Charles Pfeiffer

Charles Pfeiffer

I don’t think I am able to pinpoint my interest in history to a single object or event. Ever since I was a kid I was always interested in anything old. One major influence on my interest in history was the fact that for several years my family was living at my maternal grandparent’s house. Anytime I could I was always rummaging through old desks, chests, closets and especially the attic, to find things that appealed to me. Being a kid I never pursued any of those things past simple admiration, but those experiences nevertheless cemented my interests in anything historical. The source I have attached is a gold-plated railroad spike that was gifted to my grandfather by Lady Bird Johnson, the wife of President Lyndon Johnson. The inscription on the spike reads, “To Bernard Winfield, With happy memories of our Whistle Stop Tour, October 1964, Lady Bird Johnson.” This artifact resonates with me especially powerfully because it is one of the few remaining things that I have connecting me with those few years when my interest in history began to mature. This spike is representative of some of the many things I love about history. With it I have a physical attachment to something important in the past and more importantly I have a strong emotional connection to it.

Unknown

1964-10-XX

Still Image

Southern U.S.

Sculpture

To Bernard Winfield, With happy memories of our Whistle Stop Tour, October 1964, Lady Bird Johnson