Gerald R. Ford

Gerald R. Ford 38th President of the United States (1974-1977)

Ford sites that I have visited:

Ford Birthplace garden Omaha, NE
                                            

Various Ford homes and High School in Grand Rapids, MI

Ford Library Ann Arbor, MI

Ford Museum and gravesite Grand Rapids, MI

The house in which the future President was born in Omaha, Nebraska. The house is gone now and a memorial garden is now on the site.

Gerald Ford Birthplace. Omaha, NE

Gerald Fords birth name was Leslie Lynch King Jr. He was born in the house of his biological fathers parents. His parents would divorce and his mother would marry a man named Gerald Ford. Ford adopted the boy and he was re named Gerald Ford Jr. When Ford became President in 1974, an Omaha businessman bought the property (the house was gone by that point) and built a garden there.

I visited the birthplace in March 2011, we had driven from Ohio through the night and saw Truman sites in Independence, MO and Eisenhower sites in Abilene, KS. We left Abilene and headed for our hotel in Council Bluffs, Iowa. But first we had one last stop. We had a 4 hour drive from Abilene to Omaha. As we got closer to Omaha we were running out of sunlight. We made it to the Ford birthplace with just a few minutes of sunlight. Which explains why the pictures are so dark.

Ford birthplace

Bust of Ford at his Birthplace

Display of Fords golf clubs at birthplace

Replica of what the birthhome looked like on display at the birthplace

Me at Ford's birthplace

This house at 1960 Prospect Ave. Grand Rapids, MI is the house where the very young future President lived with his mother from 1913 - 1917.

Ford boyhood home at 630 Rosewood Ave in Grand Rapids. Ford lived here with his family from 1922 - 1923, when they lost the house to foreclosure.

Me at Ford's boyhood home

This historic marker stands in front of Fords boyhood home at 649 Union Ave. SE in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Fords boyhood home at 649 Union Ave. The Fords lived here from around 1921 - 1930, during a big chunk of his formative years. Ford himself always considered this house his "Home" growing up.

Me at Ford's boyhood home in 2014

Picture from my return trip in 2018

My wife came on this trip and got a picture of me in front of the house.

This building once held the School where Gerald Ford attended High School. It is now the Gerald R. Ford Job Corps Center. Grand Rapids, MI.

This house at 1011 Santa Cruz Dr. in Grand Rapids was the home of President Ford's mother and step father from 1934 until they both passed away in the 1960's. President Ford lived here off and on in that time.

Me at President Ford's parents home.

At the unassuming gravesites of President Ford's parents. These took awhile to locate

This house at 330 Washington St. SE in Grand Rapids is the house where Gerald and Betty Ford lived from 1948 - 1950. The first 2 years of their marriage.

This house at 1624 Sherman St. in Grand Rapids was purchased in 1950 by Gerald and Betty Ford. It remained their primary home in Michigan until 1979, after they left the White House.

Me at the Ford's Grand Rapids home

At Grace Episcopal church in Grand Rapids. President Ford's Grand Rapids funeral was here.

Grace Episcopal church in Grand Rapids

The home in Alexandria, Virginia was built for then Congressman Ford in 1955. It remained the Ford’s primary DC area residence until they moved to the White House on August 19, 1974.






I visited the house in June 2021

Ford is the only President whose Library and Museum are in separate locations. His Library is at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. There isn't a whole lot to see here unless you get access to Ford's Presidential papers for research. There are a few displays in the lobby and you can see the office that President Ford used when he was here. Hours are restricted and limited to week days. So I never made it there until I was returning home from an extended weekend in June 2018. I'm glad that I finally got to see it.

Display in Ford's library

Lobby in Ford's Library

Ford's office

Me outside of Ford's office

My boys

Gerald Ford Museum in December 2009. Grand Rapids, MI.

Gerald Ford Museum July 2014

My kids at the Ford statue in 2014

    

My kids and I at the Ford statue in 2018

I have now been to the Gerald Ford Museum  3 times. Once in December 2009, July 2014 and June 2018. Not a lot changed between the first 2 visits except that former First Lady Betty Ford passed away in that time and was laid to rest next to her husband at the museum. The 3rd time was much different since they under went a large renovation. It was like a whole different museum. These next few pictures are from my first 2 visits.

My wife and Klo in the disco exhibit at the Ford Museum, December 2009

July 2014. Khloe 4 and a half years later with her brothers Nicky and Grant. Their Mom had to work that day. 

Ford oval office

Ford's navy uniform on display

             Ford situation room

         Me with Fords Inagural Bible 

Nicky checks out piece of the Berlin Wall

Statue of a young Ford as an Eagle Scout. He is the only President who has ever earned that honor.

Gerald Ford was a graduate of the University of Michigan. I am a life long Ohio State fan. I felt that I should make this symbolic gesture that I bare no ill will towards Ford for going to Michigan. Taken 2009.

  

My kids and I doing our O-H-I-O.

My cup scout son Nick in front of the statue of Eagle Scout President Ford.

My kids really enjoyed the new interactive displays

Ford football gear

A replica of the USS Gerald Ford

Kids and I in Ford's Oval office

More interactive displays

Ford cabinet room

Pictures showing Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Donald Trump all paying their respects to President Ford

From my 2018 visit

Ford's gravesite at the Ford Museum Grand Rapids, MI, December 2009

          Fords gravesite, July 2014

Ford's gravesite 2018

Me at Ford's gravesite, December 2009

My boys and I at the Ford's gravesite in 2014, Khloe took the picture.

My kids and I at Ford's gravesite, June 2018

President Ford and I June 2018

Ford was the only President not be elected President or Vice President. In 1972, The ticket with Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew won in one of the biggest landslides in history. Agnew would resign on corruption charges leaving the country without a Vice President. It was Richard Nixon's job to appoint a new Vice President who would need to be approved by Congress. Gerald Ford was House Minority Leader when Nixon chose him as Vice President. When Nixon himself resigned in August 1974, Ford became President. He was a good, well respected, honest man to take over after the nightmare of Watergate. He made a controversial decision to grant Nixon a full and complete pardon. He would lose the Presidential election of 1976 to Jimmy Carter. Ford died at age 93 in 2006.