Tricky Cal

In my early twenties I worked for a photographic studio in Washington, D.C. My job was to retouch photographs of important federal employees, including the President. I usually spent my lunch hour eating a sandwich in Lafayette Park.

One day after lunch I was returning to work when I saw President Coolidge walking out the front door of the White House. He was heading toward the street along a path that had a hedge beside it. After a bit he stopped, looked up, and pointed into a tree. I could not see what he was looking at, and neither could the two Secret Service men who were following along behind him. They came up between the President and the object, and while they examined whatever it was, Coolidge ducked through the hedge. Soon the men stopped looking up and turned to guard the President, who had disappeared. One raced ahead while the other ran back toward the White House.

I wish I could have taken a picture of Coolidge smiling when he peeped out from behind that hedge.