CUBA CITY — President Donald Trump was added to Cuba City’s City of Presidents display along Main Street last week. The shield featuring his name, birth state and term dates as well as his silhouette has been installed. The 45th president is displayed near the intersection of Yuba and Main streets.
The presidential shields started as a bicentennial project in 1976. The idea developed from a dream Joe Goeman had where flags were flying and presidents were recognized. He organized the implementation of the presidential shields to line Main Street. At first, the shields were called the Parade of Presidents. On Oct. 17, 1993, a proclamation from Cuba City Common Council was read, by then Mayor Richard E. Davis, officially proclaiming Cuba City’s new motto as “The City of Presidents.” Each shield is accented by U.S. flags from Memorial Day through Veteran’s Day.
The shields have been replaced four times, most recently in 2014. Over the years, the hand-painted plywood signs transformed to the acrylic laminate-covered plywood signs and now an aluminum panel with PVC plastic.
President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump was born on June 14, 1946, in Queens, New York, the fourth of five children of Frederick C. and Mary MacLeod Trump. Frederick Trump was a builder and real estate developer who specialized in constructing and operating middle-income apartments in Queens, Staten Island and Brooklyn. Donald was an energetic, assertive child, and his parents sent him to the New York Military Academy at age 13, hoping the discipline of the school would channel his energy in a positive manner.
Trump did well at the academy, both socially and academically, rising to become a star athlete and student leader by the time he graduated in 1964. He then entered Fordham University and two years later transferred to the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1968 with a degree in economics. During his years at college, Trump secured education deferments for the Vietnam War draft and ultimately a 1-Y medical deferment after he graduated.
U.S. President, Donald John Trump was a real estate mogul and former reality TV star. In 1971, he became involved in large, profitable building projects in Manhattan. In 1980, he opened the Grand Hyatt, which made him the city’s best-known developer. In 2004, Trump began starring in the hit NBC reality series The Apprentice, which also spawned the offshoot The Celebrity Apprentice. Trump turned his attention to politics, and in 2015 he announced his candidacy for president of the United States on the Republican ticket.
Defying polls and media projections, Trump won the majority of electoral college votes in a stunning victory on Nov. 8, 2016. Despite losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by almost 2.9 million votes, Trump’s electoral win —306 votes to Clinton’s 232 votes — clinched his election as the 45th president of the United States.
