Celebrate First Lady Lucy Hayes’ birthday with activities, dress display at HPLM

By KRISTINA SMITH

Hayes Presidential Library & Museums

FREMONT – First Lady Lucy Hayes’s birthday is Aug. 28, and this year, she would have been 188 years old.

To celebrate, the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums is bringing some of her dresses out of storage and putting them on display for five days only and offering special activities with a Lucy Hayes theme.

From Saturday, Aug. 24, through Wednesday, Aug. 28, some of her dresses not normally on display will be showcased for viewing in the museum. Access to see the dresses is included with regular admission, and members are admitted for free.

On Saturday, Aug. 24, several special activities will be offered:

• 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Lemonade and treats will be available in the museum. Free.
• 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Lucy Hayes’ dresses will be on display in the museum. Included with regular admission, members are admitted for free.
• 10 a.m. – Lucy Hayes – themed tour of the Hayes Home. Included with purchase of a site pass, members admitted for free.
• 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  – Learn to paint a butterfly using the same technique 19th-century artist Albert Bierstadt showed Lucy Hayes when he visited her in the White House. Free.
• 11:30 a.m. – Hands-on artifact activity featuring artifacts that belonged to Lucy Hayes. Put on the same white gloves Hayes Presidential curators wear and hold a piece of history. Included with regular admission, members admitted for free.
• 1:30 p.m. – Hands-on artifact activity featuring artifacts that belonged to Lucy Hayes. Put on the same white gloves Hayes Presidential curators wear and hold a piece of history. Included with regular admission, members admitted for free.
• 3 p.m. – Lucy Hayes themed-tour of the Hayes Home. Included with purchase of a site pass, members admitted for free.

On Wednesday, Aug. 28, which was Lucy Hayes’ birthday, complimentary lemonade and treats will be served in the museum.

The Hayes Presidential Library & Museums is America’s first presidential library and the forerunner of the federal presidential library system. It is partially funded by the state of Ohio and affiliated with the Ohio History Connection. The Hayes Presidential Library & Museums is located at Spiegel Grove at the corner of Hayes and Buckland avenues.

For information, call 419-332-2081, or visit rbhayes.org. Like HPLM on Facebook at @rbhayespres and follow on Twitter and Instagram at @rbhayespres.