Head to Plymouth Notch to celebrate Calvin Coolidge's 150th birthday

What better day for a president of the United States to be born than the Fourth of Jul. Yet only one was so lucky: Vermont's own Calvin Coolidge, born in Plymouth Notch on that day in 1872.

On Monday, the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site in Plymouth Notch is hosting a celebration of Coolidge's 150th birthday, beginning at 10 a.m. and continuing through 5 p.m.

"Calvin Coolidge preferred understated events, but the celebration of what would have been his 150th birthday, on the 246th birthday of our great nation, deserves some pomp and circumstance," Vermont State Historic Preservation Officer Laura Trieschmann said in a news release.

The pomp will begin at noon on Monday on the village green in Plymouth Notch, when a Vermont National Guard delegation will lead a march to the Plymouth Notch Cemetery, where a birthday wreath from the White House will be placed at Coolidge's gravesite.

There will also be Coolidge birthday cake to enjoy and a string band to listen to. You can still see Plymouth Artisan Cheese being made in an 1890 factory built by John Coolidge, the president's father, and watch The Coolidge Cup, a national invitational speech and debate tournament sponsored by the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation.

"Our family enjoys participating in the simple ceremony marking President Coolidge's birth on July 4th and especially this year being the 150th anniversary," Christopher Coolidge Jeter, President Coolidge's great grandson, said in a news release. "It allows us time to pause and honor the contributions he made during his life. As much as things have changed since the 1900s, many of Coolidge's speeches and ideals are as relevant now as ever."

Calvin Coolidge served as the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929, taking the place of his predecessor Warren Harding when Harding died unexpectedly from a heart attack and Coolidge was vice president. Coolidge, a Republican, then won the 1924 election.

The President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site includes Coolidge's boyhood home, the homes of relatives and family friends, his family's cheese factory and his father's store, which was used as the Summer White House in 1924. There is also Coolidge State Park, covering 216 acres of preserved village and farmland. There are limited options for food in Plymouth Notch, so visitors are encouraged to bring a picnic.

Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 802-660-1841 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: President Coolidge's 150th birthday is coming on the 4th of July