Mamie Eisenhower's Birthplace
(Boone, Iowa)
Excerpts from Roadchick K:
 Mamie Eisenhower’s Birthplace is an interesting place. I say interesting, because it has a lot of potential to be very engaging, but somehow falls short. The Eisenhowers were revered when Ike was in office and they are still generally held in good esteem by most Americans. Mamie was quite the lady of her day and well-liked. So we were a little surprised at the brevity of our tour.
The house itself is quite small and the price is, well that’s an interesting story. Everything we read including the signs inside and outside of the site said $4, yet when we were halfway through the 15 minute tour (yes, halfway and yes, 15 minutes) they asked us for six dollars.
To which I replied, “For both of us?”
“No it’s six dollars per person,” the guide informed me.
This seemed strange as I was staring at a sign that said $4 as she told me this. I then proceeded to ask if they had a AAA discount like any good tourist and was told that they were just a poor local museum and there was no discount. I’m all for supporting poor local museums, I volunteer at one for heavens sake, but $6 for a 15 minute, not very informative and also somewhat confusing tour made me feel as though I was being fleeced.
The tour consists of five rooms (the living room, two bedrooms, a dining room and kitchen.) I’ve seen historic sites do a lot with their small spaces, but this was not well done. In fact, the tour guide wasn’t really sure of her facts and even when referring to her cards couldn’t find accurate information. They eventually sent us out to the garage and downstairs to the memorabilia/gift shop area, which were self-guided and again not very informative.
If you’re a presidential site fan like me this is a must-stop and see if for nothing other than the fact that it’s hard to find First Lady historic sites. However, if you’re not a fan, I wouldn’t take a detour just to see this site even if they are a poor, little museum trying to get by.
http://mamiesbirthplace.homestead.com/
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