pay dirt in greenville, tennessee...

just a few miles south of highway 81 in the small town of greenville, tennessee is the andrew johnson historic site, home, national park service visitor center and the andrew johnson national cemetery.
i took the tour on my way back to vermont from new orleans. there was a very nice park ranger. there was johnson's tailor shop, all weatherbeaten yellow poplar clapboards, preserved for all time within a new-federal brick visitor center, just a few blocks from the house.
his house is the home that johnson, 17th president of the united states and abraham lincoln's vice president, lived in at the time of his demise at the age of 67. in the back yard there are several willow trees. the ranger explained to me that the trees all grew from an original tree, a willow that was brought to greenville as a gift to the johnson family. that original cutting was from the willow which draped it branches over the tomb of napoleon in france. there was a branch lying at the base of one of the trees the day i visited, probably damaged by an ice storm earlier in the season. it lay there on the ground, tiny pale green leaves bursting out along its flexible stalk. although the branch was separate from the tree, willows are vigorous. it was a perfect opportunity with a perfect story behind it. and so the main street museum is now the possessor of a botanical sample of a willow (Salix babylonica) taken from the cuttings of trees that sheltered the final resting place of napoleon.
now im back in vermont and cant wait to get more display cases built and this museum up and running. im going to work all spring at it. none of yall will believe what you see as it presents itself to the world.
the picture shows the backyard and the trees.
the educational film on johnson at the visitor center was also very informative.