Published: April 17, 2009 09:31 pm      

Martha Washington re-enactor visits OCS

EDMOND — Martha Washington stepped off the history pages and into the halls of Oklahoma Christian School.

Students at OCS were in for a special treat Wednesday as Martha Washington came to visit and talk to them first-hand about the Father of our Country, our first president and her husband, George Washington.

Students of all ages learned about the animals of Mt. Vernon and fishing in the Potomac River as Martha, portrayed by re-enactor Jan McClaren from Claremore, shared stories of the president and his life.

“George Washington loved peace,” McClaren told the second-grade students in Rebecca Kincaid’s class, “and he had a special weather vane made in the shape of a dove that has been on top of Mt. Vernon ever since George Washington returned from the Revolutionary War.”

Andrew Kincaid said he learned that President Washington never wore a wig.

“I was surprised,” Andrew said. “I always thought he had a wig on.”

McClain Mueller said he learned George Washington was a really nice leader, loyal, loved peace and woke up each morning at 4 a.m.

“My favorite thing was Martha Washington was so short she had to pull George’s face down to get his attention,” Madison Lombard said.

McClaren said one of the most unusual questions she had ever been asked was asked by an OCS student the day she visited.

“One student asked if George Washington was born before Jesus or after Jesus,” McClaren said laughing.

McClaren is in the first year of the two-year program as the George Washington Oklahoma Teaching Ambassador from Mt. Vernon. A senior high school history teacher, McClaren will have visited more than 70 schools by the end of the 2008-2009 school year.

“I just thought it was an opportunity to visit places in Oklahoma and to learn more about our first president,” McClaren said.

Finding out more about George Washington, McClaren said his life’s story has gotten even better.