Fit for a President
A brief history of hooked rugs and the presidency
United States Presidential History, designed and hooked by Elizabeth LeFort, Cheticamp, Nova Scotia, 1959.
Federal and state politicians can't quite agree on exactly who should be honored on the third Monday in February each year. Although officially called "Washington's Birthday," the presidents honored on that day vary from state to state. Still, most Americans stay above the debate and pay homage to everyone in that office, as they celebrate what has unofficially come to be called "Presidents' Day." That said, it seems reasonable that a readership dedicated to the making of hand-hooked rugs could legitimately single out, for special honor, those presidents who loved and used hooked rugs.
A quick search on the topic of U.S.presidents and hooked rugs reveals that every president in recent memory was given at least one hooked rug during his presidency.
This article is from the January/February 2010 issue. For more information on our issues, check out our issues page.