Generations of Americans from every corner of this country revere George Washington as the Father of his Country. His service as presiding officer of the constitutional conventions, as commander-in-chief of the revolutionary army, and two terms as the first President of the United States distinguish Washington as an important national leader. But why should the citizens of Alexandria look upon him as a hometown hero? Why have our residents celebrated his birthday for more than 230 years?
His favorite place on earth was certainly Mount Vernon Estate but the City of Alexandria was the community to which he had the closest ties. Washington’s family contributed a great deal to the founding of Alexandria. Washington himself worshiped at Christ Church and served as a vestryman, he surveyed the city as young man, and he owned property in the city and contributed in many other ways to the Alexandria community. In short, Washington was important to Alexandria because Alexandria was important to Washington.
Thanks to the foresight of organizations like the Masonic Fraternity, the American Legion and the Daughters of the American Revolution some of the history of Washington and Alexandria was preserved. Today our historic properties and our close association with George Washington make our city an important tourist destination and generates millions of dollars for our local economy every year.
Washington’s contributions to Alexandria are more that just cursory and his importance to the character of the city cannot be exaggerated. It is fair to say that Alexandria would not be what it is today without him.
It is not too soon to make plans to be part of the 2015 Celebration. You are invited to take part in all events throughout February. They include the largest parade celebrating the birth of George Washington in the USA, the oldest 10-K Race in the Alexandria, the recreation of a ball originally attended by General and Mrs. Washington, a restaurant competition, a walking tour of some of the more than 140 places in Alexandria associated with George Washington, a symposium, a ceremony honoring our veterans and active duty military (after all Gen. Washington was our first veteran), a free tour of many of our historic properties, and a live revolutionary war battle reenactment in the style of the 18th century.
We are challenged to raise funding for these events and I will speak more about that in my next article. For now, I hope you visit our website at www.washingtonbirthday.net and find out more. And I hope that you will plan to be part of the celebration of the 283rd birthday of George Washington.