George Washington's Birthday

George Washington                                          Gilbert Stuart, American, 1796

We had a federal holiday on Monday of this week commemorating Washington's birthday, but it was simply another one of those government manipulations to provide us with three-day weekends. Washington was actually born on February 22 Perhaps a few days don't matter much in a nation that has lost its appreciation for history and reality over the past decades. Still, there are some personalities and events worthy of authentic remembrance. George Washington, fondly recalled as the Father of His Country, is one of them. Here is what Scott Johnson (Powerline) has to say about the subject:

Of all the great men of the revolutionary era to whom we owe our freedom, Washington's greatness was the rarest and most needed. At this remove in time it is also the hardest to comprehend.

Today as we contend with the contemporary equivalent of "the Babylonish empire," let us send up our thanks to the Ancient of Days for this indispensable man.

Johnson originally posted his comment in 2006. Read the rest his brief and notable remarks here.

Sources

Illustrations:
Stuart portrait, a copy known as the Lansdowne Portrait, hangs in the White House. The original is located in the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.
Postcards are from the author's archive.

Washington's Monday Birthday 2019

It's the third Monday in February time for the holiday we know as Washington's Birthday. Research tell us that George Washington was actually born on February 22, 1732,  or February 11, 1731 according to the Old Style calendar. At one time we actually had a Washington's Birthday holiday on February 22, but that changed in 1971 when the "Monday holiday rule" took effect. The rule was a postlude to a torturous twenty year saga of federal bickering, ineptitude, and state's rights issues over the national failure to honor our presidents, in particularly Abraham Lincoln, with their very own holiday. The fallout left us with what is in reality a Washington's Unbirthday holiday.

Never keen to let a good shopping opportunity pass them by, American capitalists liked the idea of a President's Day. They saw the advantage of the patriotic fervor generated by matching silhouettes of Lincoln - log cabins - and Washington - axes and cherries - positioned over merchandise and big red signs reading "SALE." The concept caught on. Today, about all Americans have left with the third Monday in February is the opportunity to buy stuff, mostly stuff they don't need. On the federal level, this leaves us with nothing for Old Abe and the other presidents and an incorrect title for George's big day.

I figure one could sooth this insult by shopping the day away. In reality, I seriously doubt shoppers can beat the price, free shipping and no sales tax - usually - that one can enjoy from Amazon.com on a 24/7 basis. These days there are similar sites for those big, big ticket items, including vehicles. 

So what is one to do? Perhaps it's best to forget the issues of a misnomer and the neglected presidents and return to Lincoln and Washington as our February presidents. And they have more in common as presidents who share the quality of American exceptionalism, a term we've been hearing more often these days as the republic drifts ever closer to its golden years. With that in mind, I suggest readers find a comfortable setting and reflect on these men and their place in the American experience. If readers need a bit of encouragement here are two statements, one so very brief, the other a bit longer, both reflecting the greatness of their authors and the hope they shared for our unique national experience:

Washington's Farewell Address, written in 1796 on his coming departure from the presidency;

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, delivered on November 19, 1863.

What more need be said?

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:

closing images, early 20th century postcards, OTR family archives

The Beginning Of The End For The Folly Known As Prohibition

Today we commemorate the passage of the Blaine Act in 1933. This brief piece of legislation began a year-long process that ended the more than twelve year debacle we know as Prohibition.  During this period in the American cultural climate, alcohol - there were a few exceptions - could not be manufactured, sold, or transported in the United States.

Granted, overindulgence in alcohol was a national issue by the Gilded Age (late 1870's to 1900) . At the same time, I doubt few progressives from that era could have dreamed of the degree of lawlessness that engulfed American society as a result of their best intentions. Indeed, a year before the Blaine Act, John D. Rockefeller wrote this appraisal:

When Prohibition was introduced, I hoped that it would be widely supported by public opinion and the day would soon come when the evil effects of alcohol would be recognized. I have slowly and reluctantly come to believe that this has not been the result. Instead, drinking has generally increased; the speakeasy has replaced the saloon; a vast army of lawbreakers has appeared; many of our best citizens have openly ignored Prohibition; respect for the law has been greatly lessened; and crime has increased to a level never seen before.

I would suggest a toast this evening to The Honorable John J. Blaine, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, who was responsible for not only writing the act bearing his name but also the 21st Amendment that officially repealed Prohibition.  May his realistic response to such moral folly always be commemorated on this day. 

Oh that we should have such wisdom today!

Sources

Photos and Ilustrations:
The New York Times, rarenewspapers.com
Blaine, public domain photo, bioguide.congress.cov


Text:
Rockefeller quote, "Twenty-first amendment to the United States Constitution," wikipedia.com

Happy 96th Birthday, Chuck Yeager!

The legendary test pilot, Chuck Yeager, turns 96 today. Although he may be a bit slower these days he remains very active managing his foundation, traveling to select events from his home in California, and maintaining an interesting presence on Twitter. Yeager  is a World War II and notable test pilot but he best remembered for his landmark achievement in aviation when he flew his Bell X-1 beyond the sound barrier and into history on the shoulders of scores of aerospace pioneers who helped him reach that speedway in the sky.

Thanks to my interest in aviation history I had the opportunity to attend several of Yeager's presentations at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and actually talk with him a few times. He was always confident, friendly and entertaining with his common sense personality punctuated by humor that boiled up frequently. In addition, he dealt with fame well, being comfortable with his achievement and its accompanying limelight. At the same time, genuine or not, you always got the feeling he could be equally happy in a rocking chair on someone's front porch. Regardless, he's certainly earned the right to rock or rocket.

Readers can learn more about the man and the early years of the nation's military aviation and aerospace history in Yeager: An Autobiography, an outstanding read originally published in 1985. A valuable companion book providing context and additional history on the nation's early manned space program is Tom Wolfe's 1979 classic, The Right Stuff.






Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
Cover photo, Yeager: An Autobiography, General Chuck Yeager and Leo Janus, Bantam, 1985.

Text:

www.wikipedia.com
www.chuckyeager.com

Abraham Lincoln's Birthday

Today marks the 210th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. Do take some time today to reflect on the life, time, and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. 

If you want to settle into an evening with Lincoln, your choice of titles will number in the thousands and in a variety of media. I am inclined to recommend Carl Sandburg's Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and The War Years. It is available as a one-volume abridgement or you may choose to tackle the original six-volume version. Not always accurate, not always "organized" as a traditional biography, Sandburg's work is really the story of Lincoln as American experience. It's romantic, rich, warm, organic, meandering, sometimes stormy, sometimes calm. I think the approach works well because the Lincoln story is, in so many respects, the American story. Also keep in mind that, although well-known as a poet, Sandburg soon was revered in the U.S. as a poet/writer for the people, once the first volumes appeared . With that in mind, I believe Old Abe would have been proud to select a writer of popular history and culture as his official biographer.

Lincoln and I go way back. The picture below was taken in the spring of 1952 during my first visit to Washington. It began a long association with Old Abe and his time that peaked during the last fifteen years of my career. What an honor it was to know him well and work to preserve his story for future generations visiting our national parks.

Sources


Photos and Illustrations:
Lincoln photograph, Gardner collection, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Lincoln Memorial, author's archive, 1952

That Pigtown Boy

February 6 is a legendary day in baseball history. On this day in 1895, George Herman Ruth, Jr. was born in Pigtown, one of Baltimore's many rough and tough neighborhoods near it's famous harbor. After seven years struggling to maintain their working-class family his parents assigned custody of their son to the St Mary's Industrial School for Boys. Ruth wasn't much of a scholar there but he excelled at baseball, the primary sport used by the monks to bring structure and discipline to their 800 boys. By the age of 19, he was a professional baseball player and destined to become the greatest ever. Learn more about the Babe here at his official page or here at his extensive Wikipedia entry.

Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum

His page at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum website has even more information, including videos, photos, and a wealth of amazing statistics.

Ruth at St. Mary's

Candlemas 2019

Readers undoubtedly will hear something about groundhogs today. They are less likely to learn that February 2 marks a Christian festival day. It is known in the western Catholic tradition as the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin or Candlemas, and more often in the Protestant world simply as the Presentation of Our Lord

Menologion of Basil II                                                                    ca. 1000 CE

The festival marks the fortieth day following the birth of Jesus. Under Mosaic law it was a day for temple rites completing the purification of a woman following childbirth. It was also the day to present the firstborn son for redemption in the rite of pidyon haben.

The Candlemas tradition emerges from Luke 2:22-39 where Simeon prays over Jesus with words that would become known as the Song of Simeon or Nunc Dimittis:

Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine, 

secundum verbum tuum in pace:

Quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum

Quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum:

Lumen ad revelationem gentium,

et gloriam plebis tuae Israel.

Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, 

you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 

For my eyes have seen your salvation, 

which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 

a light for revelation to the Gentiles, 

and the glory of your people Israel.

Beginning around the third century following the birth of Jesus, the blessing of candles and their procession about the church on this feast day became a symbol of Jesus as the light of the world. The practice emerged in the western church around 1000 CE.

This day marks the end of the traditional Christmas season in the Catholic calendar. It is also the mid-point of Winter, a cross-quarter day filled with pagan traditions symbolizing fire and the "return of the light."

In our house the last Christmas decorations have been removed and stored for another year. Our fireplace seems naked without its trimmings of red, green, gold, silver and glass. But the fire therein brings light and warmth, both spiritual and physical, as this joyous season comes to a close.

Down with the rosemary, and so

Down with the bays and mistletoe;

Down with the holly, ivy, all,

Wherewith ye dressed the Christmas Hall.

Sources

Text:

poem fragment, Ceremony Upon Candlemas Eve, Robert Herrick (1591-1674)