Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008

Answer man: Where does the vice president live?

Q. I know the president lives in the White House, but where does the vice president live?

-- Sue P., of St. Jacob

A. Until 35 years ago, the answer to that question was like asking where the 800-pound gorilla sits: just about anywhere he wants to.

Since there was no official residence (or spare sofa-beds in the Oval Office), they either bought temporary homes or stayed in hotels -- which led to at least one memorable comic event.

When Calvin Coolidge came to Washington as vice president in 1921, he took the advice of his predecessor, Thomas Marshall, and took over Marshall's suite at the new Willard Hotel. One night, the hotel experienced a fire, and all of the guests were ordered out on the sidewalk.

When Coolidge ascertained the blaze was minor, he headed back inside, telling a firefighter standing guard that he was the vice president. At first the firefighter let him pass, then suddenly asked, "What are you the vice president of?"

When silent Cal replied "United States," the surprised man reportedly said, "Wait a minute, you come back here! I thought you were vice president of the hotel!"

That all changed in 1974, when Congress ordered the chief of the Naval Observatory to surrender his government-supplied home to the vice president.

"Although the admiral protested that the house would make a poor residence since the roof leaked, the home lacked air conditioning, the wiring was a fire hazard and the fireplaces didn't work, Congress decided that the home was fit for vice presidential habitation," writes Steven Talley, an agricultural science writer at Purdue University and popular historian.

So now the veep and his family make themselves comfortable in the 1893 Queen Anne-style country home on the southeast corner of 34th Street and Massachusetts Avenue.

The Fords were the first eligible to live there, but Richard Nixon resigned before they got the chance. Then, Nelson Rockefeller turned thumbs down on the place since his own Washington, D.C., home was nicer, naturally.

But ever since, the house has enjoyed considerable sprucing up. Walter Mondale put in a vegetable garden and a library of books on vice presidents; Dan Quayle installed a $25,000 putting green and swimming pool; and George H.W. Bush added antiques and a hoseshoe pit.

Still, veeps constantly are reminded of their second-class citizenry: The house has only 12 rooms and six baths compared to the 132 rooms and 35 bathrooms in the White House.

Q. Many years ago, I remember someone named Victor Lundquist or Lundstadt (or something similar) had a record in which he read a patriotic letter that asks his son not to be a draft dodger. Can you tell me anything more about it and whether it is available?

-- Joe Kistner, of Belleville

A. Of all the unlikely one-hit wonders in 1967, Victor Lundberg ranked among the most improbable with his spoken-word recording of "An Open Letter To My Teenage Son."

With the Vietnam War becoming increasingly unpopular, Lundberg exhorted his son (and the untold number of young people who heard the recording) to serve without question if called.

"All past wars have been dirty, unfair, immoral, bloody and second-guess," he says midway in a song that also touches on long hair, drugs, youthful rebellion and the question of "Is God dead?" "However, history has shown most of them necessary."

He saves the knockout punch until the end.

"And I will remind you that your mother will love you no matter what you do, because she is a woman," he says as the strains of "Battle Hymn of the Republic" swells in the background.

"And, I love you too, son. But ... if you decide to burn your draft card, then burn your birth certificate at the same time. From that moment on, I have no son."

A newscaster at radio station WMAX in Grand Rapids, Mich., Lundberg watched his record take off like a rocket. Released on the Liberty label, "Open Letter" went from No. 84 on Nov. 11 to No. 10 three weeks later, and catapulted Lundberg onto national TV with Ed Sullivan. It would earn a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word Recording.

But after just six weeks in the Hot 100, Lundberg disappeared from the charts and was never heard from again. (Billboard says no other record has ever dropped out of the top 100 from No. 22 in one week.) Liberty tried to make a buck by recording an album of Lundberg's musings, but his takes on such subjects as racial prejudice and self-appointed do-gooders went nowhere. Lundberg died in 1990 at age 66.

Fortunately for you, the record is easy to find, even though you'll probably have to settle for old-fashioned vinyl. Amazon.com and ebay have both Lundberg's LPs and 45s available for $5 on up, including postage. I've found indications that it was included on a CD compilation called "U-Spaces: Way Out Wonders Volume 1" but I couldn't locate any copies.

I'll mail you the lyrics, but in the interest of fair play, you might also look for Keith Gordon's "A Teenager's Answer" and Robert Tamlin's rather whiny "A Teenager's Open Letter to His Father."

Q. During several trips overseas, I have acquired quite a collection of foreign coins that I'd like to organize and display to friends and family. Are there cardboard coin holders for foreign coins as there are for American? Or, how else might I preserve the coins for easy display while marking the country of origin and value?

-- B.F.B., of Belleville

A. I offered Otis Miller and Norm Bowers a pfennig for their thoughts, and they both came up with the same idea that you can cash in on without spending a lot of green.

While coin holders may be available -- or at least adaptable -- for foreign coins, they are expensive, said Miller, who continues to run his Belleville Coin Shop through area coin shows and flea markets. Instead, here is an equally workable but cheaper solution:

For well under a buck, both Miller and Bowers at Eagle Coin, Stamp and Jewelry in O'Fallon offer archival plastic pages with 20 pockets each for coins. You can mount the coins in individual cardboard holders, label them and then place them in the pockets by country and/or value.

"That's probably the easiest way," Bowers said.

Pages come in three sizes and the mounts come in at least seven, so you're bound to find something to fit every coin, Bowers said. Then, you can mount the pages in a three-ring binder for easy display. Miller would be glad to help you today if you stop in at the monthly flea market at the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds or reach him through 277-4493 or sales@bellevillecoinshop.com.

Of course, there are countless coin shops online offering myriad ideas if you search for " foreign coin holders" or "coin collecting supplies."

Send your questions to Roger Schlueter, Belleville News-Democrat, 120 S. Illinois St., P.O. Box 427, Belleville, IL 62222-0427 or rschlueter@bnd.com