Established as Shangri-La by FDR in 1942, 143-acre Camp David evolved from rustic retreat to state-of-the-art luxury lodge with archery, shuffleboard, snowmobiling, volleyball, softball, biking, skeet shooting, a bomb shelter and a gift shop. Cabins have TVs, VCRs, videos. For security reasons cameras aren't allowed. Fearing getting caught in a fire, wheelchair-bound FDR designed a hinged wall in his cabin to collapse into a ramp leading out. President Truman removed trees and bushes near the main cabin to improve the view. Camp David, renamed by President Eisenhower for his first grandson, is in Northern Maryland's Catoctin Mountains. At his wife's request Eisenhower named its guest cabins after local trees. Eisenhower built a 3-hole golf course behind Camp David's main cabin (named Aspen for his wife's home state Colorado) Eisenhower, first to arrive by helicopter, made Camp David accessible in winter. President Kennedy installed a jungle-gym for his children and a horse ring for daughter Caroline. Like President Nixon, President Johnson learned bowling at Hickory Cabin's lanes, trying to improve his public image. Nixon installed a heated swimming pool outside Aspen, over Eisenhower's bomb shelter. President Ford sat for a rare TV interview at Camp David, trying unsuccessfully to downplay its luxury. President Carter stocked Camp David's creek with fish. President Reagan restored riding trails Nixon paved over, borrowing National Park Service horses. President Bush dedicated Camp David's chapel, built by Reagan with a 1970s look. President Clinton held a much-ridiculed New Age-style retreat for White House staff and used Camp David's private roads and lack of press to teach his daughter Chelsea to drive.
PRESIDENT CLINTON'S BOOK BAG Summer Vacation 1999
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