A few years ago I was on a trivia team. We were a diverse group of ages, careers, education, and interests so everyone on the team brought their own set of skills. Even with this wealth of knowledge there were some areas that we were lacking in. It was decided that we would all pick a topic to focus on to continue to round out our team. I volunteered to tackle the presidents.

I’m not quite sure why I chose the presidents. I never took a huge interest in them growing up. Sure, I knew the main ones:

• George Washington, first president, chopped down a cherry tree and had wooden teeth
• Abraham Lincoln was really tall, wore funny hats and was shot in the head
• Mount Rushmore
• JFK was also shot
• Nixon and Watergate

There were also the not so common presidents that I knew:

• Garfield, because of the cat
• We were possibly related to James Buchanan but Mom said that wasn’t something to be proud of since he was the worst president, and
• The presidents that were active during my lifetime. I knew they were there but I didn’t really know much about them other than who the current sitting president was.

Not knowing where exactly to start with my research on the presidents I figured the easiest would be just learning all their names and the order that they served. By this time the trivia team had disbanded so this would now become useless knowledge for me, but it was fun so I moved on to learning the faces with the names. This was what spawned the team’s initial branching out and learning new things because one of the questions that we got wrong was a picture of a random old man. This man was Benjamin Harrison, our 23rd president, and grandson to William Henry Harrison, our 9th president and, fun fact, William was only in office for a month as he died from pneumonia.

By this time an obsession was starting to form. I wanted to learn more. Not having the time to read 45 biographies (because at this time we still only had the one president who served non-consecutive terms – Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th president) I resorted to a tried and true method: reading presidential biographies intended for kids! I found a great series that taught me a lot about how our country came to be, the people responsible for it, everything was digestible for me in 48 pages and there were pictures! I’ve learned a lot of fun facts (although I’m often told they’re only fun for me) and it has created this desire in me to keep learning more: the vice presidents, the first ladies, revisit Washington D.C., maybe graduate to adult biographies.

This is A LOT of background to talk about a national holiday that doesn’t get the attention it deserves – Presidents’ Day. How did Presidents’ Day come about? During the 1800s, George Washington’s birthday (February 22) and events such as the centennial of his birth and the construction of the Washington Monument were celebrated nationwide. In 1879, President Rutherford B. Hayes (19th president) made Washington’s birthday a federal holiday, but this was only applicable to the District of Columbia. In 1885 President Chester Arthur (21st president) made it a national holiday. By this time some states were also celebrating Abraham Lincoln’s birthday (February 12) but it wasn’t until 1968 that Congress moved the celebration to the third Monday of February in honor of all presidents.

 

I know the last several years have been contentious and the country is divided on many things, but my hope is that perhaps you will take this deep dive into our nation’s history with me. Learn about our founding fathers and how they created this country. Learn about the 45 presidents and why the good ones were good, and the bad ones were bad. Learn some fun facts to share with your friends. Get inspired to visit Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Mount Rushmore, the birth places or presidential libraries. And maybe next year when Presidents’ Day rolls around you will have a greater appreciation for the holiday.

P.S. Check out the Trending Book Display that is currently running on the second floor (through the rest of the month) in honor of Presidents’ Day! Not only will you find some books about the presidents, but several fun facts!

 

“Observe good faith and justice toward all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all.” – George Washington

 

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