While Calvin Coolidge could be downright loquacious when the subject warranted, he rarely recounted humorous stories, especially if they were lengthy — yet he loved to listen to them. The stories he did tell were usually in the vein of clever wordplay or illustrations of the antics common to human (or animal) nature. Moreover, in contradiction to decades of assurances by “historians,” contemporaries, and critics, Calvin could and did smile. While we are often reminded that photographs do not capture the full context behind an occasion, we encounter in these pictures windows into stories that deserve a retelling. Here are just a few of the whimsical moments across the Coolidge years.

Photograph of President Coolidge waving a greeting to the throngs of children gathered in the White House grounds to roll Easter eggs, April 18th 1927.

ca. 1925, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA — Original caption: Cal Springs the Coolidge Smile for Pittsburgh’s Natives. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: President and Mrs. Coolidge smile their greetings to the natives of Pittsburgh, Pa., as they parade through the streets as they arrived for the thirty-first Founders’ Day celebration at Carnegie Institute. The president made the principal address. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS

ca. 1925, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA — Original caption: Cal Springs the Coolidge Smile for Pittsburgh’s Natives. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: President and Mrs. Coolidge smile their greetings to the natives of Pittsburgh, Pa., as they parade through the streets as they arrived for the thirty-first Founders’ Day celebration at Carnegie Institute. The president made the principal address. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS

28 Jun 1924, Washington, DC, USA — Original caption: Photo shows Mrs. Harriet Taylor Upton of Warren, Ohio, with President Calvin Coolidge on the lawn of the White House. Mrs. Harriet Taylor Upton has her hat in the ring for a seat in Congress, from the 19th District of Ohio, this fall and is now visiting in the nation’s capital. President Coolidge escorted her about the White House grounds to view the beautiful roses now in bloom. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS

Frederick S. Bale introducing Benny Boynton, captain of the Williams College team, to Vice-President-Elect Calvin Coolidge before the Amherst-Williams game, won by Amherst 14-7. [Original in Morrow Papers, Series XIV, box 1, folder 100]

Courtesy of Gettyimages.