San Diego, California News Station - KFMB Channel 8 - cbs8.comPresidential possessions

Presidential possessions

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POWAY (CBS 8) - In one square room of Jeff Figler's home, you'll find the entire hand-scribbled history of the Oval Office.

"Here we have a hand-written, signed letter from every president from George Washington to Obama," Jeff said.

And guess which of these presidents is the most valued? Washington? Lincoln? Guess again.

"William Henry Harrison, who was the ninth president of the United States, only served for 30 days," Jeff said.

Jeff is the owner, curator and docent of the Figler Foundation Museum, which also contains mind-boggling sports and pop culture collections. It is only open to the public by invitation.

"The two presidents that I admire most are Harry Truman and Thomas Jefferson," Jeff said. "I admire Harry Truman, because he succeeded a living legend, FDR. Jefferson, of course, I admire a lot because of all that he achieved during his lifetime."

Jeff's even got an ex on the back of a check.

"This particular check was dated September 30, 1933 and it was made out to FDR, President of the United States, for $937.50," Jeff said.

Back then, presidents were a bargain. Perhaps the real oddity of this collection is a pair of bobble heads called the "Kissing Kennedys."

"One is John Kennedy and one if of Jackie Kennedy, and if you put them together, they're magnetic," Jeff said. "They were distributed a month before Kennedy was killed."

At the Figler Foundation Museum, the history of our highest office is written, one letter at a time.

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