kenzie...
I'm very pleased to be able to present you with the poem you wanted.
Many thanks to pinkfreud-ga, who initially located a post, in
the 'stumpers' forum, which identified the name of the poem, its
author, and the book in which it appreared, all provided by
David B G Kresh, of the Library of Congress:
"This is "Our Presidents - A Memory Rhyme," by Isabel Ambler
Gilman. It goes up to Coolidge. It appears in 'Poems Teachers
Ask For', vol. 2."
http://listserv.dom.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0108&L=stumpers-l&F=&S=&P=3847
Since this post by Mr. Kresh was done in August 2001, I wasn't
sure he would respond when I emailed the address he used at the
time...but he did, and quite promptly!
He informed me that the book in which the poem appeared was
published in 1925. Since Coolidge was president at that time,
it makes sense that the poem only addresses presidents up to
Calvin Coolidge.
He also noted that he had posted the poem in its entirety on
the 'stumpers' forum, since he gets many requests for it.
I have been cautioned that there might be issues with copyright
infringement if I post the entire poem on the GA site, so,
rather than take any chances, I will simply give you the link
to the page on the forum where Mr. Kresh posted the poem:
http://listserv.dom.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0309&L=STUMPERS-L&P=R10406&D=0
The author of that book apparently also had an interest in Alaska.
She is also credited with the following books:
"Isabel Ambler GILMAN {US?} (F: ? - before 1950)
Alaska, The American Northland [n|1922]"
http://www.kingkong.demon.co.uk/ngcoba/gi.htm
...and:
"Alaskaland, a curious contradiction.
By Isabel Ambler Gilman.
New York, The A. Harriman Company [c1914]"
http://js-catalog.cpl.org:60100/MARION?A=GILMAN+ISABEL+AMBLER
Pinkfreud-ga noted that the book in which the poem appeared
is apparently a collector's item, and is not available at a
low price - the best price she found was $100.
In my own searches for the book, I found some posts offering
'Poems Teachers Ask For' for as little as $10 + S&H, however
they do not specify that it is, or includes, volume 2,
which is the volume with this poem. They all came from
the 'Christian Learning Resource' Group, at Yahoo Groups:
"Poems Teachers Ask For
392 classic poems in one collection.
CLR [Christian Learning Resource] price $10.00"
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/clr/message/35
...and:
"*** Poems Teachers Ask For (various)
Our Price $10.00
288-page collection of old-time poems just right for memorizing!"
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/clr/message/30
The only copy I found that specifies 'volume 2' is a used
copy available through Barnes & Noble, from a dealer named
T R McTeer Books, for $124.43:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/oopbooks/UsedBook.asp?userid=4ZWEUS1FQZ&ean=2781618849776&title=Poems+Teachers+Ask+For&WID=51087406
And, finally, pinkfreud-ga contacted me at the last minute
with another mnemonic (assisting the memory) poem listing
the presidents up to Woodrow Wilson, author unknown, on the
God's Grapevine site, at Geocities, from Laura Alexander:
"OUR PRESIDENTS"
"First stands the lofty Washington,
that noble, great, immortal one.
The elder Adams next we see
and Jefferson comes number three.
Then Madison is fourth, you know,
the fifth one on the list, Monroe.
The sixth, then Adams comes again,
and Jackson seventh in the train.
Van Buren eighth upon the line
and Harrison counts number nine.
The tenth is Tyler in his turn,
and Polk, the eleventh, as we learn.
The twelfth is Tyler in rotation,
the thirteenth Fillmore in succession.
The fourteenth, Pierce, has been selected;
Buchanan, fifteenth, is elected.
Sixteen, Lincoln rules the nation;
Johnson, seventeenth, fills the station.
As the eighteenth Grant two terms serves,
nineteenth, Hayes, our honor preserves.
Twentieth, Garfield becomes our head;
twenty-first, Arthur succeeds the dead.
Then Cleveland next was selected;
twenty-third, Harrison's elected.
Twenty-fourth, Cleveland is recalled;
twenty-fifth, McKinley twice installed.
Twenty-sixth, Roosevelt, strenuous, firm;
Taft, twenty-seventh, serves his term.
Twenty-eighth, Wilson, holds the place,
a nation's problem has to face....."
Author unknown.
I hope this more than satisfies your interests.
Please do not rate this answer until you are satisfied that
the answer cannot be improved upon by means of a dialog
established through the "Request for Clarification" process.
sublime1-ga
Searches done:
On STUMPERS L archives:
Isabel Ambler Gilman - substring search, and
dakr@loc.gov - author's address
http://listserv.dom.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?S1=stumpers-l&D=0
http://listserv.dom.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?S2=stumpers-l&D=0&L=STUMPERS-L&q=Isabel+Ambler+Gilman&0=S&s=&f=dakr%40loc.gov&a=&b=
On Google:
"Isabel Ambler Gilman"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22Isabel+Ambler+Gilman%22
"Poems Teachers Ask For"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22Poems+Teachers+Ask+For%22
"Poems Teachers Ask For" volume 2
://www.google.com/search?q=%22Poems+Teachers+Ask+For%22+volume+2 |
