Although neither Dwight David (Ike) nor Mamie Doud Eisenhower was born in Colorado, Mamie was raised mostly in Denver. Both enjoyed visiting Colorado for rest and recreation. Mamie often “retreated” to her family home in Denver during Ike’s military career, and Ike was stationed at Ft. Logan in the 1920s. Denver served as headquarters for Ike’s 1952 Presidential primary campaign. As President, Ike established his first-term “Summer White House” at Lowry Air Force Base, from which he took his extensive entourage to a friend’s ranch in nearby Fraser for extended fly-fishing trips to a friends. While playing golf at Cherry Hills Country Club in 1955, he experienced a heart attack, from which he convalesced for several weeks at Fitzsimons Army Hospital. This prompted controversy about his fitness to serve a second term.
Ike and Mamie left legacies in Denver and elsewhere in Colorado, among which are the Eisenhower Chapel at Lowry and the Eisenhower Suite in the Fitzsimons Building on the Anschutz Medical Campus. This course will trace Ike and Mamie’s Colorado connections through four weeks of 2-hour sessions.
This course is offered “in collaboration with the Lowry Foundation," This course is open to all OLLI at DU Members.
