That Saturday afternoon of June 23, 1984, we drove to Arlington National Cemetery and got tickets to see the John F Kennedy Gravesite, the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the Arlington House Custis Lee Mansion. Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, with more than 400,000 people buried in its 639 acres in Arlington County, Virginia. This cemetery was established in 1864, during the American Civil War. The USA federal union government confiscated this Arlington Estate, the land on which the cemetery was built, from the private ownership of Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee’s family, following a tax dispute over the property. Today, it conducts approximately 27 to 30 funerals each weekday and between 6-8 services on Saturday. I was surprised to learn that the Arlington Cemetery land was owned by Robert E. Lee, the General of the Confederacy. I knew about the Unknown Soldier and the Kennedy grave site. Somehow, I never put Robert E Lee and the Arlington Cemetery together. In 1802, George Washington Parke Custis, the grandson of George Washington’s wife Martha began building Arlington House, that he inherited from his natural father. John Custis had four children, but only one, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, survived. She married future Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee in 1831. Thus, Lee got the house of George Washington’s grandson, with his marriage. Once Virginia succeeded from the Union, Robert E. Lee, resigned his USA Army commission to lead Virginia’s separatist armed forces, as he was appointed commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, the Confederate Army’s primary military force. Prior to the Civil War, American military personnel were buried in Alexandria, Virginia. With Confederate forces occupying the high ground of Arlington, the neighboring national capital in Washington, DC, was left vulnerable to a Confederate Army attack. In 1862, the USA Congress passed legislation authorizing the U.S. federal government to purchase land for national cemeteries for the purpose of burying military dead. In May 1864, the Union acquired Arlington Cemetery for $26,800, after the property was placed for tax sale. In 1874, George Washington Custis Lee sued the USA federal government, and won at the Supreme Court ruled 5–4. He then sold the land back to the USA governments for $150,000. In 2014, the cemetery celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding. The unknown soldiers are from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, that has been perpetually guarded since July, 1937. There have been a few problems in supervising this cemetery. It was a great site to see how many people have given their lives to save the USA. Have you ever been to Arlington National Cemetery?
George Washington, the father of the USA
George Washington (1732-1799) was a Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led patriot forces to victory in the American Revolutionary War against the British Empire. He is commonly known as the “Father of His Country” for his role in bringing about American independence. George Washington was born in the Colony of Virginia, so that he became the commander of the Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War (1754–1763). He was later elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, and opposed the perceived oppression of the American colonists by the British Crown. When the American Revolutionary War against the British began in 1775, Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. He directed a poorly organized and equipped force against disciplined British troops. Washington and his army achieved an early victory at the Siege of Boston in March 1776, but were forced to retreat from New York City in November. Washington crossed the Delaware River and won the battles of Trenton in late 1776 and Princeton in early 1777, then lost the battles of Brandywine and Germantown later that year. He faced criticism of his command, low troop morale, and a lack of provisions for his forces as the war continued. Ultimately Washington led a combined French and American force to a decisive victory over the British at Yorktown in 1781. In the resulting Treaty of Paris in 1783, the British acknowledged the sovereign independence of the United States. Washington then served as president of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which drafted the current Constitution of the United States. Washington was elected president unanimously by the Electoral College in 1788 and 1792. As the first USA president, he implemented a strong, well-financed national government while remaining impartial in the fierce rivalry that emerged within his cabinet between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. During the French Revolution (1789), he proclaimed a policy of neutrality while supporting the Jay Treaty with Britain. Washington set enduring precedents for the office of president, including republicanism, a peaceful transfer of power, the use of the title “Mr. President”, and the two-term tradition. His 1796 farewell address became a preeminent statement on republicanism. Washington wrote about the importance of national unity and the dangers that regionalism, partisanship, and foreign influence pose to it. As a planter of tobacco and wheat at Mount Vernon, Washington owned many slaves. He began opposing slavery near the end of his life, and provided in his will for the manumission of his slaves. Washington’s image as an icon of American culture has meant that he has been extensively memorialized with his name on many streets, towns, state capitals and even the state of Washington, plus the Washington Monument in Washington, DC. The first school that I went to in kindergarten and first grade was called Washington Grade School, in Carteret, that no longer exists. Both popular and scholarly polls consistently consider George Washington one of the greatest presidents in American history. What do you know about George Washington?
Mount Vernon, Virginia
On Saturday morning, we drove out to Mount Vernon, about eleven miles away, twenty minutes by car. I was surprised to learn that Mount Vernon, the former home of George Washington (1732-1799) was on the Potomac River. I have a 114-page booklet about Mount Vernon and seven postcards from our trip. Margaret and I paid $4.00 each for our ticket to view the estate, while Joy paid $2.00. There was a huge front entrance, extensive beautiful gardens, and back colonnades that overlooked the Potomac River. Inside were the majestic staired front entrance, the beautiful dining room, west parlor, and master bedroom. This was the plantation of George Washington, the first president of the United States. The Washington family had acquired land in this area in 1674, known as Little Hunting Creek. Lawrence Washington, the half-brother of George, renamed it after Edward Vernon, a Vice-Admiral, and his commanding officer. The original house was built in about 1734 by George Washington’s father, Augustine Washington. George Washington became the sole owner in 1761. He expanded the estate by purchasing surrounding parcels of land beginning in the late 1750s and was still adding to the estate into the 1780s. He took a scientific approach to farming and kept extensive and meticulous records of both labor and results. George Washington also built and operated a small fishing fleet, permitting Mount Vernon to export fish. Washington practiced the selective breeding of sheep to produce better quality wool. Washington refused to break up slave families for sale. He began to hire skilled indentured servants from Europe to train the redundant slaves for service on and off the estate. It is estimated that during his two terms as President of the United States (1789–1797), Washington spent a total of 434 days in residence at Mount Vernon. After his presidency, Washington tended to repair the buildings, socializing, and further gardening. In 1797, farm manager James Anderson, a recent Scottish immigrant, suggested the establishment of a whisky distillery, which proved to be the estate’s most profitable business venture over the decade of its operation. In his will, George Washington left directions for the emancipation of all the slaves who belonged to him. Of the 317 slaves at Mount Vernon in 1799, a little less than half, 123 individuals, belonged to George Washington himself. Under the terms of his will, these slaves were to be set free upon Martha Washington’s death. In accordance with state law, George Washington stipulated in his will that elderly slaves or those who were too sick to work were to be supported throughout their lives by his estate. Children without parents, or those whose families were too poor or indifferent to see to their education, were to be bound out or apprenticed to masters and mistresses who would teach them reading, writing, and a useful trade, until they were ultimately freed at the age of twenty-five. He died at Mount Vernon on December 14, 1799, aged 67. Only in 1858, did the house’s historical importance become important as the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association took over from a distant relative of George Washington. Mount Vernon was then designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960, owned and maintained in trust by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association with no federal money or support. As of 2020, the estate had received more than 85 million visitors. Have you ever been to Mount Vernon?
Merry Christmas! 2025! – The first Christmas
What was the first Christmas like? To be honest, we really do not know. However, we have two sources of information from the canonical biblical Greek works of the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke. They are the only two of the four canonical gospels that have an infancy narrative, something about the birth of Jesus. The canonical gospels of Luke and Matthew describe Jesus as being born in Bethlehem to the Virgin Mary, but the date of the birth of Jesus is not stated in the gospels or in any historical sources. According to Matthew, chapter 2:1, we have a specific time and place for the birth of Jesus. He was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the reign of King Herod. Bethlehem was always in the territory of Judea, about 6 miles south of Jerusalem, with a current population of about 25,000 in the Palestinian territory today. King David was from Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. Matthew did not say why Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem, but Luke, chapter 2, did, because of a census. King Herod the Great (74 BCE-1 CE) was the Roman client king of Judea. In fact, the Roman Senate named him King of the Jews in 40 BCE. He built many things during his reign, including expanding the Second Temple in Jerusalem. At his death, his kingdom was divided among his children. Luke tried to put these events within a historical perspective. He said that in those days, a decree went out from the Emperor, Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be registered. Could all the world be registered in a census? Luke referred to the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, who ruled the Roman empire with his famous Pax Romana, or Roman peace everywhere, from 27 BCE to 14 CE, precisely the time of these events. Augustus was born in 63 BCE so that he would have been 77 years old when he died. He was sometimes called a god, son of god, savior, or father. As the adopted son of Julius Caesar, he defeated Mark Anthony and Cleopatra to gain sole control of the empire. Thus, this census is possible, but unlikely. Luke, chapter 2:3, had a very simple statement, just like Matthew, chapter 2:1, about the birth of Jesus. While they were there in Bethlehem, the time came for her to deliver her child. Her pregnancy had reached its end. After all that had preceded, the main event had arrived. As any mother, Mary was excited about the birth of her child. Joseph might also have been concerned. Have you ever read the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke?
A visit to the Smithsonian
On Friday June 22, 1984, we visited the historic sites in Washington, DC. We traveled by metro there, with my guidebook in hand. The first place that we visited was the Smithsonian Museums. I thought that there was only one building. How wrong I was! There were ten separate buildings, with the Washington Monument at one end and the Capitol Building at the other end between Constitution and Independence Avenue. We only visited two museums, the Air and Space Museum and the American History Museum because I have brochures from both. We did not see the Natural History Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Freer Gallery of Art, the Arts and Industries Building, the Renwick Gallery, the National Zoological Park, the National Museum of American Art, the National Portrait Gallery, the Museum of African Art, and the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum. You can see that we were not that much into art. I really liked the Space Museum with close-up views of the Apollo 11 capsule and the original Wright Brother’s plane. Besides that, there were World War II planes, Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis” and Emelia Ehrhart’s plane. I even got to have some Astronaut ice cream. I could not believe that it was all in one place. You got the sense of so much that happened within a hundred years from the Wright Brothers to space exploration. What a jump from the horse and buggy to the moon and outer space! I also liked the History Museum with all the historical artifacts that they had. I have postcards from there, with the impressive American Flag that flew over Fort McHenry in 1814, as Francis Scott Key wrote his “Star Spangled Banner.” Then there was the Teddy Bear from Teddy Roosevelt, and the gowns of Mrs. Eisenhower, Mrs. Nixon, Mrs. Kennedy, and Mrs. Johnson. In the afternoon, we went to the National Archives to see the original documents of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. We ended our first day in Washington by having supper at the Old Post Office with Cheryl. Then we went back to her house in Springfield. Have you ever been to the Smithsonian?
Washington, DC
Washington, DC, is the capital city and federal district of the USA, on the Potomac River, named after George Washington, thus an important world political capital. The district is named for Columbia, the female personification of the nation. The USA Constitution in 1789 called for the creation of a federal district under exclusive jurisdiction of the USA Congress. They picked Georgetown on the Potomac as the place for its’ new capital. As such, Washington, DC, is not part of any state, and is not a state itself. The city was founded in 1791, with the first session in the unfinished Capitol Building in 1800, after the capital moved from Philadelphia. Designed in 1791 by Pierre Charles L’Enfant, the city is divided into quadrants, which are centered on the Capitol Building, and include 131 neighborhoods. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 689,545. However, commuters from Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the city’s daytime population to more than one million during the workweek. Thus, the DC area commuters spent 70 hours a year in traffic delays, tied with Chicago for having the nation’s worst road congestion. If DC were a state, it would rank 49th in population, ahead of Vermont and Wyoming. The Washington metropolitan area is the country’s seventh-largest metropolitan area, with 6.3 million residents. This city has buildings of the federal government headquarters, including the White House, the USA Capitol, the Supreme Court Building, and multiple federal departments and agencies. Washington is home to many national monuments and museums, located most prominently around the National Mall, including the Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument. It hosts 177 foreign embassies and is the global headquarters of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization of American States, and other international organizations. Home to many of the nation’s largest industry associations, non-profit organizations, and think tanks, the city is known as a lobbying hub, which is centered around K Street. It is also among the country’s top tourist destinations with about 21 million visitors a year. The outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 led to the expansion of the federal government and notable growth in the city’s population, including a large influx of freed slaves. Increased federal spending under the New Deal in the 1930s led to the construction of new government buildings, memorials, and museums in the district, as did World War II that led to an expansion of federal employees in the city. By 1950, the district’s population reached its peak of 802,178 residents. Washington, DC, became the center of protests in the civil rights movement in the second half of the twentieth century. According to 2020 census, the population of Washington, DC, was 41.4% Black or African American, 39.6% White or non-Hispanic White, and 4.9% Asian. Individuals from two or more races made up 8.1% of the population. Hispanics of any race made up 11.3% of the district’s population. The black population reached a peak of 70% in 1970, but has since declined as African Americans moved to the surrounding suburbs. Washington, DC, has experienced more gentrification than any other U.S. city, with 40% of neighborhoods gentrified. Evangelical Protestantism (15%), followed by Catholics (12%), Black Protestantism (10%), Mainline Protestantism (10%), and Judaism (3%) are the main religious adherents. Have you ever been to Washington DC?
Traveling to Washington, DC
Traveling to Washington, DC
The next morning, June 21, 1984, we were heading south on the Ocean Drive again down to Cape May, NJ, about 10 miles, where we caught a ferry to Lewes, Delaware. The ferry ride took about an hour and a half to travel 17 miles across the Delaware Bay. They had room for our car on this ferry service that began in 1964. Today, they advertise it as “The Most Scenic Ferry Ride in the USA.” If it was, I do not remember it that well. However, I liked the idea of having the car inside a boat. Cape May is a peninsula and a barrier island system in Cape May County, the southernmost point in both New Jersey and the northeastern United States. The city of Cape May has served as a resort community since the mid-1700s, making it the oldest such resort in the USA with its small year-round population of 2,768. The entire city of Cape May was designated the Cape May Historic District, a National Historic Landmark due to its concentration of Victorian architecture from the nineteenth century. In 2008, Cape May was recognized as one of the top 10 beaches in the United States by the Travel Channel. Thus, tourism is Cape May’s largest industry. Lewes, the destination of this ferry ride, was also a small incorporated city on the Delaware Bay in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, with a population of 3,303. Along with neighboring Rehoboth Beach, Lewes is one of the principal cities of Delaware’s rapidly growing Cape Region. We then drove south along the Delaware shore line crossing into Maryland and stopping for lunch at Ocean City in Worcester County, Maryland, with a population of 6,844, that has about eight million visitors annually. This was another small town with a large summer population along the Atlantic Ocean. In 1930, Ocean City Beach Patrol was formed to better protect the bathers that frequented the shoreline. Ocean City underwent a rapid expansion during the post-World War II boom with the 1952 completion of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge that made it easily accessible to people in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. In 1964, with the completion of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, a whole new pathway to the south was opened. By the 1970s, big business flourished and gave birth to the construction of more than 15,000 condominium units. Then we headed west to Springfield, Virginia, where we were going to stay three nights with Margeret’s friend and former college classmate, Cheryl Nordby, who was in Navy, working in Washington DC. I had a hand written map that showed us how to get to her townhouse in Springfield, Virginia. I got off at the Springfield exit 3C and ended up at Wild Rose Court. Springfield was a common name for a town, since nearly every state has a Springfield, so that Homer Simpson did not have to worry about what state he was in. This Virginia Springfield was in Fairfax County, with a population of 31,339 as of the 2020 census, part of Northern Virginia, the most populous region of the Washington Metropolitan Area. Springfield was founded in 1847. Until 1946, Springfield remained a rural crossroads, but real estate developer Edward Carr realized that it was only about 12 miles from Washington, D.C. Springfield went from a population of 1,000 to 25,000 from 1950-1970 with a new Shopping Center. The median income for a household in Springfield as of 2010 was $84,309. Margaret and Cheryl were happy to reunite. We settled in for a couple of nights. Did you know that Springfield, Virginia, is only twelve miles from Washington DC?
We spent the night in Wildwood, New Jersey
That evening of Wednesday, June 20, 1984, we spent the night at the Wildwood Satellite Resort Hotel in Wildwood Crest, NJ, that is still there today at 5909 Atlantic Ave. We had driven down there on Ocean Drive from Atlantic City to Wildwood, through a series of local roads, with four toll drawbridges, the Ocean City-Longport bridges, the Corsons Inlet bridges, Townsends Inlet bridge, and the Grassy Sound bridge, about 45 miles. We had the Atlantic Ocean on our left as we headed south from Atlantic City. We passed through Ocean City, Sea Island City, Avalon, and Stone Harbor, before we hit the Wildwoods. I have six postcards from Wildwood by the Sea. They had a boardwalk and amusement park as well as a beach that was free. We took the Tramcar on the Wildwood’s boardwalk, the tenth most popular boardwalk in the United States. Each June since 1922, Wildwood hosts the National Marbles Tournament, but we did not go to that. Wildwood is a city in Cape May County, NJ, part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city’s year-round population was 5,157, a small town, but the summer population can swell to 250,000. The city of Wildwood proper constitutes the center of the island communities collectively known as The Wildwoods that includes North Wildwood, West Wildwood, Wildwood, and Wildwood Crest, where we stayed. Wildwood was originally incorporated as a borough in 1895, but in 1912, Wildwood was incorporated as a city, replacing both Wildwood borough and Holly Beach City, located on a barrier island facing the Atlantic Ocean. The Wildwoods began developing as a resort in the last decade of the 19th century, but a building boom began in the 1950s, due partially to the construction and completion of the Garden State Parkway in 1955. Wildwood is a resort city very popular with vacationers and tourists from New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and even nearby parts of Canada, Ontario, and Quebec during the summer months. In June, thousands of recently graduated high school seniors come to Wildwood for Senior Week. During Senior Week, the graduates stay in hotels and rent beach houses in Wildwood where they party and participate in underage drinking. Wildwood was ranked the best beach in New Jersey in the 2008 “Top 10 Beaches Contest.” Bill Haley & His Comets supposedly first performed “Rock Around the Clock,” on Memorial Day weekend in 1954 at the Hof Brau Hotel in Wildwood. Chubby Checker introduced his version of “The Twist” at the Rainbow Club in Wildwood. Bobby Rydell’s major hit, “Wildwood Days” was about Wildwood. Wildwood is home to over 200 motels, built during the Doo-Wop era of the 1950s and 1960s. We had a mild wild time in Wildwood, New Jersey since we were a little tired. Have you ever been to Wildwood, NJ?
Let’s go to Atlantic City, NJ
As we did all this patriotic historical stuff in the morning of June 20, 1984, why not go to the beach for a little fun in the afternoon? Why not go to Atlantic City, NJ, since it was only about 60 miles away, an easy hour ride? Thus, by mid-afternoon we were on the boardwalk and beach of Atlantic City, a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, NJ, that is culturally tied to Philadelphia, part of the larger Philadelphia metropolitan area. We had lunch in Atlantic City, known for its hand powered boardwalk taxis, casinos, nightlife, and beaches. This coastline resort town is known as the “Las Vegas of the East Coast.” In the 1935 Parker Brothers USA version of the board game “Monopoly,” all the streets and destinations were based on Atlantic City then. From 1921 on, Atlantic City has hosted the Miss America pageant. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,497, on a total area of 17 square miles. First incorporated in 1854, the only access to this town was by train. Thus, the Camden and Atlantic Railroad Company built a 2,000-room hotel, the largest in the country at that time, as a resort. By 1874, almost 500,000 passengers a year were coming to Atlantic City by rail. In Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City (2010), that became a HBO TV series, they originally wanted it known as a health resort. The first boardwalk was built in 1870 along a portion of the beach, to help hotel owners keep sand out of their lobbies. This boardwalk was expanded in length and width, and modified several times in subsequent years. After 1878, massive hotels sprung up all over town, some a full city block. In 1883, salt water taffy was conceived in Atlantic City by David Bradley. In the early 20th century, Atlantic City experienced a radical building boom along the boardwalk. By 1930, the Claridge, the city’s last large hotel before the casinos, opened its doors. With tourism peaking in the 1920s, that period is often considered by historians as Atlantic City’s golden age. The city then dubbed itself as “The World’s Playground.” Gangsters and business men worked together there. The 1930s through the 1960s were the heyday for nightclub entertainment. However, like many older East Coast cities after World War II, Atlantic City became plagued with poverty, crime, corruption, and general economic decline in the mid-to-late 20th century. The city hosted the 1964 Democratic National Convention which nominated Lyndon Johnson for president and Hubert Humphrey as vice president, but people saw the economic decline there. In an effort at revitalizing this city, New Jersey voters in 1976 passed a referendum, approving casino gambling for Atlantic City, so that the casino boom began. While Atlantic City has been less popular than Las Vegas as a gambling city in the United States, big name boxing bouts attracted customers to these casinos. The history of gambling in Atlantic City can be traced back to Prohibition and the 1920s. The Trump Plaza, which originally opened on May 14, 1984, just a month before we got there, closed in 2014, thirty years later. For years there was the famous Steel Pier that was destroyed by fire. Atlantic City is one of five municipalities in the state that offers free public access to oceanfront beaches monitored by lifeguards. Have you ever been to Atlantic City?
Revolutionary Philadelphia
Like many other of the annual five million tourists, we headed to Philadelphia’s 55-acre Independence National Historical Park, that was formally established on July 4, 1956. This park includes the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and other historic sites, America’s most historic square mile. The centerpiece of the park is Independence Hall on Chestnut Street between 5th and 6th streets, where the Declaration of Independence was signed and the Constitution was ratified, on July 4, 1776, and June 21, 1788. The first Continental Convention organized a pact among the colonies to boycott British goods in 1774, and provided for a Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1775. On June 11, 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed a Committee of Five, with John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, Robert R. Livingston of New York, and Roger Sherman of Connecticut, to draft an official declaration of independence. Congress unanimously adopted its final version of the Declaration on July 4, 1776, marking the formation of the United States of America. Historians believe that the Old State House Bell, now known as the Liberty Bell, was one of the bells rung to mark the reading of the Declaration on July 8. I especially liked Independence Hall, with its chairs and tables, so that I could in vision them debating these issues about what to do next. I also liked the table with the ink stand for signing the Declaration of Independence. However, they almost demolished this hall in 1816. Besides Independence Hall there was Carpenters’ Hall, the 1774 meeting site for the First Continental Congress. Across the street from Independence Hall is the Liberty Bell, an iconic symbol of American independence, displayed in the Liberty Bell Center. The long wait at the Liberty Bell makes it seem more important. This Independence Park contains other historic buildings, such as the First Bank of the United States, the first bank chartered by the United States Congress. The Park also contains City Tavern, a recreated colonial tavern, which was a favorite of the delegates that John Adams felt was the finest tavern in all America. The Park also contains Franklin Court, the site where Benjamin Franklin’s home once stood. I have a brochure about Benjamin Franklin’s Post Office and Museum. Seeing all these places at once was mind boggling at first. I have eight postcards from there. Most of the park’s historic structures are in the vicinity of the four landscaped blocks between Chestnut, Walnut, 2nd, and 6th streets. An additional three blocks directly north of Independence Hall, collectively known as Independence Mall, contain the Liberty Bell Center, National Constitution Center, Independence Visitor Center, and the former site of the President’s House. This President’s House, which served as the presidential mansion of George Washington, the nation’s first president, from 1790 to 1797, and then for John Adams, the nation’s second president, from 1797–1800, is still there. We spent most of the morning there in this historical space. Have you ever been to Independence National Historical Park?
Gene Finnegan Remembers Living Eighty Wonderful Years 