World of Pots: The President's Home

Have you ever been to a home where two presidents of the United States and a governor of Florida were raised?

When my son was posted to the Midland of Texas in 2010, we had the opportunity to visit him on our vacation and also to the George W Bush Childhood Home in Midland.

"It seems improbable in that little house on Ohio Street that there would be two presidents and a Governor of Florida." - George W Bush, January 17, 2001, Speech, Midland, Texas.

The House of two Presidents

Opened on April 11, 2006, the home has been restored to the early 1950s and reflects the lives of the young family through exhibits and furnishings. Nowhere outside the United States, other than the White House, have so many prominent political figures live in one home - two presidents, two governors, first lady, ambassador, CIA director and much more. Our journey through the home enabled us to know more about the early years of the Bush Family and the post- World War II America.

The President's bed

Poster of Lone Ranger

In 1948, the Bush Family left New England to make a new start in West Texas. George and Barbara Bush had moved constantly since they married on January 6, 1945. However their new house at 1412 West Ohio Avenue was only the second home they had actually owned and was by far the largest.

They were active leaders in the community, their church, with the YMCA and busy with George's growing business, the Bush-Overby Oil Development Company. The first year in the home was a happy time for the young family - a wonderful neighbourhood and a new baby on the way, West Texas had truly become home.

Having dinner with the President

Old time comics

As we thronged through the exhibits, we could imagine how life in Midland in the 1950s would be. Midland was an idyllic place where children would ride their bikes downtown, play with marbles and yo-yos, climb fences, run through sprinklers and play ball. Homework and schoolwork were important. As for the adults, everyone was involved in raising everyone else's children. Midland was a small town, with small town values. Families went to church and supported each other. Children learned to respect their elders and to be good neighbours. Friends and families spent time together outside, talking with neighbours while their children were having fun themselves.

It is through the example of this American Family that we were able to see the reality of an American dream. To know that it started so long ago in the oilfields of West Texas and the neighbourhood in Midland, the Gorge W Bush Childhood Home serves as a testimony to hard work and, dedication, and commitment to community and what that can mean later in life. The legacy of the Bush family holds inspiration to all who bare witness and this home stands as a monument to that legacy.

"Our deepest values in life often come from our earliest years... It is here where I learned what it means to be a good neighbour at backyard barbecues or just chatting across the fence. It is here in West Texas where I learned to trust in God." - George W Bush.