Up at 8:00. Light breakfast at HI Express and I drove the 12 miles from Harrison, Ohio to North Bend, Ohio. Called North Bend because it is at the north bend in the Ohio River. Even with my GPS, I couldn't find William Henry Harrison's grave. Not well marked. Fortunately, a nice lady at the BP station told me how to get there. Five minutes later I was at a beautiful State Park overlooking the Ohio River. It is small, but there are several billboards telling the story of the life and times of William Henry Harrison. And boy, does he have a story to tell.  

William Henry Harrison (1773 - 1841) was the 9th President of the United States and as we learned yesterday (class), his grandson, Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President . He called himself a child of the Revolution as his father Benjamin Harrison V was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He said he grew up with all the Revolutionary rhetoric. He got his nickname "Old Tippecanoe" from fighting Indians at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. Harrison met Anna Symmes of North Bend, Ohio in 1795, daughter of a wealthy landowner, and prominent figure in the state. When he asked for Anna's hand in marriage and Mr. Symmes refused, the couple waited until he was out of town and eloped. They had 10 children.  

Harrison was later a territorial governor and Senator from Ohio. He was elected President with probably the best slogan ever..."Tippecanoe and Tyler Too!" The Tyler was John Tyler, his VP.
 He took the oath of office in 1841 on a cold wet day in Washington DC. He didn't wear a hat or an overcoat and delivered a 200 page inaugural address (two hours). Two days later, Harrison became ill with a cold which developed into pneumonia . Less than 30 days later, he was dead, making him the shortest serving President in history.  

His grave site is a beautiful monument in the shape of an obelisk overlooking the Ohio River. His tomb (Anna is buried with him) is open to the public and there is a book to sign...I did so, but no attendant. It's a very nice tribute to the man. Very well done.  

That being done, I headed north toward Dublin, Ohio and an old friend and mentor from my ISU days, Henry Lee. Saw a sign on the back of a car on the way that made me chuckle. It said, "Driver carries no cash...he has two grand daughters!" Made me laugh!

 I have outlined the story of Henry in my baseball journeys (he allowed me to stay with him during that quest as well), but suffice to say, Henry is an amazing man, raising four children on his own after his wife died at a young age...the youngest child was four at the time. All have graduated from Ohio State with Masters Degrees and working on their careers. Henry was the Registrar at ISU before coming to OSU. He used to call me about 4:30 some days while at ISU and ask, "You thirsty?" And I always was! We have been close friends for a long time! 

Of course Henry had a couple of beers waiting for me. We had a couple, then grabbed some lunch at a local brew pub and headed back home to relax before dinner. Henry treated me to a great dinner at a swanky restaurant (Hyde Park). Excellent steaks!  

I came back and worked on my blog. Which reminds me...Sandy, ever the editor says maybe I need to explain why I am doing this. Well, I outlined that in my blog. Not one of the Entries, but look under "View Blog" and I think you'll see everything Sandy thought was missing. If you want more info, let me know, I'm full of it....oh, the info too!!!

Sleep well my friends and family!