History
The only official government holiday we have during the month of February is PRESIDENTS DAY on FEBRUARY 15. Observed annually on the 3rd Monday of February, this holiday originated in the 1880s and was intended to celebrate George Washington’s birthday on February 22. Since then, however, it was expanded to include observance of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on February 12 and was moved to the Monday in question in 1971. Many people now consider this day as one to honor all past U.S. presidents. As an officially observed national holiday, government offices, banks, and most schools are closed.
Preamble Constitution
Take some time to explore our local connections to past presidents. Well known is the fact that the grey granite rocks that protect our beach on the south end of St. Simons Island are called the Johnson rocks, after President Lyndon Johnson, who visited after Hurricane Dora in 1964 and provided the needed federal aid for their installation. It’s also common knowledge that Musgrove Retreat served as a getaway for President Jimmy Carter. George and Barbara Bush honeymooned on Sea Island in 1945, long before he became president of the U.S., and they have returned on multiple occasions. The G8 Summit on Sea Island was hosted by their son, President George W. Bush, in 2004. President Calvin Coolidge became the first of seven U.S. Presidents to plant a commemorative Live Oak on the grounds of The Cloister on Sea Island while he and his wife spent the Christmas holidays visiting Howard Coffin in 1928. Both Bushes, Carter, Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton make up the other six.
Read a presidential memoir or one of these outstanding biographies: Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow, John Adams by David McCullough, A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., and Lincoln by David Herbert Donald. There are also numerous documentaries and films about the former leaders of our country you can peruse. When in doubt, watch the film version of Hamilton. Any excuse to do this is acceptable.
For your Presidents Day menu, make a cherry pie. Yes, the story about George and the cherry tree has been debunked, but still. Cherry pie is scrumptious, and it IS National Cherry Month. But if you must, you can just wait a few days until NATIONAL CHERRY PIE DAY on FEBRUARY 20.
Girl with flag
While it’s not considered an official government holiday, in 1948, President Harry Truman signed a bill proclaiming FEBRUARY 1 as the first official NATIONAL FREEDOM DAY in the United States. It also begins BLACK HISTORY MONTH. The day commemorates the date in 1865 that President Abraham Lincoln signed the joint House and Senate resolution outlawing slavery that later became the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Former slave Major Richard Robert Wright, Sr. is credited with creating National Freedom Day.
Black History Month recognizes the achievements of African Americans throughout history and the significant contributions they have to our arts, culture, and society. The month of February was chosen to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and civil rights advocate Frederick Douglass. It is a time to reflect on the progress made since the first African Americans arrived in the United States as slaves in 1619 through the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s to the election of the country’s first black President, Barack Obama. Here in the Golden Isles, Black history is especially rich and there are ample opportunities to revisit or learn more.
Get a better understanding of the journey and life of a slave by walking the Wanderer Memory Trail on Jekyll Island. You’ll learn about the last slave ship to arrive on the shores of the United States in 1858. Research the history of Ebo (or Igbo) Landing on St. Simons Island. Visit the Historic Tabby Slave Cabins at Gascoigne Bluff to see restored slave living quarters of Hamilton Plantation. The cabins are maintained by the Cassina Garden Club and they are open to the public from 10:00 a.m. to noon on the first and third Saturday of the month from September through November and from February through May, and every Wednesday from June through mid-August. For more information, visit cassinagardenclub.org.
Paul Meacham @CoastalGATravel
Geechee Gullah Shouters
To delve into Gullah Geechee history and heritage, take a tour of Sapelo Island and learn about its inhabitants and their arts and culture like sweetgrass basket weaving and net-making. Visit the Historic Harrington School Cultural Center. Formerly known as the Harrington Graded School, the school was built in the 1920s and was the main educational structure for three African American communities on St. Simons Island until desegregation in the 1960s. Now restored and offering programs overseen by the St. Simons African American Heritage Coalition, it is an important and valuable venue to interpret the island’s Gullah/Geechee heritage. Help keep the tradition of the shout alive. Listen to recordings of Bessie Jones and the Georgia Sea Island Singers, the Gullah Geechee Ring Shouters or the McIntosh County Shouters.
Read about the African Americans who have connections to the Golden Isles, like Neptune Small, Susie Baker King Taylor, or Robert S. Abbott and the Chicago Defender newspaper he founded. Find the Abbott memorial at Fort Frederica.