The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1926-03-19
thousands Of persons from all parts
Of the country.

thousands OF persons from all parts
of the country.
To Washington Occasionally
After his son became the occupant
Of the White House Colonel Coolidge
made occasional trips to Washington,
but always appeared glad to get back
to his farm and the life to which he
had SO long been accustomed.
Although naturally proud Of the
success of his sons career, the faith
or never was heard to take any credit
for it. when Cal was in school,
he once remarked, II thought he
would make good doctor, but his
main thought as IA youth was to get
good education and did all in my
power to help him. As boy he al
ways went with me to the town meet
ing, town caucus and such things and
always when we had public exam
nation for school teachers. He was
always interested in such things
The point Of it is, whatever ne had
to do he attended to it and did it the
best he knew how, whether ne liked
it or not, and l think that's what he
has always done.'
Colonel Coolidge, although primar.
lily merchant during most Of the
years Of his active life, was u man
Of many interests. After his school.
ing at Black River Academy at Lud-
low, which his son later attended, he
worked for the village wheelwright
cutting timber until he was % years
of age. Then he rented the general
store at Plymouth and conducted it
until 1918, when he sold the business
to devote his time to insurance inter
csts and his duties as an officer of
the Ludlow Savings Bank and Trust
Company, He was one of the organic
ers of the latter and charter mcnt
Der Of the board Of directors.
Prominent In Politics
At the age Of q Colonel Coolidge
was elected to the Vermont legisla.
ture and was the youngest represen-
tativc in the session. He served six
terms as representative and one as
state senator. In his home town he
was tax collector for 80 years, Il de-
putty sheriff for more than 40 years
and school director for long per-
iod. He also served as moderator
for the t0wa, meeting and was assist
ant postmaster for az years. In the
last named position it was said in
the village that he was the only per-
son there who was sufficiently fami-
liar with the forms of the post0ffice
department to make out correctly the
detailed reports required. His SER
vices also were in demand in the set
tlenlcnt Of estates.
A visitor to Plymouth once remark
cd that the colonel appeared ito have
been everything in this town except
the undertaken" To this he replied
that as q youth working in the
wheclwright.s shop he assisted in
making collins. "And we thought"
he added, "that it was cheat to use
anything but hardwood for collins in
those days"
Colonel Coolidge in 1865 married
Victoria Josephine Moor. They lived
in tenement in the rear Of the
store. who're President Coolidge was
born, until 1878, when upon the
death Of his father the colonel NOV
ed into the lattcr's home, the present
Coolidge homestead. Mrs. Coolidge
died when Calvin was II years old.
The colonel's second wife was Carrie
A. Brown, who died in 1920.
I Speaking Of the affection between
his second wife and his son, Colonel
Coolidge once said:
Calvin was never so busy but
that be wrote to his stepmothcr
every week. and. sometimes oftener.
And she could see more in him than
could. She took more stock in his
some day becoming president than I
did"
Enjoyed The Radio
Although thousands of automobiles
visited his home after his son be-
came president, Colonel Coolidge
never had desire, for this modern
means Of conveyance. Making the
trips which his varied business inter-
csts demanded he stuck to his buggy
and old horse, which he remarked in
1924 was "about played out" lie
took kindly, however, to the radio
and in his later years abandoned his
lifetime practice of rctirinp early in
order to listen in, especially when
an address by his son was being
broadcast. He was greatly touched
when President Coolidge at the close
Of an address near the end of the
1924 campaign said public good
night to his father.
The death Of Calvin Coolidge, Jr.
son of the president, greatly affected
the colonel and his friends said
that he never fully recovered from
the shock.