I had the great traveling pleasure of visiting Washington D.C. this week and soaking up the history of our country as we went along. I have mentioned before that one of the perks of living here in Stillwaters is to travel and not worry about your home. One of the perks of living in this country is you can travel to our capital and have full and free access to our history, documents and the work of the three branches of government.
In a few short days Mr. Blogger and I were able to visit the National Archives, Mt. Vernon, Monuments, The American History Museum, the Capitol (including the House and Senate Galleries) and the Library of Congress. My favorite this trip was visiting the Library of Congress (Thomas Jefferson Building).
My first impression was amazement at how beautiful it is – I literally felt I hadn’t seen anything so beautiful outside of the museums and cathedrals of Europe. My second impression was amazement at the history of this building and the enormity of its task.
In 1800 the Congress of the United States established the Congressional Library to provide the information and research needed to run the government. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and John Adams were the main sponsors of establishing this library and later the role of the library expanded to be a resource and a depository (147 million items and growing and three buildings worth) for the nation.
Anyone can go in the Visitor Gallery and see amazing displays of history. My favorite was a Gutenberg Bible, the first book printed by movable type in the Western World (1454-55). I remember reading once that the invention of this printing process was the most important invention of all time because of its impact on the world.
You can wander the galleries and see many displays. To gain access to the reading room for research you need to request a Library of Congress card, otherwise the reading room is only for viewing by visitors from an upper gallery.
We were only in Washington for a few days and though we have been several times before it was exciting once again to see so much history in one place.
Quote of the week: “Honesty is the first chapter of the book wisdom.” ― Thomas Jefferson
Happenings this week:
Thursday, May 7th: The American Association of University Women will be meeting at The Gathering Place, here at Stillwaters at 6:30 p.m. The topic is “Whistlekick Pygoras”, all about a recent book by Terri Kistler on Pygora goats. All are welcome.
Saturday, May 9th: Centralia’s Fox Theatre Film Series presents “Rebel without a Cause”, a 1955 American classic. Starring James Dean and Natalie Wood. 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. showtimes. $8 Admission.
Weather: We are having a glorious sunny afternoon today and this weather will continue through the weekend with no rain forecast until Tuesday. Go forth gardeners and spade!
