special bit of insight from one of the brightest stars that i know at the white house historical association. it's senior historian, dr. matthew costello, and he's going to talk just for a moment about the remarkable influence that teddy roosevelt had on the white house itself. good evening. my name is dr. matthew costello, and i vice president of the david m reubenstein national center for white house history in the senior historian on staff at the white house historical association in 1901. when president william mckinley was assassinated vice president theodore roosevelt became the youngest person to hold the office ever at that time. he was just shy of 43 years old. early on in his presidency roosevelt asserted his personality really on the office. he really wanted to expand executive power and he did this actually quite literally what the building of the west wing in 1902 now part of the reason this happened was because the roosevelt's moved into the white house with six children and up to that point in time. all presidents had worked on the second floor of the white house the workspace

forgotten and my hope that through the course of time and through the great efforts of the white house historical association that jacqueline kennedy found it in 1961, through those efforts with education, preservation and legacy, you know, learning about those presidents that they'll certainly be remembered and i'm trying very hard to do that. >> we have visited the memorial in canton, ohio. what a structure. tell the audience a story of how that came to be? >> the william mckinley memorial way back in the day, people revered him and, of course, you know the significance about the roses that they wore back in the day when he was assassinated. but the citizens of ohio and especially since several assassinated thought that it was befitting to actually come together and actually create a memorial to his legacy and memory and, of course, he's probably in my opinion ohio's most revered united states president because he was not only a house member but also susan the last u.s. civil war president. so i think the legacy that that produced and in addition to the fact that he was a assassinated probably contributed

have another special bit of insite from one of the brightest stars that i know at the white house historical association. the historian, dr. matthew costello. and he's going to talk, just for a moment, about the remarkable influence that teddy roosevelt had on the white house itself. ♪ >> good evening. my name is dr. matthew costello and i'm vice president for the national center for white house history and in 1901 when president william mckinley was assassinated, vice president theodore roosevelt became the youngest person to hold the office at that time. just shy of 43 years old. he asserted his personality on the office. he did this quite literally with the building of the west wing in 1902. part of the reason this happened is because the roosevelts moved into the white house with six children. up to that time, all presidents worked on the second floor and the work spaces on the east end and private quarters on the west end. because presidency expanded in terms of staff, there wasn't enough space for roosevelt performing family and the people supposed to be working for him. so, he hired an architectu

. >> we are talking as the white house historical associate summit. but how associated are you with presidential descendants, how much work do you do in that area? >> i have have been going to missouri for a few years to meet with some of the other presidential descendants. we gather there for a festival and there's usually a panel of presidential descendants and it's a lot of fun. we talk about how we are descendant from the president and what it's like to be a descendant and how we carry on the legacy. that's all about all i've done. >> what is it like to be a presidential descendant? >> it's like having a double identity for me. i'm a stay at home mom. i do a lot of volunteer work. my everyday life i work with my school and then there are special events that come up that allow me to travel and meet really unique people which i'm forever grateful for, other descendants and people of importance and various walks of life, not so many politicians and some leaders and that kind of thing. >> so has this been an interest throughout your life or you grew u

. >> we are recording this at the presidential site summit by the white house historical association. how much of your life is devoted to your family experience. >> not as much as most people would think so having three brothers to break that then who will do what so i have that advantage. but i do a lot of stuff with breast cancer work i also do a lot of work with drug and alcohol addiction with the betty ford foundation. so the majority of my speaking i do publicly is breast cancer or drug or alcohol addiction. >> it is continuing the legacy. >> it is. that is important because i have totally seen breast cancer and that was huge when she made the announcement she had breast cancer. that has grown leaps and bounds on the common foundation has done so much. drug and alcohol abuse —- abuse addiction has not progressed. but as far as a public service but with laws it has not been as successful with breast cancer and there are so many families out there hurting that need help and know there is hope and hope out there is skyrocketing. host: let's spend a moment on both of your parents bec

. >> we're talking at the white house historical association's presidential site summit, the first visit, and the first time they sponsored it. how associated are you with presidential descendants, how much work do you do in that area? >> i have been going to missouri for a few years to meet with some of the other presidential descendants. we gather there for a cherry blossom festival. there's usually a panel of presidential descendants. and it's a lot of fun. we talk about how we are descended from our presidents, and what it's like to be a descendant and how we sort of carry on the legacy. that is about all i have done so far. >> so what is it like to be a presidential descendant? >> it is like having a double identity for me. i'm a stay-at-home mom. i do a lot of volunteer work. my every day life, i work with my school, and then there are special events that come up that allow me to travel and meet some really unique people which i'm forever grateful for. other descendants. other just people of importance in various walks of life. not so many politicians but some leaders and that kind

california that arrived on friday and take a look at the official white house christmas ornament designed by the white house historical association to a particular president's time in office and this year it commemorates the presidency of lyndon johnson. it features a painting of the 1967 blue room christmas tree and the back of the ornament has a quote from johnson. the ornament available to buy through the white house. historical association website. the original gerber baby is 95 years old and turner cook. she was chosen as the first gerber baby in 1928 an artist used her likeness to create a charcoal sketch incentive to gerber's part of a contest. there she is today the sketchbook and there's the sketch. it became gerber's trademark, a 1931. it has been on packaging and ads ever since cook, by the way, went on to become a novelist and an english teacher. that kerber baby has. uh withstood time. that's it for kron 4 news at 3 o'clock. i'm catherine heenan. thanks for joining us. >> announcer: today on an all new "dr. phil"... >> jonah is a total alcoholic. i honestly hate him. >> announcer: a mother must choose. >> you don't g

according to the white house historical association, truman instead quipped that the birds would comefor christmas dinner. so, who was the first president to save a turkey? lincoln is the first on record. after the appeal of his young son, tad, the christmas turkey became a pet. president john f. kennedy was the first to spare a thanksgiving bird. in 1963, despite a sign hanging around the turkey's neck that read, “good eating, mr. president,” kennedy sent the gobbler back to the farm. richard nixon followed, retiring his turkeys to a nearby petting zoo. ronald reagan carved out a spot in history by being the first to use the word “pardon” when talking turkey in 1987. the tradition became formalized in 1989, with president george h.w. bush. >> let me assure you, and this fine tom turkey, that he will not end up on anyone's dinner table, not this guy. >> desjardins: the event has become a centerpiece of white house holiday tradition. >> this is the eighth i have had the privilege to meet and set free in the rose garden. >> desjardins: some birds have more flare than others, like jerry