Those for whom Presidents' Day is more than just a white sale have a surprise in store with a visit to the Roy P. Crocker Reading Room, where they will find a little-known collection of presidential signatures and photographs. Containing the John Hancock of every commander in chief through President Clinton, this gem of a collection had some bumpy times getting to its permanent home behind archival glass.

In 1969, Pasadena financial executive and CMC trustee Roy Crocker, donated two collections to the College. The first was the presidential signatures and photos; the second was never publically displayed, but hung in then President Jack Stark's office, bearing Washington's last official act as president: the pardon of Whiskey Rebellion participants. It also contained a letter from Harry Truman, written during his presidency when he indicated that he "won't appoint John L. Lewis dog catcher . . . "

CMC alumnus Jim Hier '78, who would later make a significant contribution to the remaining presidential signature collection, says the latter collection was auctioned by Sothebys in the mid-1980s to high-bidder Ross Perot. That left the original signatures collection, which was given to CMC with the understanding that it would remain at the College in perpetuity, Hier says.

The historic collection has suffered a few major snags in its shelf life. When originally hung in Bauer Center, the photos and signatures weren't contained in locked cases. Hier says that during the height of the Watergate scandal, the original Nixon letter was stolen - a fact confirmed by former dean of students Jerry Garris. "It was returned at commencement that year, but they never discovered who took it," Garris says.

To head off further incident, the real Nixon letter was replaced with a forged facsimile, which hung with the collection for a number of years, Hier says. Unfortunately, the combination of time and poor framing was taking a toll on the overall collection, damaging some of the contributions. So in the late 1980s, the College had the entire collection reframed and stored behind UV-light protected cases, says Administrative Services Director Tim Lopez.

At that time, Hier made a significant contribution to the collection, donating an original (and authentic) Nixon letter to replace the forgery.

Keeping the collection current has been one of Lopez's jobs for the past 18 years, and he makes it a point to highlight the Crocker donation during College tours among conference groups.

Both Lopez and Garris call the presidential signature collection one of CMC's "best kept secrets." But beyond that, the collection has found its perfect home. Says Garris, "The collection is very much in the character of the College's mission."

Presidential signatures and photos displayed in the Crocker Reading Room.