Presidential Papers, Doc#911 To Florence Musser Etherington, 25 October 1958. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower
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Doc #912

Document #911; October 25, 1958
To Florence Musser Etherington
Series: EM, AWF, Name Series: DDE Personal
The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XIX - The Presidency: Keeping the Peace
Part V: Forcing the President's Hand; June 1958 to October 1958
Chapter 13: Quemoy and Matsu

 

Dear Florence: My brothers are quite pleased with the idea of building an appropriate wrought iron fence around the cemetery plot.1 Personally I have been thinking of something of the order of two feet high--or somewhere in that neighborhood.

You will remember that you were going to contact the Cemetery Association to determine whether or not they would have any objection to the building of such a fence.2 It might make slightly more difficult normal maintenance operations; of this I am not sure. But it seems to me that any difficulty of this kind in cutting grass might be minimized should the bottom of the fence be raised some three or four inches off the ground so that some instrument like a sickle or shears could be used along the fence line itself.3 Another thing that I think would be nice to have is a diagram of the exact size of the plot. I know that Beulah lies just behind your parents, but I am not sure that the comparable section just behind the graves where my father and mother lie belongs in the family plot.4

Another question I should like to ask is whether or not "perpetual care" was arranged for at the time of the purchase of the lot. If not, I should like to know if that kind of service is provided by the Cemetery Association, what arrangements have to be made?5

If there is any other information you think I should have, I would be very appreciative of your sending it to me.

It was nice to see you, even if only for a few seconds. I must say that both you and Ray looked to be in splendid health.6

Devotedly

P.S. Just as I left the hotel to return to Salina I heard that George had called the previous evening to see me.7 Actually I had gone to bed very early and was sound asleep so, of course, the staff did not awaken me. Give him my warm greetings when you see him.

1 On October 18 Eisenhower had written his brothers regarding the construction of the fence around the family plot in Abilene Cemetery (see no. 898).

2 Eisenhower had first discussed this idea with his cousin Florence when he visited his boyhood home October 17 - 18 (see nos. 898 and 906).

Mrs. Etherington had written to Eisenhower on October 24. Although she knew members of the board "very well," she wrote, she had been advised to have "definite plans before presenting the subject to the association." In a later (undated) reply she would report that permission for the fence had been granted. On November 5 Eisenhower would say he would be in touch with her regarding the plans (all in AWF/N).

3 As it turned out, the fence would be thirty-one inches high with a two-inch finial, and it would be raised six inches off the ground (Darby to Whitman, Nov. 14, 1958, AWF/N, Etherington Corr.).

4 The lot measured twenty-six feet long on the west side, fifteen and one-half feet long on the east side, and twenty-four feet long on the north and south sides. The center of the lot was between Mrs. Etherington's mother's grave and the President's father's (for background on the lot and the family members buried there see no. 898).

5 The cemetery staff mowed the grass, Mrs. Etherington reported, and she raked the leaves and debris that gathered under the trees. There were "always many bouquets of fresh flowers," and she thought the Eisenhower brothers already had established a perpetual care fund. (In the memorandum granting permission for the fence, the secretary of the Abilene Cemetery Association would note that provision had been made for perpetual care of the entire lot [AWF/N, Etherington Corr.]).

On May 13, 1959, the President would send Earl Eisenhower photographs of the fenced lot (AWF/N; see also no. 898).

6 Ray was Mrs. Etherington's husband.

7 The Etheringtons' married son, George, was in the realty and construction business in Salina, Kansas.

Bibliographic reference to this document:
Eisenhower, Dwight D. To Florence Musser Etherington, 25 October 1958. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 911. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/second-term/documents/911.cfm

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