The Govenor's Mansion

This afternoon, E. and I and 5 of the Red Hatters attended a lecture at Drumthwacket. Drumthwacket is the Govenor's Mansion in N.J. The speaker was Ulysses Grant Dietz who co-authored at book entitled, "Dream House: The Whitehouse As An American Home". The lecture was well attended and was very interesting. The afternoon started with a reception with light refreshments. I had a glass of iced tea and a chocolate chip cookie. After the lecture the author signed copies of his book which was for sale. Luckily, I had previously purchased the book somewhere else and got a discounted price. I showed up with my book, receipt in hand, and it was signed. Ulysses Grant Dietz is also the curator of the Newark Museum where you can visit the Ballantine House. The Ballantine's were a wealthy family who lived in Newark in it's Day. The house is a Victorian House and gives a good example of how the people lived at that time in our history. If you ever have a chance to visit the museum and the adjacent Ballantine House, it will be a visit you are sure to enjoy.
I was drawn to this lecture because the speaker is the great great grandson of President Ulysses S. Grant who was also a Civil War general. Since I am a student of History, it was exciting to meet the name sake of one of our presidents. Having studied the Civil War a bit, the fact that the authors great great grandfather was a general in that war also intrigued me. I enjoyed Mr. Dietz references to his great great grandfather and great great grandmother, Julia and their contribution to the Whitehouse as a home. I look forward to reading the book and learning more.