Summer 2016 | Sea Island Life Magazine Spring/Summer 2016 | Page 58

Regal Retreat SEA ISLAND’S ARCHIVES REVEAL SNAPSHOTS OF MILESTONE VISITS FROM AMERICA’S FIRST FAMILIES AND FOREIGN DIGNITARIES. BY GWYN HERBEIN W hen Sea Island opened in 1928, the resort offered a lighthearted coastal escape from the rigors of city life. Families could reconnect over time-tested activities set among the natural beauty of the unspoiled Georgia coastline. Now, more than 80 years after its debut, the resort still beckons families to experience the same timeless delights. Unsurprisingly, the elegance of the Island has appealed to many notable names over the decades. In addition to numerous presidential families, esteemed leaders of foreign countries have also visited in both personal and professional capacities. Read on for a journey through time, courtesy of the Island’s storied archives. Early Traditions In the 1930s, Sea Island founder and automobile magnate Howard Coffin and his wife, Matilda, hosted then-President Calvin Coolidge and his wife, Grace, at their home at Sapelo Island, an island north of Sea Island. The rebuilt antebellum mansion provided a home base for the foursome as they ventured to sites along the coast. Coolidge planted the first commemorative oak at The Cloister during that visit, starting a custom that would include many other recognizable names over the years. According to historians at Sea Island, the oak that Coolidge planted was a water oak, not a live oak—as tradition dictates; the substitution was inadvertently made while the Island’s landscape architect was out of town. The tree was subsequently replaced with the correct, longer-living oak. Nearly 20 years after the first tree took root, another American dignitary left his mark here. In 1946, then-General Dwight Eisenhower visited Sea Island with his wife, Mamie, while he was serving as President Harry Truman’s Chief of Staff of the Army. Eisenhower was elected to the presidency in 1952, and a live oak was planted in his honor to commemorate his visit. 58 SEA ISL AND LIFE | SPRING/SUMMER 2016 Above: Then-General Dwight Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie; opposite page: Former President Calvin Coolidge with the Coffins on Sapelo Island