August 2016 marks the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service. In celebration, HIA is thrilled to be displaying President Dwight D. (Ike) Eisenhower’s historic Cockshutt Black Hawk Model 40 tractor, near baggage claim for the next several months. There are also two displays of Mamie Eisenhower’s custom luggage in Concourses A and C on the secure side of the terminal.

The Eisenhower National Historic Site, located in Gettysburg, gives visitors a glimpse of the life of the Eisenhower family through exploring the family home, farm, and 690 acres of land.

President Eisenhower and his wife came to the Gettysburg region when they bought a farm there in 1950 with plans to retire. However, plans changed when he decided to run for president.

One the most important achievements during Ike’s Presidency, was signing the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956. Eisenhower took notice of the need for a better highway system after traveling on a military convoy across the United States in 1919. The signing of this bill was, “the greatest public-works program in the history of the world” at that time according to the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. This road system created an ease for all citizens to travel to and from work, leisure travel, vacations, and holidays.

Throughout Ike’s two terms as the 34^th President of the United States, the President and his family spent weekends and holidays at the family farm. They also entertained world leaders at the farm. In 1955, the Farm Bureaus of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana gifted Eisenhower with the Cockshutt Black Hawk Model 40 tractor to use around the farm.

After his term was finished in 1961, the Eisenhower’s finally retired to the farm. Eisenhower and his wife decided to donate the farm to the National Park Service in 1967, just two years before the President passed away. The Eisenhower National Historic Site was then opened in 1980.