From 1951 to 1955 George W. Bush and his family lived in this house in Midland Texas. We borrowed this picture from the website, all the other photos are ours because you are allowed to take pictures which is nice.
This was only the second house that George H. W. and Barbara owned and it was the larger of the two. The house was filled with both happiness and sadness as their sons Jeb and Neil were born here but Robin their daughter died of leukemia while they lived here. About his time in Midland George W. said it best, "Our deepest values in life often come from our earliest years...It is here where I learned what it means to be a good neighbor at backyard barbecues or just chatting across the fence. It is here in West Texas where I learned to trust in God." He got some of his earliest lessons from the Roy Rogers Riders Club watching Saturday morning television in what they called the den, the one television in the house.
He would copy as many of the 10 rules as he could during each episode until he had them all. He and his friends then carried these rules with them reminding them how to be good citizens. He joined the Roy Rogers Riders Club and you can see the rules above his bed and the Riders Club shirt on the bed. Interestingly one of George W's boyhood friends assisted in the renovation and read the rules at the dedication ceremony. Here is George W's bedroom.
A closeup of the rules.
Shelves in his bedroom.
They had quite the time restoring this house back to how it was when the Bush family lived there. There were 7 different owners and it seemed like everybody either had to paint and wallpaper over the beautiful wood in George W's bedroom and elsewhere in the house. They painstakingly removed all the paint and wallpaper to reveal the wood you see today.
Other photos from the house - the kitchen.
The phone stand, one phone and a party line to boot.
An original fixture.
One thing there are trying to find or replicate is the washer and dryer like they had in the kitchen. What they have found is the salt and pepper shakers given when the units were bought.
With one television and one channel they had a lot of time for reading. Here is a rolling, spinning bookcase and a bookcase in the hall.
We found this pretty neat, a photo that Barbara took of George W. on his bike in the street.
The interesting thing is that time seemingly has not passed on this street. Notice the gas hookup, the crack in the concrete near the driveway and the garage doors.
We'll end with the 10 Rules of the Roy Rogers Riders Club
1. Be neat and clean
2. Be courteous and polite
3. Always obey your parents
4. Protect the weak and always help them
5. Be brave but never take chances
6. Study hard and learn all you can
7. Be kind to animals and care for them
8. Eat all your food and never waste any
9. Love God and go to Sunday school regularly
10. Always respect our flag and our country
Wish more people lived by these rules today.
Till next time,
Bob and Jo
Wish we still had Roy and his rules to guide us. I really appreciate the fact they have taken such care to restore his home.
ReplyDeleteWe enjoyed our visit here. It kind of reminded us of LBJ Ranch. I loved seeing the kitchen in the original shape.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we should send those 10 rules to the House, Senate and President. What a difference it would make if they followed them.