This informative post will be published on Saturday in place of my regular one.  You are invited to participate with the opening question.

Brain Teaser Question

I see you, you see me.  I have three eyes.  Whenever I blink, I command you to stop or go.  What am I?

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

Dwight D. Eisenhower enters the Presidential Election of 1952 in his very first candidacy for any political office, and he easily earns victory to become America’s 34th President.

Here are a few interesting facts about President Eisenhower:

• State Represented:  Pennsylvania
• Political Party:  Republican
• Birth:  October 14, 1890 (Dennison, Texas)
• Death:  March 28, 1969 (Washington, DC)
• Occupation:  Soldier
• College:  U.S. Military Academy at West Point

Nicknamed Ike, President Eisenhower spends most of his childhood in Abilene, Kansas.  He learns at a young age the value of hard work and his family’s strong religious traditions.

Eisenhower is re-elected in 1956, and he defeats Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson just as he did in 1952.  During these two terms of office, Richard M. Nixon serves as the nation’s Vice President.

Eisenhower’s pre-presidential life is filled with several notable achievements:

• Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces during World War II
• Commander of NATO forces in Europe following World War II
• Authors a book in 1948 (Crusade in Europe)
• President of Columbia University (1948-1953)

During his first term as President, Eisenhower secures an armistice to stop the war between North and South Korea.  Following the darkness of war in Europe and Asia, he presides over a nation which desires more quiet times at home.  His previous military leadership brings strengths to his Presidency in terms of organization and the ability to persuade others to work with him.

Eisenhower’s administration initiates the construction of the Interstate Highway System, which becomes the largest public works project in American history.  The first miles of highway begin to transform the nation’s roads in 1956, while the project continues until completion in 1992. 

He extends the federal government’s power in bringing about school integration in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957.  The integration of Little Rock Central High School finally occurs when Eisenhower sends the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division to escort nine African-American students (the Little Rock Nine) into the school.

In 1950, Eisenhower purchases a home and farm outside of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  The connection between Gettysburg’s place in the history of America’s Civil War complements his military background.

top left and MOVING clockwise: presidential portrait, young officer in the U.s. army, with wife mamie in their early years, childhood home in abilene, birthplace home in dennison, world war ii general, gettysburg farm and home, with president-elect john f. kennedy.  (Courtesy of Pinterest)

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

A traffic light.