The 2014 Official White House Historical Association Christmas Ornament pays tribute to President Warren G. Harding, the 29th U.S. president. The ornament draws inspiration from Harding’s childhood aspiration to be an engineer and his memorable 51-minute stint as the engineer of Alaska Railroad #618 during his 1923 “Voyage of Understanding” transcontinental tour. Tragically, the train that took him on this jubilant trip also transported his casket back to Washington DC after his sudden death from a stroke in August of the same year. As the funeral train journeyed through various towns, an estimated 3 million people paid their respects to the president, his casket visible through the train’s windows. The white gloves he wore during his brief engineering escapade were later gifted by Mrs. Harding to the engineer as a keepsake.