By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
August 15, 2024
The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site will be honoring the Hoosier president on his 191st birthday by leaving a present for generations not yet born to open.
Harrison, who was born in North Bend, Ohio, on Aug. 20, 1833, and settled in Indianapolis as a young lawyer in 1854, crafted a legacy that included the gift of a national identity to future generations. Charles Hyde, president and CEO of the Harrison Presidential Site, said the 23rd president knew, especially in a country of immigrants, the importance of people seeing themselves as Americans, rather than identifying with their homeland.
To remind Americans of their shared national identify, Harrison, during his single term in the White House from 1889 to 1893, promoted the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance and flying of the “Stars and Stripes” in front of schools and public buildings. Also, he sent the renowned John Philip Sousa and the U.S. Marine Band on a national tour, because, as Hyde explained, Harrison recognized that “we could use a really good soundtrack to our national celebrations.”
“That infrastructure of how we think of ourselves as Americans can draw a straight line back to the 23rd President of the United States,” Hyde said of Harrison. “We can take some pride as Hoosiers that it was a Hoosier that really laid much of this kind of philosophical underpinning of how we can embrace that informed patriotism.”
Continuing Harrison’s legacy of connecting different generations of Americans together, the presidential site is assembling a time capsule, which will be locked away during the birthday celebration on Aug. 20. A vault in the Charters of Freedom limestone cases that are part of the Johnson-Floyd Family Presidential Commons and the Sarah Evans Barker Citizenship Plaza on the Harrison Presidential Site grounds will be the home for the time capsule.
The presidential site plans to open the capsule on Constitution Day 2087 to mark the 300th anniversary of the writing of the U.S. Constitution.
On a recent sun-soaked morning, Hyde brought out a light blue square box filled with the items that will be included in the stainless steel containers that comprise the capsule. The goal, he said, was to take a snapshot of the presidential site as it is in 2024, showcasing its mission and varied programs.
Included in the capsule is a strip of “I Voted” stickers, which are given out to Indianapolis residents who come to the presidential site to cast their ballots on Election Day. Also, there are several issues of the presidential site’s magazine, a memorial medallion commemorating Harrison’s time as president, replicas of presidential campaign pins from Harrison’s politicking days, and a plastic figurine of Harrison striding forward with his hat and coat in hand that is actually a 3-D print of a maquette for a statue that was never created.
Prominent in the capsule is a stack of letters sealed in white envelopes, one of which carries the address, “to future generations.” The messages were written by board members and friends of the presidential site, Hyde said, and will not be read until the capsule is opened in 63 years.
Hyde sees the time capsule as continuing Harrison’s legacy of emphasizing the importance of citizenship and the rights as well as the responsibilities that come with being an American.
“It’s just important to understand that the work of being a good citizen and meeting your obligations of citizenship is never ending,” Hyde said. “One of those obligations for all of us is to carry that education process forward, generation to generation, person to person, life to life. We need to invest of ourselves and others to be able to carry forward this American system of self-government.”
On Aug. 17, the Harrison Presidential Site will lay a wreath at Harrison’s burial site in Crown Hill Cemetery.
This is part of a long tradition of sitting presidents sending wreaths to be placed at the graves of their predecessors. The tradition has its roots in the Harrison administration.
Theodore Roosevelt was appointed by Harrison to the U.S. Civil Service Commission and chaffed a bit, wanting the president to push for sweeping reforms, but Harrison later explained that he wanted to take a little longer to enact change “so as not to fracture things too much.” The vigorous, young Roosevelt gained an appreciation for his former boss, when the vice president was thrust into the presidency following the assassination of President William McKinley in September 1901.
Roosevelt was unable to attend Harrison’s funeral in March 1901, but he traveled to Indianapolis a year later. He went to the gravesite and laid a wreath, which he had carried from Washington, D.C. Harrison’s widow, Mary Dimmick Harrison, heard rumors of the visit and wrote to Roosevelt to learn the truth. Roosevelt’s reply letter, saying he had laid the wreath because he wanted to “pay respects to my old chief,” is in the Harrison Presidential Site’s collection.
Hyde compared the wreath-laying tradition to the peaceful transfer of power that typically happens when a new president is elected.
“It’s much in that vein, where this is our shared American system of self-government, and to acknowledge the past and to understand that the decisions that are made are not fleeting, but they have long-standing consequences,” Hyde said.
The public is invited to two events marking the 191st birthday of Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president of the United States. Both events will take place in Indianapolis and are free, although guests are asked to register for the birthday celebration.
A wreath-laying ceremony honoring Harrison will take place at 10 a.m. Aug. 17 at his burial site in Crown Hill Cemetery, 700 W. 38th St. The ceremony will include brief remarks by members of the armed services and the board chair of the presidential site, along with a performance of the national anthem.
The birthday party for President Harrison will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 20 at the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site, 1230 N. Delaware St. Starting at 10 a.m., free tours will be offered of the first floor of Harrison’s Italianate Victorian home, which was built in 1875 and is filled with many of Harrison’s paintings, furniture and other artifacts, including political memorabilia. Also cake will be available throughout the day.
At 9 a.m., the time capsule will be dedicated and locked in the vault, where it will remain until 2087. Harrison’s great-great-grandson Kimball Harrison Morsman and other dignitaries will make some brief remarks.
At 10 a.m., Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner will read the children’s book about the pet goat the Harrison family kept in the White House, “Old Whiskers Escapes!: A Grandpa President Adventure.” The live reading will be recorded and shared with more than 80,000 second graders across Indiana.
Dwight Adams, an editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He has been a content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and a planner for other papers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org.
