Washington or Lincoln?

When people mention great presidents of the past the names of Washington and Lincoln always come up. Sometimes this causes a discussion about which of those two was the best president. Many people feel more kinship with Lincoln because of his background. He didn't have the cultural or economic advantages that Washington had, but achieved prominence anyway. Both men are remembered because of the peril our nation was in during their terms due to war. I wonder what the present day children think or know about the two men.

My memories of grade school in February revolved around three significant dates. The first, of course, was Lincoln's birthday. Then came the excitement of Valentine's Day with our homemade valentine boxes on our desks. Finally we celebrated George Washington's birthday.

Each president's life was studied and our artwork, songs, and even our spelling words all reflected the part of the month nearest one of these three dates.

We learned about young Washington not telling a lie. It didn't matter that in adulthood we discovered that this is a myth. It impressed upon us that our first president was a trustworthy man.

Our stories about Lincoln emphasized his love of books and also his honesty. We each could picture in our minds the backwoodsy boy studying a book by the light of a fireplace.

We made stovepipe hats to wear as we re-enacted some period of Lincoln's adult life. For Washington we created wigs from tissue paper and glue. Both men became real.

There have been quite a few presidents since my grade school days and I know it would be impossible to go into such detail about other great presidents. I am saddened that we have all of our presidents wrapped up into one commemoration, which lessens the personal identification.

I applaud the eighth grade practice of the wax museum where each student learns many details about one person from the past. By the time they share their research more has been learned about their fellow students' choices.

It makes history seem more real.

I regret that there is getting to be so much history to learn that we can't concentrate on one or two people anymore without neglecting the bigger picture. There is no way to keep from creating more history. So we will have to be content with the creative methods good teachers use to let our children relive a little of the history they are studying.

If I had time I would try to find out how many cities, towns and states are named for Washington and for Lincoln. Since I spent a good deal of my childhood and youth in Washington, D.C., I notice that name often as we travel. But we have lived near a city and a town named Lincoln. There was a school in Nevada once with the name of Lincoln and if you get into the names of institutions named for either man the list would be endless.

Which shows the greatest esteem for a person of the past? Does having geographic places named for you show more regard than having a university or an elementary school with your name? One thing is sure. Lincoln is the only one that a car was named for.