Sunday, December 6, 2015

Who?


  Driving back from Vermont (again) the other day, I was going through the little town of Hoosick, NY. While sitting at the traffic light, I happen to notice a small metal historic marker on the corner, the kind that you occasionally see.  From my vantage point, I was able to read "Chester A. Arthur". Below the name, was the word "President".  I thought to myself, "President of what?"  So, as I proceeded to drive, I said out loud "OK Google, who is Chester A. Arthur" (I think Siri is a more friendly entity then Google Now) She replied back "Chester Alan Arthur  was an American attorney and politician who served as the 21st President of the United States."

  President of the United States?!  I guess I must have been sleeping in class during those lectures.  I have no memory of him.  So I read that he served one term from 1881 to 1885.  He was Vice President and fell into the job because President James A. Garfield (I DID hear of him!) was assassinated. Further reading told me that Arthur did an ok job as president.  I looked at the list of all US presidents and I had a memory in History of all of them except good ol' Chester.
  So why was there a marker in Hoosick, NY when Chester Arthur was born in Fairfield, VT and buried in Albany, NY?  It seems that he once lived in Hoosick.  The town is probably most famous for being the burial place of Grandma Moses.