Tropical Exposition as a way to drum up tourism; and it worked. At the time, Jacksonville was Florida’s number one tourist destination.
Jacksonville’s sub-tropical Exposition was housed on several downtown acres and featured a Seminole Indian tribe and a ten-foot gator named “Ole Joe,” who occasionally got loose on the streets of the city. The pavilion, a spectacular Moorish structure featuring spires and minarets, housed agricultural exhibits from every county in the state. People came from all over to experience “Florida.” The Cleveland’s liked it so much, they came twice! As already, mentioned, the Cleveland’s liked to do things twice! When they were defeated by Benjamin Harrison in the Election of 1888, the youthful Mrs. Cleveland advised the White House staff to “…take care of the place, we’ll be back.” She was right, four years later, she and her husband were back in the White House for a second time.
Grover used to call his young wife “Frankie.” What is cool about Frankie is she had a goal. Her goal was bigger than most and she achieved it, but first she had to have it. Goals are important in life. Before you can even map out a plan to get anywhere, you need to know where you are headed first. Learn to set goals for yourself. Even if they are simple ones and then work to fulfill them. As investors we need to set goals, too. You need to make those goals difficult, but not impossible to attain and then work to attain them. Your future depends on it.
Want to read more check out The Merchant of Death is Dead on https://www.amazon.ca/Merchant-Death-Dead-Progress-Humanity/dp/1797730975
