On one trip, Grant was invited to try the bowling alley inside the carriage house; it is the oldest private alley in the nation. Grant’s first bowl was a strike, and this made him so happy he reached into his inside jacket pocket, pulled out a stogie, lit a match with his fingernail, and took a big celebratory puff. His host, Henry Chandler Bowen came right up to him and told him in no uncertain terms that smoking was forbidden on the property. At that, Grant dropped the cigar to the floor and stepped on it until it was out. Without saying a word, he walked out and instructed his aide to gather up his luggage and take him to the nearest hotel. He never talked to Henry Chandler Bowen again.

   It seems to me that in the years since Grant stomped out, figurative smoke coming out his ears, Roseland Cottage has blushed in reluctant tribute to the lowborn war hero.

                                                                                                                                                       Max H. Peters