In Search Of A Man Named Washington

February 19, 1989|by RANDY KRAFT, The Morning Call

Remember the god-like George Washington sternly staring down at you from the front of your elementary school classroom?

Now, about the only time we see our first president is when we watch yet another demeaning portrayal by poorly-disguised hucksters noisily promoting yet another Washington's birthday sale on television.

Is that really the George Washington we want our children to know?

Perhaps, 257 years after his birth, nobody cares about the father of our country anymore. Has Washington become irrelevant?

Schools, streets and communities bear his name. He is the only president to have a state named for him. His face is on the quarter and the dollar bill. The nation's capital city was named for him while he still was alive and the Washington Monument is the most prominent landmark in that capital.

Yet, for many, his birthday - which really is on Wednesday, not tomorrow - is just an excuse to have a day off.

One meaningful way to observe his birthday is by making a pilgrimage to his plantation homes in northern Virginia . . . in search of a man named George Washington.

This is an appropriate year for such a trip, because April 30 marks the 200th anniversary of his inauguration as our first president.

Washington was not born in England. He never even visited England. As the American eagle flies, he died less than 40 miles away from the place where he was born.

At this time of year, a bone-chilling wind comes off the wide and choppy Potomac River - and gardens at both plantations are dormant. But both are uncrowded. On a recent Thursday morning, only two people were on the first guided tour at Mount Vernon. They got to peek into rooms on the third floor of Washington's mansion that are off-limits in busier seasons.

You may not gain an intimate understanding of Washington after visiting his birthplace at Popes Creek Plantation and his home at Mount Vernon. But, by seeing places he loved, you will have a greater appreciation of him as a human being, rather than as an American hero of mythological proportions.

You may learn that the "I cannot tell a lie" story of Washington chopping down the cherry tree is a myth created by an early biographer; that he did not wear wooden false teeth that made him look grim, and he never could have thrown a silver dollar across the Potomac River, which is more than one mile wide at Mount Vernon and nearly five miles wide at Popes Creek.

You will learn Washington was a soldier who insisted his body lie in state for three days before entombment, because he feared he would be buried alive. He was a war hero who put a gold dove and olive branch weather vane atop his home. He owned more than 300 slaves, but eventually resolved never to buy or sell slaves. His will stipulated that his slaves be freed and cared for after his death.

The greatest revelation may be that Washington was a progressive farmer who tried to retire to his beloved Mount Vernon more than a decade before his obligations to his nation would allow him to do so.

"Most people think of Washington as the commander in chief or the president," said John Riley, archivist at Mount Vernon. "I think he would have considered himself a farmer above everything. He toured his farm every day on horseback. He administered five different farms on 8,000 acres. He got away from tobacco and diversified. He experimented with more than 60 crops." He even grew tropical fruit in his greenhouse.

Mount Vernon is the more impressive of the two plantations. It gets more than one million visitors a year, compared to 155,000 at Popes Creek. Mount Vernon's operators say that, except for the White House, it is the most visited historic house in America.

Although the Mount Vernon mansion is much larger and more opulent, homes at both locations contain 18th century furnishings, including objects owned by Washington and his family. Both plantations have kitchens and other buildings, plus farm animals. Washington's birthplace has a greater variety of animals. They are the same or similar to livestock his family would have owned.

For most of his adult life, Washington called Mount Vernon home. It's nice to know he still would recognize the well-maintained estate.

At Mount Vernon, a visitor finally may experience the emotional satisfaction of knowing Washington was a real person. The moment might come while standing in front of his simple brick tomb, which is flanked by American flags. A marble plaque on top of the tomb states: "Within this enclosure rest the remains of Gen. George Washington." The front is open, except for locked iron gates. In the chamber is a marble sarcophagus adorned only with a sculpted eagle atop an American shield and one word: Washington.

"The Savior of America" died Dec. 14, 1799. He was 67. Two days earlier, he had been out riding around his estate in snow and rain for several hours and got a sore throat.

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