Evening star., 1924-08-31
BY MARGARET h. DOWNING.

Though the veil was rather closely
drawn over the daily life of the
President and Mrs. Coolidge during
their sojourn in their old Vermont
home, a bit of interesting news comes
from a neighborhood friend who had
been allowed to greet Mrs. Coolidge
and pass the morning with her. This
is the pleasure which the First Lady
felt in getting her beloved sewing
machine in order and attending to a
few chores in that line which she
has been laying up against such
leisure as she has been enjoying.
When Miss Grace Goodhue became
Mrs. Calvin Coolidge, her parents
among other useful gifts. presented
her with a. sewing machine the latest
make then and containing every at
tachment needed for the most in
tricate sort of necdlewort. This
machine was her companion for many
the year and on it she made many
of the garments used by the entire
family and some of the clothes her
children wore as, infants. This
venerated article of home furnish
ings always sat before the front
window on the second floor of the
Northampton home and Mrs. Goodhue
when taking UP her residence in her
daughters home during the Presi-
dents term as Governor Of Massachu-
setts never moved it. But recently the
machine was sent to Plymouth and
installed in the proper light there
and 1t was a delight to it's owner to
see 1t again and to make use of it
occasionally. Since the time when
her husband was elected Governor of
Massachusetts. Mrs Coolidge has
found small leisure for sewing and.
of course, she could not expect such
he h in h..
wife of the Vice President, nor in the
past year in the White House. SO
all the more did she revel in the joy
recently afforded.
1t was inevitable that Preside ent
Coolidge would be drawn into the
effort to change the name of the sub
lime peak of Washington State from
Mount Rainier to Mount Tacoma. Not
that the President. who makes fe-
tish almost of attending to his own
concerns and of letting all not un-
der his Jurisdiction alone, will at
tempt to exert any influence what
ever on the matter either for the
change or for the status quo. Besides
there is a similar problem right at
his door, the endless effort of those
unfortunate enough to live in Satan's
Kingdom, Connecticut, to pull from
the deniZens of the kingdom rise up
and demand that the name be chang
ed and there is great activity for a
time. Then the controversy drops and
the routine of life goes on in Satan s
Kingdom just as before. But in down
right earnest the Connecticut folks
DO not care much about the name of
their pretty town nor the merriment
which IT causes visitors. the postal
authorities or anybody else. Still, if
the President were concerned over
such matters. he might suggest to
the Postmaster General, Mr.. New to
demoliSh his satanic majesty's king
dom by a stroke of his pen and to
establish on the same spot more at
tractlvely named village. President
Roosevelt was nightly concerned in
changing Mount Rainier into Mount
Tacoma and the same has become al
most an obsession on the part of the
National Geographic Society, which
has headquarters in this city.
Never before since its debut in the
floral world has the Prince of Wales
gladioli enjoyed such popularity as
during the present summer, but this
is due entirely to its loveliness and
not a result of the visit of Britain S
favorite son. 1t has such beautiful
coloring. of mauve shading to royal
purple, and with the proper accom-
paniment to such a hue, a deep
shading of gold in the center. The
stems are of regal length. and the
blossoms borne in riotous profusioyl.
SO that it is no wonder this variety
of the summer bulbous flowers is
gaining such vogue on semi formal
affairs. The gardeners of the White
House have made such a success of
,1sI I'LL %I,,t Iso
been in evidence on mantels and
tables and have been placed in fire.
qusnt groups among the more stately
flowers of the dining board. Though
all flower lovers prefer a blossom
which has some kind of fragrance.
there is no discounting the glory of
the hollyhock and the gladioli when
the blistering sun and drying winds
have banished every other bloom
from the bed. Mrs. Coolidge is espe-
cially fond of hollyhocks, and had
planted them very generously about
her home in Northampton. She also
enjoys the many-hued gladioli, and
is fond of having them cut just as
the lower flowers come into view and
to watch the opening of the others all
the way up the stalk. But the mis-
tress of the White House keenly en-
joys those old garden favorites like
the sweet-scented heliotropes. now
seldom seen, and the soft pinks and
mauves of the phlox. And nothing
pleases her more than to gather a
bowl of pansies which have found
shelter under the shrubs in the
South garden which are still blossom
ing merrly.
Many the Washingtonian who
passes the summer travelling in the
neighboring domain will return home