All the presidents' museums
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

PRESIDENTIAL TREATMENT- Camarillo residents Bruce and Janice Fuhrman stand in front of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, one of 11 presidential libraries they visited in a recent five-week trip across the country.

Three days after Bruce and Janice Fuhrman returned home from a five-week cross-country trip visiting all of the presidential libraries, the national archive agency that operates them added one more.

Fortunately, the drive to Orange County to see the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, added in early July, is a relatively short one for the Camarillo couple who just completed a 9,200-mile trip in July.

When planning a vacation, Bruce Fuhrman, a retired aircraft parts manufacturing executive, and his wife, Janice, wanted a nontraditional road trip and decided to see and compare all 11 presidential libraries and museums in the national library system.

The Fuhrmans said they found something to appreciate or learned something new at each one.

And most of the presidential libraries- which aren't traditional libraries but museums and repositories of historical presidential and first lady documents, artifacts and memorabilia- are located on university campuses in or near the president's hometown, the Fuhrmans said.

Bruce Fuhrman, a history buff who's especially fond of World War II memorabilia, said he was happy to find Dwight D. Eisenhower's library chock-full of information on D-Day. The Abilene, Kan., library was their first stop.

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, N.Y., was the Fuhrmans' favorite because the furnishings and exterior of the mansion were left exactly as they were when the 32nd president lived there, they said.

In Independence, Mo., Janice Fuhrman discovered a romantic side to "Give 'em Hell" Harry S. Truman after reading letters he wrote to his wife, Bess.

"We never saw that side of him when he was president," Janice said.

She was disappointed, however, with the John F. Kennedy library in Boston- stop number six. Despite being one of the largest, the threestory library lacked background information on the childhood of the country's 35th president and his family, she said.

But there was plenty of information on the president's assassination. Bruce said he was moved by the date on the calendar lying on Kennedy's desk; it was turned to Nov. 22, 1963- the day Kennedy was shot.

The library, situated atop a hill with a spectacular view of Boston Harbor, has one of the most beautiful settings, the Fuhrmans said.

Both said they were disheartened with Bill Clinton's library in Little Rock, Ark., because it had more information about Hillary than the 42nd president.

Their final stop was Lyndon Johnson's library in Austin, Texas, where the tour is lead at one point by a life-sized animatronics model of Johnson, sporting a cowboy hat and boots and leaning on a fence.

On the trip the Fuhrmans included visits to family members, former college classmates and Bruce's Air Force buddies, whom he hadn't seen in 50 years. They also experienced weather that dipped below 30 degrees in Utah to sweltering tripledigit temperatures in Phoenix.

The Fuhrmans said the high price of gas shouldn't stop anyone from touring the country since fuel is cheaper outside of California.

"We have a great country and I would urge people to get out and see it," Bruce Fuhrman said. "Seeing the country and seeing a lot of America's history are the two highlights- those were things you never forget."

Janice Fuhrman said, "We have one beautiful country."