The Presidential Yacht, U.S.S. Mayflower
As much of the East Coast remains paralyzed by snow, it’s worth recalling that Calvin Coolidge was made of sterner stuff. A born and bred New Englander, Coolidge was not one to be cowed by a few snowflakes. In November 1924, he boarded a yacht in the Potomac River for a weekend cruise, unfazed by an early season snowstorm. As the Washington Post observed:
“Mr. Coolidge has shown a liking for the river trips and the sudden change in the weather made no change in his plans for the cruise. Despite the storm, he intended to remain out until tomorrow morning.
The president and his guests — imcluding David H. Blair, commissioner of internal revenue — boarded the Mayflower using a covered walkway, avoiding the slush-covered deck.
My comment does not pertain to Cal, but to the Mayflower. Those interested in this presidential yacht have undoubted read of its large solid-marble bathtub. President Taft, a large man, is usually credited with having had it installed. This is incorrect, however. Ogden Goelet, a wealthy man (he held box #1 at the Metropolitan Opera House), had the yacht built. Perhaps, like Taft, he was a man of bulk, for the vessel is described in a 1903 newspaper account as coming with a tub “cut from a solid block of fine marble.” Mr. Goelet died on board the vessel in 1897 at the age of 46. He widow sold the yacht to the Federal government during the Spanish War. T. R. was the first president to make use of it. In his writings, Dr. Joel Boone referred to the Mayflower’s tub; see Milton F. Heller’s The Presidents’ Doctor (New York: Vantage Press, 2000), p. 35. President Coolidge took his first Potomac River cruse on the Mayflower on September 15, 1923, a little over a month after taking office. It offered him a venue where he could relax with family, friends, and political associates. I wonder if Cal liked to take a dip in that oversized tub.