'Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground'

 

As Richard Hellesen's engaging one-man play, Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground, opens, the 34^th President is grumbling about his placement in a ranking by 75 historians of American Presidents just published in the New York Times magazine. He’s placed at 22nd out of 31 (some Presidents had two terms.)  Eisenhower, beautifully portrayed by Tony-winner John Rubinstein as witty, intelligent and a man of integrity, turns his rant into a reflection on his personal life, his career as a general and his presidency.  I don’t know whether it’s a history lesson clothed as a wonderful evening of theatre or vice versa but it worked for me on both counts.  After a successful run last summer Eisenhower was brought back for a second term this fall.

Rubinstein, under the direction of Peter Ellenstein, is a skillful storyteller as he holds the stage at the Theatre at St. Clement’s for nearly two hours, with an intermission.  It’s 1962 and Eisenhower is enjoying his post-presidency at his farm in Gettysburg.  The idea is that he’s recording his thoughts and experiences for a memoir.  But first he stews over those rankings, the only element of which he seems to agree is that Warren G. Harding is below him.

“President of the United States ought to at least have some dignity.  If you don’t respect the office, you deserve to be at the bottom.  But the rest of us – Rutherford B. Hayes, number 14.  What for?”

Hellesen drew from memoirs, speeches and letters.  It’s fascinating to hear Eisenhower’s thoughts on war, politics and the law, especially in how they contrast with the words and conduct of our most recent Republican President.

Michael Deegan’s set features a cozy room with some comfortable chairs, the former president’s desk off to the side and shelves with books and memorabilia.  A picture window the size of the room looks out on Eisenhower’s golf course, with hills in the distance.  At times the sky darkens and rain falls.  It’s a great setting for the story to unfold.

Eisenhower explains his philosophy, saying he’d like to get rid of the terms liberal and conservative and identify as what some people call middle of the road.  “You,” he says, addressing the Times article on the table, “prob’ly think that means you don’t stand for anything, which is nonsense because you’re going to get hit from both sides so you’d better stand twice as strong.  Besides, the middle of the road is the useable part of the road.  Steer too far to the right or left, you end up in a ditch.”

He’s also got an opinion on government spending.

“Worst of all is the military, and I bet you’re surprised to hear me say that, aren’t you?  Believe me, I understand defense.  I worked most of my life to be General, and that title means more to me than anything.  But our military is defending a way of life, not just territory.  And we can’t undermine that way of life out of debt and waste.  Hell’s fire, the cost of a single fighter jet is half a million bushels of wheat!  We pay for our destroyer with homes that could house 8,000 people! 

“But take on the fools who think war should be the first resort, not the last, and then add the fellas for whom bombs and guns are their paycheck, that military industrial complex will come down on you like a sledgehammer. . . and when every country in the world starts trying to keep up, well, that is just humanity hanging on a cross of iron.  And it’s got to stop.”

Many times I thought he could be talking about our present day, such as in his comments about Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

“Don’t think you’re going to hide our faults by hiding the evidence they ever existed!  Don’t join the book burners!  If you’re going to fight Communism, you need to know what it is, so you can fight it with something better. Always remember that the truth is the bulwark of freedom, and suppression of that is the weapon of dictators.  So don’t be afraid to go into your library and read every book!  And if some writers have ideas that are contrary to yours, well, they still have the right to say ‘em, or it isn’t America!  If we start believing that every individual or party that disagrees with us is somehow wicked, or treasonous, then we are near the end of freedom’s road.”

His reflections are also personal.  The hardest to hear about involved his first born, whose name was Doud but he was called Icky.  Eisenhower was a major and he, his wife, Mamie, and Icky had settled into a house in Fort Meade, MD.

Icky, who was nearly 3, loved the camp atmosphere, the parades and the soldiers.  The soldiers loved him, too, and bought him a little uniform and took him on drills, sitting him up in the tank.  A black and white photo of him in his uniform is precious. 

It was the first sense of settled family life they had known.  Eisenhower was making good money and decided to hire a maid.  Scarlet fever had hit the area and a local girl he interviewed had had it but said she was cured.

“But I didn’t bother to make sure.  And I hired her.  I hired her.  She brought it into our house. And, ah, Icky contracted it from her.  We weren’t even allowed into his hospital room at first.  But there was a porch, and I’d sit out there, look in, wave to him.  Well, they finally let us in.  He was gone in a week.  Died in my arms.”

Eisenhower lived a rich life and I was glad to get to know him in this way.  After all this wonderful dramatic narration Hellesen chose a delightful way to end the play.  The golf course backdrop fades, replaced by a projection displaying the title Presidential Rankings by Historians: Dwight D. Eisenhower.  The title remains while beneath it the following dissolves through:

1962:  #22

1982:  #11

2002:  10

2012:  #8

2022: #5

The audience loved it.  And so did I.