Archive for January, 2009

Ponca City High School received the George Washington Portrait from the Mount Vernon Ladies Association.  Principal Johnny Woody accepted the artwork from the George Washington Oklahoma Teacher Ambassador Jan McClaren.  Mr. Woody plans to showcase the painting in the original part (circa 1920) of Ponca City High School on the majestic walls, above the beautiful wood molding, next to the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Our first President, who was instrumental in the founding of our country, will surely be pleased he can watch over these three documents in the halls of the Wildcats.

Weather alerts have been on the news yesterday and today warning of the impending ice storm in Oklahoma. As the day deepened into the afternoon, the forecasts came to bear as an icy mist began to fall. Around the edges of the small neighborhood lake frosty fingers have formed stretching toward the center of the pond. Gazing out at that frozen perimeter I thought about the way Washington retrieved ice from the Potomac’s rim to keep in his ice house for use later in the year. How bitterly cold the workers must have been as they wrenched the glistening chunks from the bone-chilling waters. The next step was maneuvering the unwieldy hunks up an incline and into the hillside passageway created for that purpose (YES, there is a tunnel at Mount Vernon as seen on National Treasure 2, but it is NOT in the basement). At the end of the tunnel the ice was covered with straw to help insulate it from melting. When summer arrived and Washington wanted some ice cream, the servants used a pulley and a ladder inside the vertical part of the tunnel to lift the ice up to a door that was tucked into the side of the Ha! Ha! Wall (The Ha! Ha! Wall is a story for another day). It was a short distance from there to the kitchen where ice cream could be made for Washington. Ice Cream? Brrrr.

The man who “was first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen” recently visited Oklahoma. George Washington made an appearance at Colonial Day at the capitol in Oklahoma City on Friday, January 16 courtesy of Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens. He appeared as a guest on a talk show, The Original American Idol, with the George Washington Teaching Ambassador. After an informational interview with fifth grade students, the General appeared on the program again at the Oklahoma Department of Education’s Social Studies and Fine Arts Workshop. President Washington gave the teachers many moments of amusement when he answered questions about Royal Gift, his donkey from the King of Spain. The Ambassador has already received emails about the General’s educational performance.

The President being interviewed by the GW Ambassador

Recently, the George Washington Ambassador visited Peter’s Elementary in Union Schools.  The hallways were filled with giant portraits of the General.  The teachers had gone to www.blockposters.com and created Washington’s portrait in individual sections.  This is apparently a free service.  Each student received one block to color and them they put them together to see what they had created.  This was a very interesting project and created wonderfully creative portraits of the first President.

The Ambassador spent time with 1st through 5th grade students.  The classes were enthusiastic and found George Washington very interesting.  Mrs. Steen’s class wrote some notes to the Ambassador and a couple of the letters are shared in this space.

The George Washington Ambassador recently visited with Richard Sullivan’s 8th grade class at Lewis and Clark School in Tulsa.  The enthusiastic students were eager to learn about the life of Washington.  One class was so excited that they recreated the famous painting of Washington crossing the Delaware on Christmas night.  The honor of being “the General” went to, of course, their instructor Richard Sullivan!

Oklahoma Teachers, it is finally here!  The applications for the George Washington Summer Institute are now available.  This is a wonderful experience for all educators (not just history teachers).  Teachers meet renowned historians and even live on the grounds of Mount Vernon just steps from the Mansion!  Get up early and watch the sunrise over the Potomac River from Washington’s Piazza or gaze at the moon’s reflection on the water on a beautiful southern night.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience!  For an application, please email jmcclaren@mountvernon.org.  The official announcement is below: Continue reading Be a Guest of the General! »