I bet after seeing us sometimes, George Washington would sue us for calling him “Father of our Country.” — Will Rogers
The famous Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington
This is the famous painting that Dolley Madison helped to save from the British during their invasion of Washington, DC in 1814. For more information, click here.
President’s Day is so named in honor of all the former United States Presidents.
Up until 1968, the birth anniversaries of Presidents Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12) and George Washington (Feb. 22) were celebrated in various states as holidays.
President Lyndon B. Johnson established President’s Day in 1968.
On June 28, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson changed all that when he signed the Monday Holiday Law. This law established Monday observances of Washington’s Birthday as well as various other holidays such as Columbus Day, regardless of the traditional dates. The new law went into effect in January 1971.
The third Monday in February was chosen as Washington’s Birthday and a legal holiday. It has since been renamed President’s Day.
Maybe he or maybe he didn’t… but could you blame young George Washington for chopping a Cherry Tree if he knew that he’d be eating these tasty cherry squares later in the day?
No lie, these cherry squares are delicious!
Yield: 16 Squares
Filling
Two 14.5-ounce cans pitted sour cherries (2 1/2 to 3 cups
drained, juice reserved, 20 ounces); or 6 cups (24 ounces) frozen pitted sour cherries, thawed, drained, juice reserved
2/3 cup (5 3/8 ounces) reserved cherry juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) sugar
3 tablespoons (3/4 ounce) cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
Crust
1 1/2 cups (5 1/4 ounces) traditional rolled oats
1 1/2 cups (6 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose
Flour or King Arthur Organic White Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup (7 1/2 ounces) brown sugar, light or dark, packed
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks, 6 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup (2 ounces) sliced almonds
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9″ x 9″ pan.
To make the filling: Measure out 2/3 cup of the reserved cherry juice. In a small saucepan, combine the cherries, juice, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Whisk the sugar with the cornstarch, and stir into the cherries. Simmer the mixture, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes (if you’re using canned cherries); or for 20 minutes (if you’re using thawed frozen). It’ll thicken and look like canned cherry pie filling (but taste a WHOLE lot better). Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the vanilla and almond extracts, and set aside to cool slightly while you prepare the crust.
To make the crust: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the oats or barley, flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the melted butter, stirring till everything is well combined.
To assemble the bars: Press 2 1/2 cups (about 14 ounces) of the crust mixture into the prepared pan, smoothing it out to completely cover the bottom of the pan, with no gaps showing. Top the crust with the filling. Add the almonds to the remaining crust mixture, and sprinkle it over the filling.
Bake the squares for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Remove the squares from the oven, and allow them to cool before cutting into 2″ squares.
Recipe and photo from King Arthur Flour
Pretend you are a special secret service agent. It is your job to find the United States President. Are you up the challenge? If so, consider this word search training practice. If you choose to accept this mission, may your cunning wit and keen observation be with you! Good luck, agent.
If you’d like to download copies of this puzzle, please click here: Word Search puzzle.
The fun way to learn U.S. History
This puzzle has been brought to you by Sue Lindlauf with the Grand Forks Herald in South Dakota, U.S., in conjunction with Newspapers in Education.
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