HONEST ABE: A Character You Can Count On
Face to Face Productions
February 11-12, 2010
10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Face to Face Productions celebrates the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth with the musical HONEST ABE: A Character You Can Count On. The show explores how the elements of good character shaped and influenced one of our greatest presidents. Join young Abe as he overcomes adversity every step of the way to become the 16th President of the United States.  This performance is co-sponsored by Circle Theatre.  Recommended for grades K-5.  Reservations for your group can be made by calling (616) 456-6656.

President Gerald R. Ford Essay Challenge
Awards Ceremony
Monday, February 15, 201 7:00 PM

GRAND RAPIDS -- Judging for the annual President Gerald R. Ford Essay Challenge is currently underway and plans are being finalized for the Awards Ceremony to be held at the Museum the evening of February 15, 2010.  This year's theme is The Meaning of Courage Today.

All 18 finalists will be recognized that evening, the top award winners announced and prizes awarded, and winning essays read.  The program will be followed by a reception honoring these exceptional students.  Read the top 18 essays on our web site beginning February 16th.

The Awards Ceremony is open to the public.

President's Day
Monday, February 15, 2010 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

GRAND RAPIDS -- Join us for storytelling, crafts, and birthday cake.  Activities are free with paid Museum admission.

Ron White
Abraham Lincoln 2010: Wisdom for Today
Tuesday, February 16, 2010 7:30 p.m.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Join Ron White as the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and The Hauenstein Center celebrate the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth with noted Lincoln biographer, Ron White.  Mr. White will discuss his newest book, A. Lincoln: A Biography.   A book-signing and light refreshments will follow the talk.  Reservations for this lecture can be made by calling the Museum at (616) 254-0384.

Ronald C. White, Jr. is the author of A. Lincoln: A Biography, a New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times bestseller. White is also the author of Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural (2002), honored as a New York Times Notable Book of 2002, and a Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle bestseller, and The Eloquent President: A Portrait of Lincoln Through His Words (2005), a Los Angeles Times bestseller and a selection of the History Book Club and the Book-of-the-Month Club. He has lectured at the White House and been interviewed on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

Tom Borcher
Alligators in the East Room and Other White House Tales
Saturday, February 13 and Sunday, February 14, 2010  at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.

GRAND RAPIDS -- You may remember Tom Borcher and his outstanding tours of The White House in Miniature.  We've brought Tom back once again, this time as part of the White House Weekend Celebration.  Join Tom for a lively sixty minute conversation about the nation's executive mansion.  Learn historical facts as well as stories about the famous families who've called the White House their home.  The event is free with paid museum admission, reservations are not required.

Mark Updegrove
The Presidents and the Cold War
Thursday, February 25, 2010 7:30 p.m.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Mark Updegrove author of Baptism by Fire: Eight Presidents Who Took Office in Times of Crisis, will explore the challenges faced by Presidents Truman and Kennedy during the Cold War.  Following the talk there will be a book-signing and light refreshments.  Reservations can be made by calling the Museum at (616) 254-0384.

Mark K. Updegrove is also the author of Second Acts: Presidential Lives and Legacies After The White House, for which he interviewed former presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush. Mr. Updegrove has served as publisher of Newsweek, president of Time Canada and manager of Time's Los Angeles office.  His work has appeared on American Heritage, The Nation and elsewhere.  Last September, Mr. Updegrove was appointed the Director of the Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas.

Benton Becker
The Pardon of Richard Nixon
Wednesday, March 10, 2010  7:30 p.m.
 
ANN ARBOR -- Attorney Benton Becker was a key advisor to President Ford in the pardon of Richard Nixon and the disposition of Nixon's papers and the famous tapes. Join us to hear Professor Becker upon the 35th anniversary of one of our most dramatic presidential transitions. A reception will follow the talk. Open Seating.
 
Benton L. Becker advisor, US President Gerald Ford Although not a member of Gerald Ford's congressional or White House staff, Benton L. Becker played an integral role in some of the most important events of the US President's career, including the investigation of Associate Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, Ford's confirmation as Vice President, the Nixon pardon, and the disposition of Nixon's papers. Mr. Becker served as an Adjunct Professor of constitutional law at University of Miami for many years.  Professor Becker has a law practice in Florida.

Sharon Fawcett
Presidential Libraries and Museums in the 21st Century: Reflections on the Dilemmas of History, Legacy, and Politics
Wednesday, March 24, 2010  7:30 p.m.

ANN ARBOR -- Presidential libraries and museums have been in the news lately as historians and some members of Congress have raised issues of ongoing operating costs, control of and access to historical materials, as well as the role of presidential foundations.   Join Sharon Fawcett, head of the National Archives system of 13 Presidential Libraries, as she discusses the past and future of these unique and sometimes controversial cultural institutions. A reception will follow the lecture.  Free.

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Hank Meijer
Senator Vandenberg and the Cold War
Saturday, March 27, 2010 2:00 p.m.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Join historian Hank Meijer as he looks at the role the U.S. Senate played in diplomatic relations and policies between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.  Michigan Senator Arthur Vandenberg was an important player during this time of extreme turmoil.  The lecture is free with paid Museum admission.  For reservations call (616) 254-0384.

 In addition to being a Trustee on the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, Hank Meijer is also co-chairman and chief executive officer of a retailer that bears his grandfather's name.  Since graduating from U-M as an English major, Mr. Meijer has collaborated on a film script about the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay and written a thousand-page manuscript on the life and political career of Arthur H. Vandenberg, Michigan's influential but largely forgotten Republican senator.