...well, we gotta narrow that down, of course, as purt near EVERY day is Ginger Rogers Day in some form or fashion for we Gingerologists, right? But THIS particular post is in fact referencing the TRUE Ginger Rogers Day, which was declared in Independence, Missouri (where else?) on July 23, 1964... Of course, that's a handful of days beyond her birthday, but hey, the whole month of July is GingerTime, right?
The photo above is pretty familiar to G-ologists, as it's in her bio... it's her with Truman, who is that 'other person' from Independence... This particular pic (sorry for the quality) shows them burying one of Kate Hepburn's old 'mink' coats... no, check that - it's actually for a 'groundbreaking' of a new electrical system in Independence... good thing they didn't make them wear hard hats... pretty sure Ginger's bodacious 'do wouldn't have allowed it, and Ol' Harry's head was probably hard enough as is...
Well, I honestly don't know of many more pictures from the event (y'all holler with any you know of... seems like I've SEEN some in spots...), but the ones to follow are when she visited the Truman Library just down the hill...
...Ginger is looks SOOOOO incredible here... whoever the little dude is.. ...is one lucky little dude!!!
...not sure where the pic below is from... perhaps Harry's old house? It's just across the street from the library, so... yet ANOTHER GingerTrail spot...
...these are all on the Truman Library Archives website - pretty cool, and certified as 'public domain', which rocks... thanks to the folks at Truman Library for sharing these! When we 'convened' there for GingerFest, I never thought much about Ginger actually having been there as well... I reckon the place has been updated a time or two since '64, but still a cool GingerTrail spot in Independence, along with the 'old homestead', of course...
...as to the other folks in these pics, other than Harry and of course Lela, I do not have a CLUE as to who anyone else is - if Y'ALL know, hit me up in FaceBook - the Truman Library didn't know any of these folks either... and these are in no particular order, just all from that day, as Ginger has the same dress on throughout - and if there was EVER a constant in the Universe, it's that Miss Rogers would NEVER wear the same thing on consecutive days, save for being in a role of some type...
Well, as to the background for Ginger Rogers Day, she gives a recap of it in her bio, which goes like THIS:
"After finishing Magnificent Doll, I was invited to the White House [in 1946] to see the actual portrait of Dolley Madison and I happily accepted.
While I was viewing the portrait, someone asked if I wanted to meet President Harry S. Truman. "Yes, I would," I said. "We are both from the same state."
Inquiries were made, and in a short while I was ushered into the President's office. He was busily working on some papers, which he took a moment to finish, and then looked up and said, "Now I'm ready to meet the young lady."
"Mr. President," I said in a teasing tone, "you and I are from the same city in Missouri, and I am here to register a complaint. No one realizes I'm from Independence and everyone knows you are. I'm Jealous."
"Oh, you are?"
"Yes. I'm proud to be from Missouri and Independence."
With a twinkle in his eye, our thirty-third President said, "Well, we'll have to do something about that."
Almost twenty years later, on July 23, 1964, something was done; Independence, Missouri had a "Ginger Rogers Day." Mother and my good friend, Shirley Eder, a journalist from Detroit, joined me for the festivities. On the grandstand with me was former President Harry S. Truman. After the ceremony, Mr. Truman and I were given shovels to break ground in Independence for a new electrical system. Then he invited us to tour the Truman Library, where we spent three wonderful hours with the former President as our guide.
Before we left, he tried to reach Bess, but she had spent the afternoon at her favorite sport - fishing. So Harry Truman has his library in Independence, and I had my "Ginger Rogers Day." That seems fair enough!"
from the incredible, indispensable, indestructible book, GINGER: My Story
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...NOW, a few interesting things here... as to the date, the Truman Library notes these pics as July 22, 1964; Ginger notes this occurred on July 23, 1964... so what do we do when there is a conflicting date? That's right, Ginger overrules... ALWAYS... over Presidents, Astronauts, even Gingerologists! SO... that's that. And although this post is dated July 22, just be sure you KNOW that Ginger Rogers Day is actually July 23, RIGHT???
...Also noticed she mentioned Shirley Eder was present... SO, one of the heretofore unknown folks in those pics above have been identified... the pic where Ginger is holding Harry's arm shows Miss Eder shaking Harry's hand... dang, it's cool to be a former president, or at least on certain occasions!
...And the OTHER thing that jumped out at me was the fact that Bess Truman was out fishing... reckon Ginger would have liked to join up with Bessie on the banks of the Missouri (or wherever she was dropping her line)??? Methinks so...
With that, y'all have a great (official) Ginger Rogers Day!!!
...which is easily done by just...
...KEEPING IT GINGERY!!!
...Until Later On...
Hu
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