its Anc Pieces

Little-known facts about George,
Thomas and John

American As
Apple Pie

Unusual ways to make the day memorable

E In honor of George Washing-
ton, plant a cherry tree.
II For dessert on July 4, serve
red-cherry, blueberry and vanilla ice
cream.
I Imagine your family as the
!Founding Fathers. On a white sheet
of paper, draw one of those lovely
wigs worn by George and the rest
of the gang. Photocopy and cut
out, then apply to the heads of
everyone in your family. (And if you
can stand more of this, color photo-
! copy the result to make into cards
1 to send July 4 greetings to family
and friends.)
I To learn about what happened
to the descendants of many Ameri-
can presidents, consult Burke's Presi-
dential Families of the United States
of America (available at most pub-
lic libraries in the reference section).
Show your colors! Paint a
Ismail American flag your face with
red-and white stripes and blue stars.
Be sure to use a water-based paint
which washes off easily and is gen-
tle on sensitive skin.
I Here's a great party favor that
will come in especially handy after
:all that face painting: Make your
own patriotic soap. All you need is
a plain, white soap, such as Ivory,
food coloring, and herbs or essen-
tial oils (optional). Using a grater,

shred the soap until you have 1/2-
cup. Add about 3 drops of food
coloring (red, then blue with anoth-
er batch). Place in the microwave
for about 40 seconds, until soap
begins to foam. Remove soap and
turn upside down onto working sur-
face. If you like, at this point you
can add a few drops of essential
oil or herbs, such as lavender.
While soap is warm, form into a
ball. DO NOT OVERWORK SOAP.
When complete, soap should be
about the size of a golf ball. Let
cool at least five minutes. To make
smooth, rub soap against the side
1 of a plate.
I In addition to being the
month in which we celebrate
American Independence, July also
I is National Hot Dog Month,
I National Dairy Month, National
1 . Rose Month, National Picnic
Month, and Zoo and Aquarium
1 Month. So have a milk shake, buy
1 yourself a dozen roses, chow
down on a hot dog at a picnic,
{ and visit the zoo!
I For an inexpensive but fun cos-
: tume, cover a white T-shirt with red-
and blue star stickers, sold at office-
! supply stores.
j Freeze raspberries and blue-
berries in ice cubes for a patriotic
punch.

A young soldier named George
Washington was in a meeting in
Pennsylvania in 1777
when a dog,
obviously lost,
wandered by.
Washington
checked the dog's
tag, only to discover
it belonged to Sir
William Howe, head
of the British forces
who were camped
nearby. Washington fed and
groomed the dog, then directed
soldiers to raise
a flag of truce
and return the
animal.
Attached was
this note:
"General
Washington's
compliments
to General
Howe—
does him-
self the
pleasure to return him a
dog which accidentally fell into
his hands and, by the inscription
on the collar, appears to belong
to General Howe." Howe was
so impressed he
wrote Washing-
ton a thank-you
note, though on
the battlefield the
two remained
staunch enemies.
Two of the
most outspoken sup-
porters of Jewry
were Thomas Jefferson and John
Adams. Jefferson was the lead-

-6,

ing advocate for the separation
of church and state
and for religious
freedom. In
1776, he sought
a repeal of legal
sanctions
against Jews,
and 10 years
later, as gover-
nor of Vir-
ginia, he passed the Bill
For Establishing Religious Free-
dom. Adams expressed an early_g
interest in Jewish history and
gion and asserted that a corn-
plete classical education
must
include Jew-
ish studies.
In his will,
he left money
for the cre-
ation of a uni-
versity that
would include
the teaching of
Hebrew. In a
letter to a col-
league, Adams
labeled Jews "the most glorious
Nation that ever inhabited this
Earth. The Romans
and their Empire
were but a Bauble
in comparison of
the Jews. They
have given Reli-
gion to three-
quarters of the
globe* and have
influenced the
affairs of mankind more, and
more happily than any other
Nation, ancient or modern." ❑

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1998

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