By Marjory J. Sente
The year was 1932. Prescott had a population of slightly more than 5500 (one of six cities in the state of Arizona with a population of 5 to 10 thousand people). The United States was in the depths of the Great Depression, but nothing was going to keep its citizenry from celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Washington (February 22, 1732), the nation's first president and the Father of Our Country. In fact, nearly 4.8 million programs were presented through out the country during the Washington Bicentennial year.
Sharlot M. Hall, president of the Historical Society of Prescott, was one of fourteen Arizonians appointed by Governor George W.P. Hunt to the Arizona George Washington Bicentennial Commission.
The national celebration of Washington's birth was planned for the entire year. On January 1, 1932, it began the issuance of a set of twelve stamps and four stamped envelopes at Washington, D.C. On New Year's Day, the first day of issue for these commemoratives, between 3.5 and 4 million of these stamps at the cost of more than $100,000 were sold to the 60,000 people who jammed the Philatelic Agency.
The set of stamps, considered to be a miniature gallery of priceless portraits, was produced from original renderings of Washington made during his life beginning when he was a youth of 17 and the last when he was 66 years old. The stamps range in denomination from one-half cent to ten cents. The embossed envelopes showed a likeness of Mount Vernon, Washington's home. (Note: All twelve stamp images may be viewed at the end of this article.)
Other facets of the celebration included comprehensive programs on George Washington in the schools. Elementary schools were to have declamatory contests; high schools, essay contests; and colleges and universities, oratorical contests.
The committee appointed by the Arizona George Washington Bicentennial Commission decided that declamatory contests would not be held in the state's elementary schools because of distance, expense and economic conditions. Other programs, however, were planned and held.
"While I have no definite figures at hand," reports Miss C. Louise Boehringer, Director of Elementary Education of the Arizona Department of Public Instruction, "I feel we are rather safe in saying that practically every school in the state has given a comprehensive program on George Washington. I know that, personally, I have attended a number of them and I have seen reports of them in the papers and elsewhere." In the Report of the George Washington Bicentennial Commission, 11,644 school programs are cited as occurring in Arizona.
In a letter to a friend dated June 17, 1932, Sharlot Hall wrote about the Great Depression, "The closing of the copper mines has thrown thousands of people out of work and half the towns in Arizona are like abandoned places. All winter people went away if they could go and along the railroads and highways, people from farther east struggled to get into California and the warmer regions of southern Arizona. They begged for food and for gasoline to keep going-many of them having cars of some sort-and the little local settlements were just swamped as with a retreating army in war time."
In this same letter, Sharlot explained why she participated nominally in the Washington Bicentennial Celebrations held in Prescott on February 22, 1932. "I have seemed very much like a ground hog having his winter sleep for a long time-and I have been just about like that little weather prophet to myself-for a long time a queer behaving heart has kept me lying down and like a person drugged and numb."
While President Hoover led the national Washington Bicentennial Celebration on February 22, 1932, the citizens of Prescott filled the day and evening with a plethora of activities. Prescott Mayor Bert Tilton served as the chairman of the local Washington Bicentennial committee. According to vice-chairman James Whetstine and committee member Dr. Gail D. Allee, an extensive program was mapped out for the day.
Prescott's activities began at 9 o'clock in the morning with each classroom at the Lincoln Elementary School staging a different program. At 10 a.m., KPJM radio dedicated 60 minutes to the celebration. The local Bicentennial committee planned the first part of the broadcast. Among those participating were Mayor Tilton and Miss Grace Sparks giving the greeting. Sharlot M. Hall spoke on "The Young Manhood of Washington." The General George Crook chapter of the D.A.R. was in charge of the latter half of the program, which included reciting excerpts from Washington's Farewell Address.
Rounding out the morning's activities was an assembly in the Prescott Junior-Senior High School Auditorium. According to an account in the February 22, 1932 newspaper issue of the Prescott Evening Courier, "A vignette of the hardships of George Washington's Revolutionary forces at Valley Forge during the winter of 1778 was presented with distinct effectiveness by a cast of seniors." The Washington Elementary School held separate programs during this hour.
The centerpiece of the afternoon's activities was "Washington at Home," a play presented by The Monday Club at the Elks Theater. According to the Prescott Journal-Miner, February 23, 1932 edition, the "ladies of the Monday Club arrayed in feminine and masculine attire of the colonial days, offered him (Washington) that hospitality in commemoration of the bi-centennial anniversary of his birth."
The play portrayed a birthday party given in honor of Washington. The setting was a drawing room at Mount Vernon in 1799, the last year of our first president's life. A capacity crowd, paying 25 cents each, enjoyed Mrs. Amy Fagerberg as George Washington and Mrs. Otto F. Orthel as Martha Washington. The Prescott Journal-Miner reported, "A clever bit of comedy was introduced in the noting of a Negro butler, Jeremy Jackson, whose part was taken by Mrs. A.A. Smith."
The play closed with the dancing of a minuet. "The beautiful costumes, the perfect time kept and stately beauty of the dance made it a fitting ending to a charming play," noted the Prescott Journal-Miner's report. At 4:30 p.m., the Monday Club repeated the play at the Arizona Pioneer's Home.
Prescott was alive with evening activities focused on celebrating the 200th anniversary of Washington's birth. The Knights of Pythias and the Pythian Sisters held a joint meeting at the K of P Hall beginning at 7:45 p.m. Yavapai County Senator A.H. Favour gave an address on "Washington the Man".
At 8 o'clock in the evening, the Masons had a special Washington Bicentennial observance at the Masonic Temple. Mayor Tilton, A.A. (Tony) Johns and Francis D. Crable were the principal speakers. Crable spoke on Washington as "The Man, The Citizen and The Soldier, while Johns talked about "The Masonic Activities of George Washington."
"The program was unusual in that throughout the talk made by Mr. Johns, the General and first president was referred to as 'Brother Washington'. Mr. Johns told members present that Washington wore the Masonic apron bearing the insignia and letters dear to all Masons during his career as a statesman," reported the Prescott Journal-Miner. Cherry pie was the center of attention at the banquet that followed the program.
Closing the day's festivities was the Washington Bicentennial Ball sponsored by the Ernest A. Love American Legion Post at the Odd Fellows Hall. Commander Keith Aitken reported that 814 people attended the dance. The highlight of the evening was the drawing for $200 in cash prizes, which ranged from five winners of $2.50 to J.L. Perkins of Congress, AZ who won $100.
In addition to the activities mapped out by the Prescott Washington Bicentennial Committee, the First Church of Christ Scientist held a special service as part of the observance.
Yes, patriotism was alive and well in Prescott in 1932, as its people celebrated the birth and life of the Father of Our Country.
(Marjory J. Sente is Development Officer at Sharlot Hall Museum.)
Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(DB425 Ledger 6 Monday Club Collection) Reuse only by permission.
In celebration of Washington's 200th birthday, the Monday Club performed a play, "Washington at Home," at the Elks Theatre and later at the Pioneers' Home.
Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(Washington Bicentennial Stamps; Image credit to web page 1847USA) Reuse only by permission.
The national celebration of the bicentennial of Washington's birth began in January of 1932 with the issuance of a set of 12 stamps. The set, considered to be a miniature gallery of priceless portraits, was produced from original renderings of Washington made during his life from the time he was 17 years old with the last one when he was 66 years old.