Wednesday, October 14, 2009-- Hail to the Chief, and all that jazz

We didn't get to use the Internet last night. The campground we stayed at advertised “Wifi”. However, when you log on you get a message that tells you that you have 30 minutes of “free” Internet, then you have to go to the office for more time (one imagines that means “for a fee”). Even if we wanted to, we arrived after the office closed so had no option! It seems like this is definitely a “bait and switch”-type situation. Advertising wifi and then only giving a short time, while other places sincerely have free wifi with no strings did not set well with us.

Ah, well, enough gritching... back to vacation!

We headed for Little Rock, capital of Arkansas. Chris did not know anything about his maternal grandfather, Edward E. Perdew (Ted), because his grandparents were divorced in the early 1930s and Ted left Kansas City. In the last year, Kathy discovered a listing at the FindaGrave website for an Edward Perdew with approximately the correct birthdate. Now we had a death date (12 October 1952), but we didn't know where he had lived in the ensuing years. After requesting that one of the volunteers post a picture of the stone, the results showed that it must be the correct Ted Perdew! The military headstone (think all of the white markers lined up perfectly) states that he was from Nebraska! Bingo!

So we headed to the National Cemetery in Little Rock. This is a U.S. military cemetery. We hoped that the Cemetery officials would be able to tell us his address and/or next of kin information. Well, due to regulations, they will not provide that information without a formal request from an heir, even if the deathdate was 57 years ago! The kind staff person at the Cemetery told me how to make a request and where to send it.

There is a computer at the cemetery that will print out a page with your loved one's burial location and a map. We discovered that Ted was buried quite close to the office. It appears that the stones were placed about six feet apart during the 1950s and then later there were newer stones placed between each of the older ones. So, even though we didn't really discover too much that was new, it was interesting to actually be there at the Cemetery.

And where better to go after the Military cemetery? Well, to another U.S. agency, the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum! Our tour of the museum's displays was very interesting. We opted for the audio tour, which means we had audio players to listen to at designated sites President Clinton explained things in more detail. There was also an introductory film that we watched. This was narrated by President Clinton and provided a good basis for viewing the displays.

It was interesting to learn more about the Clinton presidency after nearly ten years have passed. Even though the “spin” is, of course, favorable to President Clinton, it still served as a good reminder of all the good things that he either accomplished or attempted during his two terms.

One of my favorite parts of the film was where he told that he was the youngest governor in the country when first elected. Unfortunately, he was defeated in the next election and then became the “youngest EX-governor in the country”! He later decided to run again and served at least four more terms as governor before moving on in his political career.

After leaving the Museum, we drove down the street to the Clinton Museum Store. It has an eclectic inventory. Kathy purchased a top that was on sale, simply because it was sooooo soft! The top is actually made out of bamboo! (renewable energy source) Another favorite for Kathy was a woven basket in many bright colors. The basket was created by women in Africa from telephone wires! It was really nice, but Kathy wasn't willing to spend the $90+ that it cost.

We decided to camp for the night at the North Little Rock KOA. We really liked out site because it was isolated in it's own little triangle of land, but was right near the restrooms. The spot was too small for many of the bigger RVs, so they were probably happy to see us. There was even a little “stream” right behind our site.

After eating supper at the campground, we returned to Little Rock and went to the Public Library to see if we could look through some Little Rock city directories to find Ted Perdew. We were directed to an adjacent building that houses the Arkansas Studies Institute. We searched their run of city directories from the 1930s to the early 1950s. But no Ted Perdew! Perhaps he lived elsewhere in the region. We had time to browse some of the other materials in the collection before closing.

From a librarian's viewpoint, the reading room in this building was a real surprise. The central part of the room had many of the lights off and so was extremely dim. It was actually difficult to read the reference items! The stack areas had better lighting, but it is still a mystery why they have such poor lighting in the other areas.

Tomorrow the search for Ted Perdew continues...