The museum has been closed since fall 2017. Former members of the Boone County Historical Society have accused the nonprofit organization of mismanaging its funds. They also sued the organization to stop the sale of the home, which was put on the market on Sept. 7 for $184,000. The listing has since been removed.

The birthplace museum opened on June 22, 1980, after a group of concerned citizens raised funds to relocate the dwelling across the street from its original site at 718 Carroll St., and turned it into a museum. George Taylor, 94, a Boone native, who has lived in Marshalltown for many years, was a part of those fundraising and preservation efforts.

Taylor served as president of Citizens National Bank in Boone (and later in Marshalltown). During his tenure at the bank in Boone, Taylor got to know Joel Carlson, a retired cashier.

“Joel was Mamie’s uncle, and she would come every year for his birthday,” Taylor said. “That’s how I first met her. When she came to Boone, she’d bring five guys from the Secret Service who would drive her around. She had an ear problem and couldn’t fly.”

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO In the 1970s, Marshalltown resident George Taylor (then residing in Boone) wrote a letter to Bob Hope asking for a monetary donation to save Mamie Doud Eisenhower’s birthplace home. Taylor and his wife Darlene met Hope while the comedian was in Spencer performing at the Clay County Fair.

Mamie’s childhood home had been rented out as private residences and as apartments, and by 1970, was facing demolition. The residence was on property owned by the First Baptist Church who wanted to tear down the home to put in a parking lot. The decision was made to raise money to relocate the home across the street to its current locale, and turn the house into a tribute to the First Lady.

Taylor donated money to the cause and also reached out to other benefactors. In 1975, he even reached out to a celebrity, asking for a contribution.

“I wrote to Bob Hope and told him what we’re doing. I knew he was friends with the Eisenhowers,” Taylor said. “He wrote a $2,000 check and said I’m going to be at Spencer, Iowa performing (at the Clay County Fair), and he said ‘why don’t you come up, and we’ll talk about putting a fundraising together for the Eisenhower house.'”

With the letter in hand, Taylor and his late wife Darlene made their way to the fairgrounds to meet the famed comedian in his dressing room.

“I had met Bob Hope many times when I was stationed in Okinawa (during World War II) when he entertained the troops,” Taylor said. “I also met President Eisenhower then, too.”

KODAK Digital Still Camera

Hope wanted to brainstorm ways he could put on a benefit show that would help raise money for the project.

“He liked Darlene. He was a womanizer,” Taylor said with a laugh. “She (complimented) his tie and that made him feel good.”

The fundraiser was later held in Des Moines at the Iowa Bankers State Convention. Governor Ray hosted a dinner, with Hope’s program following. Mamie was in attendance. A total of $14,000 was raised.

The First Lady did not live to see the dedication of her childhood home. She died on Nov. 1, 1979.

“When she would visit, I always let her use my office at the bank so she could have a base and use the telephone,” Taylor said. “One day, I heard her on the phone. There was also a memorial house in Denver (the John and Elivera Doud House, Mamie’s parents) and they had bedroom furniture that Mamie wanted brought to Boone. A year went by and she found out it wasn’t being sent, so she called again, and three days later, we had the bedroom set. She was the boss.”

Taylor said he continued to donate money to the birthplace museum, but later lost touch with it and the current overseers. For years, he received a Christmas card from Bob Hope and his wife Dolores.

“I don’t have any idea what’s been going on with the house (today),” he said. “I’d like to see it stay because it’s a unique house.”

———-

Contact Sara Jordan-Heintz at

(641) 753-6611 or

sjordan@timesrepublican.com