The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1921-02-10

s3fs. ~ 5si446E =
VALLEY CITY NORTH DAKOTA.
way Of this wonderful old colonial
country home and grounds Of the i'm
mortal Washington know in history
as the "father Of his country" It is
hard to describe our feelings as we
stepped inside the grounds from the
gateway to see before us the old fash
ioned colonial house, the many SER
wants houses, the kitchen where the
family meals were prepared, the old
barn, and other outbuildings, all kept
up Of course in excellent shape Of
preservation but bearing the unmis-
taxable imprint Of that great man
and those of his family and people in
his time. We say it gave us a sort
Of reverent or holy. feeling as-we Wis
tied the different buildings, saw the
various pieces of furniture used by
Washington and his family, saw the
bed in which he died, the old box
hedges kept up in artistic shape just
as he had kept them in his day, his
sword, his old army chest, all these
things spoke SO earnestly and elo-
quently of the life Of this great man
and what his work meant for this ma
tion. We say it sort of tugged at our
heart strings as we viewed these rel
les of the early history of America and
when we stood bare headed at the
tomb of this great man and realized
his greatness now that he has gone,
we lifted up silent prayer for more
great men for this nation like unto
Washington, Lincoln, Grant, Mckinley
and Roosevelt. The nation needs such
men in these turbulent times, and per-
haps we have them growing up but
under different environments and sur
roundings and of course more advance
ed times. The stately old mansion
faces that beautiful and grand river,
the Potomac, and for miles the view is
glorious. We do not have language
sufficient to tell you of the glories Of
this wonderful old Virginia mansion
and it's beautiful sloping grounds and
shady and artistic nooks-many Val
ley City people, have been there but
have had no chance to describe their
visit, but our recital will no doubt
awaken an echo in their own hearts
as to the feeling Of awe and of rev.
erence that steals over one as we
stand in the presence, as it seems, al
most, of one who has written so many
glorious pages of our country's his
tory. We deem it great pleasure
and great privilege to have been able
to visit this most historic of all his
ltoric spots in America. Coming back
through the old town Of Alexandria,
Virginia, where Washington used to
trade and to attend church, Mrs:
Young took us to Christ church, in
this city, where he went to worship.
The church itself is quaint old
building and the interior is quainter.
The pews are almost like little box
stalls. each one containing a long
bench or seat cushioned, with a high
back. The Washington pew is intact,
and is about four feet wide with a
seat on either side. This is done be-
cause the preacher is at one end OF the
church and the choir at the other.
When the sermon was being preached
the Washingtons would sit on the seat
facing the minister and when the choir
sang changed over to the other side
facing the singers. It was a simple
but old-fashioned arrangement. We
falso saw the old Masonic lodge where
Mr.. Washington, being Mason, at
tended. The drive back another route
over beautiful roads and pretty rural
scenes, made it an afternoon long to
be remembered, then on our return
to the capitol Mrs. Young entertained
us at little informal tea and social
visit, sending us back to our hotel
with her friend Mrs. Cowen, who is an
expert driver of a car. Mr.. Young
was too busy to go with us sight see
ing, but in the evening of the same
day he and Mrs. Young took US to
see "Passion" at one of the leading
play houses. This is wonderful pic
ture of the time of Louis XIV. and II
it ever comes this way we advise ev-
erybody to go and see it for it's his
toric value as we'll as for the lesson
it imparts to travel the straight and
narrow path" Thus ended our first
day of sight seeing and it was day
full of interest and pleasure we can
assure you all.
= Tuesday morning the writer went
up to the capitol and again was taken
around by Mr.. Young. We visited the
senate and listened for a few minutes