san luis obispo, and other cities across the country, go to c-span.org/cities tour. you're watching "american history tv," all weekend, every weekend, on c-span3. "presidency," insiders offer their rec -- recollections of the presidential retreat in the maryland mountains. it was president franklin d roosevelt who first used the hideaway and who set the president for hosting dignitaries there when he invited british prime minister winston churchill to be his guest. the george w. bush presidential center in dallas hosted this hour-long program. mid 43rd president, who shares his own camp david memories. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the chief executive officer executive officer of the george w. bush presidential center, ken hirsch.

ken: thank you and welcome to the engaged series presented by highland capital. i'm ken hirsch, introducer in chief. our goal here is to provide content you can't get anywhere else. we are honored today with this session to launch a wonderful insiders look at presidential retreats and a glimpse of what life looks like for a president outside of the white house. it's a fascination that some people have. a deepdelighted to take dive into camp david, crawford, kenny bump port and the lbj ranch. we have a series of guests who can give us that special insight. to kick us off, i would like to introduce the 43rd president of the united states. [applause]

fmr. president bush: this is a special moment for laura and me, because we have such fond memories of the presidential retreat. one of the things about a presidency that is hard to explain is, what it feels like to be in a bubble. you are kind of in a bubble, particularly in washington. the presidential retreats, for any president, are very important in the life of the presidency. i want to think can and holly and the team here for opening up the presidential retreats and a lot of the stories of presidential retreats for the people in dallas. we had three presidential retreats. that's unusual. one of which was kennebunkport maine. that was my dad's presidential retreat.

laura and i would go out there on occasion. when we went, it was all family. that's incredibly important. i think we entertained scar cozy sarkozy andin -- putin. said, putin, dad do you want to go on a boat ride? 's vote was three 300 horsepower engines. putin said yeah. he said it in russian. he had an interpreter that was a strange guy who was nervous. dad gets out on the ocean, and opens it up. putin was in heaven. the interpreter thought he was going to die. [laughter] fmr. president bush: walker's

point was an important part of getting out of the bubble. not nearly as important as crawford at camp david. crawford is a place laura and i love. it's a place we went to in august. that made it uncomfortable-- [laughter] fmr. president bush: a lot of the people on our staff are from these guys. -- east coast. i loved it. , this iset outside and before we own the blood -- bulldozer, would chop down cedar. it was their beauty. i would ride bikes. -- their beauty. i would ride bikes. i would usually rest. you never escape the presidency. the definition of getting outside the bubble, and crawford, meant that they were probably 150 staffers of some

sort in other -- or another down there. that made it fun because that meant there were a lot of other cedar choppers. [laughter] fmr. president bush: laura and i entertained a lot of world leaders there. have a lott of -- we of fond memories of conducting personal diplomacy on the ranch. us to give way for some of these leaders a special , it did open up the dialogue in an easier way than had it been discussing things in the white house. pool,ing out by the talking about japanese history. laura and i took a walk across the prairie with angela merkel and her husband. and we had a press conference and rather than have it on the ranch, i decided a cool thing to do would be to go to crawford high school. crawford is a town of 600

people. there are 31 people in the senior class. three were allowed to ask questions. we had to answer questions from the press. we had a lot of world leaders there. the israeli prime minister, the crown prince of saudi arabia, one interesting story from the crown prince of saudi arabia, he came and he was angry because andon had occupied ramallah he was matter than heck about it. one of the first things he said about it was tell the pagan to get out of ramallah, that was is greater than insult as you can issue in the middle east. awasn't about to allow foreign leader to dictate our foreign policy. i said, give me some time. that wasn't the answer he wanted. our interpreter, a friend of mine and colin powell's and

condoleezza's came in to where we were sitting, because he wanted to be alone. he said, he is going to lead. -- leave. that would be a disaster for young presidency to have a major bolt the the scene -- scene. i told goal and how to go in there and fix it and he said he could not. powell to go in there and fix it and said he could. he said, only not -- only you. i did know what to tell him. -- i did not know what to tell him. in thesmoking butts living room. i said, i heard you're going to leave. he grunts and said yes. i said, before what to do that, i want to talk about two things. let me talk to you about my faith. i said i could treating because of religion and describe the relationship i had with billy graham and all that. i said i'm curious about your religion. nothing.

he wasn't interested. smoking cigarettes. that did not work. i played the ranch card. i said you had -- i heard you're a farm and that you love it. yes. i said, i love this place. i would like to give you a tour before you leave. can i give you a tour? he said yes. there we are the fort f-150, i'm driving. that's unusual. interpreter the leaning over the back seat, we were driving along. these are oaks, not interested. could care less about the grasses. he did not say anything. i said, this is going to be a disaster. we're at the very far end of the ranch. there a turkey standing in the middle of the road. he said, what is that? i said, that's a turkey.

at one point, it would be the bird of the u.s. that's what benjamin franklin, one of our leaders can was adjusted. instead we went with the bald eagle. the turkey did not move. the remains of her and says it is a sign from all that, my he leans over and says it is a sign from allah, my brother. we got back to the house, and i said, you want to eat? he said yes. i said we were going to have lunch. the relief on the foreign minister and admit -- ambassador space was palpable. ambassador's phase was pable.le -- face was pal crawford was a great place to establish bonds. as was camp david. camp david was originally called

shangri-la, which means heavenly place, which it is. it's talk to the mountains. it was only a 25 minute helicopter ride from the south lawn. it means is extremely accessible. laura and i access to it a lot. we went there as often as we could. from one of the base commanders from there. the whole deal is that it is a military base. they have other military functions and duties. when the president is there, it is to pamper him. they do a really good job of it. dwight eisenhower changed his name to camp david -- the name to camp david. my brother marvin lobbied for a wild to change it to cap marvin dash cam -- camp marvin. thankfully i did not. we have a lot of fond memories of camp david. it's a place where laura and i

invited a lot of world leaders. tony blair's first visit to the united states, we took him there. laura decided to have a movie there. they have a nice movie th eater there. it was called "meet the parents." i was asleep. [laughter] fmr. president bush: if you like to exercise, is a great place to exercise. we had mountain bike trails. gmy.derful jim. -- with the government the most was christmases. number the most was christmases. it's big enough that -- my favorite thing about camp david was the christmases. it's big enough that everyone has their own cabin. the reason i emphasize the family aspect is that during the it's hard, sometimes

to count on certain people, but you can always count on your family to bring you comfort and love. that's what we're going to hear about. a true shangri-la. we will interview michael george --ns who was the base camp the base commander at camp david. interview stephen mclaren, the president of the white house historical association. finally, my chief of staff, josh bolten, one of the coolest guys i know will be on stage as well. before hand, a real treat for aura and me was to have beautiful chapel there called and a preacherl, there had a huge influence on us. his name is stan fournier, thankfully he has agreed, along with his life to -- wife, to join us tonight.

welcome the right reverend, maybe something, captain, huh? i know chaplain. [laughter] fmr. president bush: maybe captain stan fournier. [applause] rev. fournier: thank you, mr. president. what a privilege it is to be here this evening. on january 22, 1963, news reached camp david of the assassination of president kennedy, who had just been a recent visitor. a contractor working at camp at that time by the name of kenneth palmer. ummer. he realized that in that

experience, there was no effort people to gather, to prayer, to think about to be quiet -- think, to be quiet. there was no sacred space whatsoever. he began the process that he wanted to see a chapel built at camp david. it took him sometime come but through persistence, he was able to form a nonprofit. he raised the money to build a chapel. ground was broken by president reagan, who was the first conservator. -- contributor. the chapel was dedicated by president bush. it was during that time the president bush decided he wanted a chaplain there. privilege ofe following and the legacy of having navy chaplains at camp david ever since that time. any one thing i would want you to know about camp david, it's that there is a

very unique climate of community there. it is a small group of people. a lot of people do not realize it is a military installation. there were chosen because of their desire to serve their nation by serving their commander-in-chief. communitye climate of and even maybe so far as a climate of family that exists, to a great extent is made possible by the presidents and , and i'muse and serve prejudiced because of my time with president bush. i would to just do you that there is no one who has interviewed much more to a climate of community of camp david then the president and mrs. bush. that is evident by many different things that they did.

was alwaysush connecting with people there. that connection with people helped create this unique climate of community that existed. you may know the president bush enjoyed mountain bike riding when he was there. one of my first days there, i if a marine tell me president bush asks you to ride bikes with him, tell him no way. i said, why? he said, because nobody can keep up with president bush. he said, i know it's hard to say no to the president, but you have to say no if he asks you. one sunday after chapel, we had lunch with the president.

he was beginning to set me up. i knew it. he said, chaplain, do you ride bikes? i said, no sir. i have never had the chance to ride bikes very much. he dropped it and i got out of that experience. he connected with the young marines and the others there in doing that. the presidenty connected more with the people on the staff at camp david them through every gain chapel. -- evergreen chapel. over the chance to conduct 100 worship services for the president and mrs. bush and the family. it was always the most marvelous experience. the president would always be thankful. there,ost of for years the president never wished a worship service. -- missed a worship service. they were always there.

the cap committee gathered with the president and mrs. bush when we worshiped together. what,ush, i remember every christmas and easter, bring gifts for all the children of camp david. --ing our christmas present padgett and other things, he would distribute those gifts to our children. she did it faithfully year after year. it was the most marvelous climate of community that existed there. also did bush something very unique. me one time,sked let's gather all of the camp unity together, their spouses and children, and let's invite them all to a townhall meeting in the chapel. at which time the president spent almost two hours standing before us. talking about the presidency. his leadership skills.

open the floor for people to ask questions. it was so successful, and able to get in at one time, the president said, as do it again. we had all the staff come once again and the president gave two hours of standing before us and talking about what it means to be the president of the united states. bush diddent and mrs. a great deal to create this wonderful climate of community at camp david. i think maybe he may have learned some of that from his father. week andristmas one president bush was there and president bush 41, and extended family. we had a service in the chapel that sunday, and we were distributed t-shirts and that had something like, evergreen chapel,-- evergreen christmas on it.

at the end of the service, everyone left. the phone rang and it was president bush 41. issaid to me, chaplain, there any chance that barb and i could get a couple of those t-shirts? i said, of course. and ton the golf cart the cabin. always gracious, he invited me in and i had a cup of coffee and when i got ready to leave, president bush said, do you know why we wanted the seizures? -- t-shirts? he said, well, we stayed here and little longer than we anticipated this year. and we are running a little bit short of clean under close to where. at which time, i said, there is somebody here that can take care of that mantra need. and yet, he looked at -- laundry

need, and yet, he looked at me and said, this is christmas week, i wouldn't ask somebody to do that for me during christmas week. then he looked and said, don't forget, it's their christmas too. i always thought that spoke so much about the way the bushes felt about the staff at camp david and how much appreciation they had for the climate of community that existed there. a close-kniten in community, there can be some challenges. i will close with this story. i was sitting in the chapel one weekend. the president was there along with the prime ministers of japan. it was a saturday. i had sent my chaplain assistant home because nothing was scheduled. i was sitting in the chapel by myself that saturday and i heard the door opened and in walked

president bush and the prime minister. i thought that was nice. the president was showing the prime minister around and the president looked at me and said, can you do one of the history breeze that you do for the prime minister? and involved a screen projection equipment. none of which was set up. i had never set it up in my life. i said, of course mr. president. we can do that. i said, it will take a moment for me to set it up. so he sat down and i went back and i pulled the screen out and set it up and then ran from the balcony to turn on the projection agreement. i couldn't. it may come as a surprise, but the president was looking at his watch every now and then. it done.lly got i was sweating and product myself for getting it set up so quickly. finally said, mr. president, we are ready to go with this. he said just a minute.

it was the prime minister and said, he is good at doing worship services, but not at handling technology. i was proud of myself. i thought i had done well. i'm not saying that the president's greatest virtue is not patients, but he is prompt. that reminds me, i need to stop talking and move on. i do want to tell you, in all sincerity, that the four years i spent at camp david was the absolute highlight of my entire 35 years of ordained ministry. nothing else has ever come close to it. if there will ever be anything that can top the fact that i had the privilege of serving our nation in the especially, the privilege that i had for four

years of serving the president and their family, a specially during a time of great turmoil and war. for those experiences, mr. president, i thank you. [applause] ken: now you know that you've already heard, but would you welcome me and join me in welcoming our guests, stuart mclaurin, the president of the white house historical hit -- joshua bolten, and his chief of staff, that had to endorse those worship services. one, admiral michael gorgi former officer at camp david. holly, the moderator tonight, the executive director of the bush institute. join me in welcoming them. [applause]

>> thank you all for being here. demystifynight is to a placed -- a place that most people and never get to visit. greatl have some background and stories to share with this crowd about camp david and to try to bring that to this audience. bushrt, president mentioned the name's shangri-la. that was its original name at camp david. tell us how that came to be and how the site was selected, where the name came from. what was its origin? stewart: it's wonderful to be here. this wonderful library with your guests. president hoover had a wonderful fishing camp out of the shenandoah called -- and what fdr became president, he tried it out. it was damp out there and he did

not like it. his doctor said to get a place that wasn't higher elevation. he asked the natural park -- national park service to select precise. one was in the shenandoah. 30,000 feet in the blue ridge. two others were in maryland. one was eventually shake -- selected to be shangri-la. he took a motorcade of their of three unmarked vehicles and decided he liked it. and had been built in the 30's about 10 years prior by the works progress administration. and at some rudimentary government buildings on the site that were functional. he decided this would work. he decided this would be shangri-la. the name had been a popular british novelist by the name of james helton, who had written a book in 1933 called lost horizon , and shangri-la was the himalayan paradise that was talked about in that book. that name was adopted.

july fifthin and on was the first day they started shangri-la as a presenter retreat -- presidential retreat. things went well until the secret service got nervous about the safety of it. that it might be vulnerable from air -- of air attack. roosevelt look at alternatives. a place more secure and safe. there was a place that was a little more tropical and remote. think what had been, had president roosevelt followed through and move the presidential retreat from shangri-la to guantanamo bay. [laughter] mike, you were the commanding officer at the end of president clinton's turn and the start -- term and the start of the bush term. you got to run the place. tell us about what that entailed

and tell us about the place itself. thank you for this honor. 200 acres. catoctin mountain park. it is a rustic retreat. cabins, cedar roofs. enough amenities and security, but very pleasant, simple place to go where many presidents up on respite. holly: talk about your role and the staff. michael: it's run by the navy. it is been that way since it started. roosevelt took the sailors from the yachts and have them guarded. it's navy command that operates and maintains the principal facility. anthe weekends, it takes on aura of being a place where the president and his family and guests can get away. presidents use this as a

recreational retreat, to get away. they also use it to entertain and host world leaders. tell us about what goes into a world leader visit. big pucker factor at first for getting ready. a lot of work with the state department. we usually stay on the sidelines and watch our present work with world leaders. we always talk about building relationships before you need them. when used in the sidelines and watch the presidents do that, they invite a couple to camp david and you see how important it is as humans to get to know someone on that level. very impressionable. it really affected me and any of the crew -- many of the crew that sought. it is nice to be a part of that. holly: how much staff? michael: 200 marines that were there full-time. holly: josh, you are there any for i.t. roles. as deputy chief of

staff for president bush, then you were chief of staff, which got you there. joshua: i never got invited as budget director. [laughter] joshua: nobody wants the budget director. when you were chief of staff, part of your role was helping to host and entertain these four delegations. -- foreign delegations. tell us about that role. thanks for the privilege of being here. it's a special privilege to be fournier and stan his wife, who, just listening to his voice a few minutes ago, it brought back the same comfort that i think reverend fournier brought to all of us on a regular basis with his sunday sermons. faith,t even my face -- and i always look forward to

going to chapel, to hear him speak. it's not just about the president. it's not just about the visiting prime minister. there is typically a whole delegation that comes with. as the opportunity for camp david provided, building a warm, personal relationship between the leaders, also important was the opportunity provided for an opportunity for those serving just below the two leaders to get to know each other, and establish the kind of relationship that becomes critical, especially in a crisis. when i was chief of staff, i had hosting myge of

counterpart or counterparts for a wide variety of world leaders. the relationships that were established there, and many cases, turned out to be extremely important in the months and years to follow. holly: we have a photo of one of the more informal moments of hosting a delegation in the bowling alley. tell us about this very post photo. my score? [laughter] joshua: the person on the far right is the president's military aid. the two others were the top two crown -- the crown

prince of the united arab emirates. whose relationship with president bush was very important. to the united states's relationship overall in the gulf region. while president bush and the crown prince were off having a walk or some thing like that, there wasn't much for others to do, or maybe they had gone to bed. i said, who wants to bowl? day, the guy who was to my right, is not the and variety to theati ambassador u.s. and the guy on my left is at the abu dhabi sovereign wealth fund. when i see them to this day, they bring up the time we went bowling at camp david.

bond, evena special with something as pedestrian as bowling. or maybe precisely because it is. holly: were these two teams? dear member who won -- do you remember who won? joshua: i'm sure i one. i got to visit camp a lot and i'm going to tell you, my average was good. [laughter] stewart one of the most consequential things that happened at camp david with the camp david accords. and how thosethat meetings came to be and what that entailed. stewart: this was during the carter presidency and earlier that year, the president and mrs. carter had hosted the sada ts. without the prime minister at camp david. that was a very warm and friendly meeting.

advance, buts in there contemplating bring both sides together, a very contentious time, multiple wars fought over decades, the time came to plan a summit and there were conversations between and thet carter national security adviser, where should this be, they looked at spain and portugal. president carter wanted a confined space away from the eyes of the press where they could be driven to talk to one another. they set aside three days for the summit. protecting for additional days should they need them. they ended up spending 13 days. 10 of which they do not talk. their work -- there were similar scenarios to president bush's scenario, where they had to be pulled back and stay. it resulted in the accord, which

camp david maybe most famous for. the camp david accords. that famous picture of the south lawn of the white house of the three leaders celebrating that achievement. it was a tedious time. perfectid provided the cramped, comfortable, but uncomfortable setting to drive that dialogue to successful completion. holly: mike, president bush mentioned that tony blair was his first visit to their is a foreign leader. you got to see that. and you get to experience another stand the role of camp david in a casual retreat in foreign diplomacy. say more about that and what you saw. why did that setting lend itself to those kinds of meetings? michael: it made sense to me, what the term cap david was for diplomacy. i figured was the first end ever meeting the players.

instead of a white house dinner and formality, they went cap david. the couples are just casually and respectfully. it said so much to us about setting the tone. did the same thing with another prime minister that july. open call her, get to know each other. let's talk about history and our relationship. the two couples spent a lighthearted weekend together, watching that movie he talked about, held a press conference colderp, and it much time in the world. -- called her time in the world. -- calmer time in the world. holly: mentioned when gordon blount -- brown came to school. -- came to camp david. they figured out a way to connect with each other.

holly: he should up in a suit and tie. -- showed up in a suit and tie. michael: that happened during the g-8 summit with president obama. some people don't understand the purpose of camp david. once they let their guard down, it provides the right setting to talk. holly: did you know he was going to show up in a suit and tie? michael: holly: we did not. we're just appropriately all the time. you just react. there was a scramble to find neckties. as a military, they always look good. not the staff. have anosh, you interesting experience when you are there. i want you to tell the story about a world leader meeting that only partially took place at cap david -- camp david, because of where you flew president bush to.

one of the most complicated and delicate things that i did as chief of staff, and my predecessor did, was figure out how to get the president, how does the united states head over to iraq without anybody knowing it. moment, there were hundreds of people who know what the president is, protecting him, watching him, and so on. president bush, several times, during his presidency, made it is -- made a courageous decision ando into a combat zone visit the troops, or in the case of the one that i organized in to meet the new prime

minister of iraq, president bush thought that one prime minister together a pulled ofinet that represented all the various factions and ethnicities in iraq. it was important for the president personally to show up and meet face to face in their offices, on their territory. logisticallyappen is really hard to do. for the chip to iraq and way,nistan in 2006, by the you can't let anyone know that the president is coming, because the bad guys will be there with rpg's or whatever, to knock down air force one as it is landing.

when we started the planning for it, for this trip, i believe i can up with the idea, now it could have been deputy chief of staff joe hagan, who served almost the entire eight years in the bush white house. i'm pretty sure it was me. holly: you're the only one here. joshua: you may want to credit joe. wasidea we came up with that, ok, let's get the president out of washington, from camp david. as these gentlemen know, camp , there's no press watching, there is a promoter there. place relatively secure from which to disappear.

the president's ranch being the only other place where you can spirit the president out without a lot of people knowing. we started with that framework, which is let's get into the camp. -- get him to the cap. and then, hud -- camp. how do we get the whole iraqi assemblage to meet him? that we would organize a-cabinet meeting. binet meeting, so gatherqi cabinet would in iraq, and the u.s. counterparts would gather at camp david with president bush and we would have a joint cabinet meeting by videoconference. that was what we advertised to the iraqis.

what we advertised to the entire world. president bush and his cabinet would be at camp david. all of the iraqis would be in baghdad and they would have a meeting by videoconference. we invited the cabinet members, there were about six or eight of relevant, to come up to camp david and the chairman of the joint chief, a couple of other people, and inre was a big dinner laurel, the convening place that has a dining room. big dinner for all of the cabinet members, with the president and vice president cheney. bush and his national

security advisor, steve hadley and i, would always slipped out before dessert, and we would leave dick cheney to make small talk with the cabinets. this is where the plan almost failed. we needed to keep everybody there at dinner, while the rest on golf cartsout the helipad and got onto a helicopter that had no lights. and took off from camp david. as i was leaving, i vaguely remembered the vice president saying, anybody read any good books? [laughter] was really worried that somebody was going to spot us and blow our cover. we had not told the cabinet about it.

we could not tell anybody. word spreads pretty fast. we flew from camp david by helicopter to andrews air force helicopter the dark , in which a hangar air force one was being cap. it was inside a hangar. plane, then air force one took off from andrews, late at night, without any lights. we flew that eight or 10 hours to baghdad and landed there. landing, there iraqi prime minister was be amed that they would videoconference, but president bush would be here in baghdad. here, is as photo , and i amhe president

the guy at the end there. screen isee on the all the members of the u.s. cabinet being videoconference in from camp david. it was a hugely successful meeting. protected and the confidential nature of camp a veryontributed to successful operation that could not have been done, but for the place at camp david. we talked about the camp david accords. talk about some of the other consequential historical events, meetings that happened, throughout history. stewart: winston churchill was

the first international visitor with fdr. was mrs. roosevelt wanting him to get the white house from her. they enjoyed fishing there and talking. they talked about the invasion of sicily, normandy, pretty consequential conversations. eisenhower had khrushchev to camp david. eisenhower was the first american president to make use of helicopters for presidential travel. spontaneously, the soviets did not want khrushchev on the helicopter, so i can asked directly in person, can i give you a tour? he said at the american president would get on, i can get onto. they did a tour of washington and then went to camp david and enjoyed a great time up there. khrushchev liked that american-made helicopter so much, he told eisenman -- talked eisenhower into letting him by two that he took back with him to the soviet union. another story is in.

breast of -- bereschnev did not know much about camp david. he went anyway. had thehe party guy, he typical navy blue blazer fior b ereschnev, with the presidential seal. he had the keys to a brand-new navy blue lincoln continental car. zhnev love cars. he told the passenger seat. driving curvy to roads around camp david in a golf cart. side,s in the passenger brezhnev is behind the wheel. they could on his curvy roads.

he hits 50 miles an hour and the lincoln continental. you can see the richard nixon there, saying slowdown. he slammed the brakes around the curve. they come to a stop, and he says, fine automobile. it holds the ground well. he likes that. the custom of american presidents giving automobiles ended with that campaign. that's a wonderful story of president brezhnev and the lincoln continental. holly: josh tell us about your first visit. he used it to host the staff for weekend visits. and for more recreational getting away from the white house. visitori was a regular during the last three years of the administration, when i was chief of staff as my predecessor and his wife had in the

preceding five years. for peopleommon other than the chief of staff and national security advisor's, but the president and mrs. bush took the trouble to work their way through most of the senior staff of the west wing and give them an opportunity to bring and come to -- to come to camp david with their spouse because the ego's that they always -- ethos there was spread was that service and government and administration is a family affair. everybody is serving. important, not just a part, but a way of building a community that the reverend was talking about earlier. building that kind of community

around the white house and the rest of the administration. there were two assistance to the president at the time. they were unmarried. it was me and ari fletcher. we didn't make the list very early. finally, we both got invited on the same weekend. . we concluded that this must be jewish singles weekend. [laughter] joshua: i was disappointed to find that it was just me and ari. [laughter] joshua: i imagine ari was disappointed too. way toa really important establish more of a personal we didn't needd,

camp to feel that way, but i think he contributed a lot to the family atmosphere that pervaded the white house staff through the entirety of the term. mike, you lived where with your wife and two daughters. that had to have been a fascinating experience to raise children at camp david. what was that experience like? we are the only family that lives inside the camp. think about us everyday families, and transplant yourself to you and your children living inside a cabin at camp called cedar. extra night place with a modest house and great yard. your neighbors happen to be the president and cap marvin and all the others. you're still a family.

it's a different dynamic. lots of highs and a few lows. great memories like you can see in this photo. holly: you are not allowed to have pets there. romagne no pets the time -- michael: no pets of the time. my wife broke the rules. but for good reason. i'm sure you will find this, called that we are still a military organization to defend and protect the camp. one become a michelle and the girls were coming back from a fair. they had won some goldfish in the fair. they're sitting in the backseat of our car with little bags of goldfish and coming through the date -- gate. the guard is telling them they can't bring pets in. the girls are catching on and

tears are starting to roll. michelle is looking at them and she goes, well, they are for dinner. [laughter] michael: i think the marine sentry said, yes-man, carry on. then they came. holly: you have another great story about when the palestinians were there, about being observant of dress and talking to your wife and daughters. michael: we were always there to honor the president, his guest, and irrespective respective of the cultural differences. cabinet across -- cabin across the cedar and they were palestinians there enjoying the peace summit. we briefed the girls on how to dress. summer months, july 2000. hot and rainy and sticky. don't exposed body parts and don't wait your bikini tops. very respectful. blinds atept the

shot. she went out to water her flowers one morning. across the way was rosebud with a bunch of mail palestinians in their bathrobes. that was it. she thought, that is strange. she runs back in and says, girls, let's play in the backyard. it's that thing that you learn how to react and keep it low-key. that happens in your neighborhood everywhere you live. common thing. holly: stewart, the president is in the only one who leaves an impact on camp david. tells about the families and the marks they leave? stewart: not unlike at the white house, where the first family will leave their mark as a be rememberedto in the white house. we had some wonderful project with mrs. bush and the lincoln venture, the greenroom, the library. at camp david, the same is true.

the first lady will make some changes. eisenhower came into this fdr-truman military government issue and this would not do. the camp quickly became colored in eisenhower green and yellow and pink. she brought in a navy reserve decorator from california. that's what he cap it's got their names after the trees. -- cabins got their names after the trees. the aspen lodge was named after mrs. eisenhower's favorite tree in colorado. mrs. and was unheralded in the work and her legacy there. she transformed some of the french influence to the great american influence. she did quite a bit at camp david as well. , andgrew the facilities large the swimming pool.

the other amenities have been added. eisenhower did the three hole golf course there. mrs. next and did quite a bit. i love the things that mrs. bush did in bringing for the first time the directors of the presidential libraries to camp david. bosses had spent time at this important place, but none of them had seen it. they were having lunch and understand the place. that was very important. another wonderful touch i loved was that she had pictures collected of all of the world leaders that her husband had met with as well is going back to fdr and put those in places around camp david. a special legacy piece, which you can take advantage of here in your store today is she had an artist from the national arboretum go with her around camp david and select certain

foliage and memorialize those in extraordinary drawings. the originals are still at camp david and date -- there are reproductions here. you can take him a piece of camp david here tonight. heard, mike, we heard about the bushes and how they spent the holidays at camp david. between the two presidencies, there were 12 bush family president -- christmases. what was it like to be there and served during the holidays? michael: you see the typical american family come together as family. and knowerful to watch that you have a role in providing that call and serenity and that peaceful meal. the right decorations and provide the atmosphere. the goal was to serve the guests, so gas -- that when they leave, they are happy. to watch the bushes during christmas is for 12 years was a phenomenal thing to witness. holly: we are close to being out of time. a specialt to see

sneak preview of our exhibits. not only does it cover camp david, but it also covers kick -- walker's point and the lbj ranch. you are among the first to see it. make sure you take time to walk across the courtyard and visit that tonight. our bookstore is of a tonight. we have mike's book for sale. us --l as the white house historical association. please make sure to visit. things in thereat exhibit. we have got the original camp david sign. we have correspondence between fdr and churchill. we have a chainsaw for the president bush use. hopefully you have a few more at the ranch. i'm hoping it's not your only one. please take a visit there and please join me in thanking our great panelists tonight. [applause]

>> must be nice to be a guest. >> well done. announcer: from george washington to george w. bush, every sunday we feature the presidency, a weekly series exploring the president, their politics, policy, and legacies. you are watching american history tv, all weekend every weekend on the c-span3. films onatch archival public affairs each week on our series railamerica. america.

here is a quick look at a recent program. ♪ california farmworkers produce more crops then grown in every state. profits of labor show up in the dividends of corporations, stock market quotes and the affluence of the owners. for the farmworkers, the return is property. the organization of agricultural workers has been called the greatest unfinished task facing the labor movement. farmworkerhis, the faces the increasing threat of killer chemicals.

>> i came in from picking fruit and they took me to the hospital. i was there for eight or nine days and then for two weeks after that i was home sick in bed and could not do any work. for was in the hospital nine days with poisoning and when i came home i could not do any housework. contacted -- contracted poisoning while picking lemons in an orchard. i was dizzy, sick to my , passed out, the ambulance took me to the hospital and i was in the hospital for nine days. it left me with dizziness, bad balance, and i have not been able to work in anything since. >> school history books do not

record the struggles of farm to organize unions. california, in 1913, the pickers at a plant held a peaceful meeting to protest low wages and unsanitary living conditions. sheriff's deputies fired into the ground. two men were killed and many injured. two leaders of the workers went to prison. was therial valley scene in 1961 of what until then fielde most successful strike since 1948. the cry was for $1.25 per hour. these pictures of fieldworkers going on strike were without precedent. struggle, of the

there was not a clear-cut victory but there was momentum and those who could detect the signs of a new day coming. 1961 an attorney paved the long road. announcer: you can watch archival films on public affairs in their entirety on our weekly 10:00 p.m.aturday at and sunday at 4:00 p.m. eastern here on american history tv. next, brandon bies talks about the recent discovery and excavation of the remains of two union soldiers and other remains that had been buried after the battle of second manassas.

he shares about what he learned about the men through the scientific analysis of their bones. this talk was part of a daylong seminar cohosted by longwood university in farmington, virginia, and appomattox courthouse national historical park. >> alright, our last speaker for the day is mr. brandon bies, superintendent of manassas national battlefield park. he has a masters degree in applied anthropology, and as mentioned, a long career in the national park service. he was legislative coordinator for the national capital region of the national park service, project manager for the rehabilitation of arlington house, robert e lee's historical home worked on the george , washington memorial parkway, great falls park, and he will be, as you just heard, the topic of his talk today is the unprecedented discovery of field