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Show Page P2 THE HERALD, Provo, Utah, Most Americans know that George Washington threw a silver dollar across the Potomac River, and his wooden teeth still rank as the most famous set of dentures in history. Who could forget how as a child he chopped down a cherry tree with his little hatchet, and then owned up to his dastardly deed by refusing to tell his father a lie? Sunday, February 15, 1992 Washington chopped down a when asked cherry tree-anabout the tree by his father, he confessed, saying "I cannot tell a lie." d, Fact: Sure, there were cherry trees at Mount Vernon, and George Washington even chopped down some of them. But the tale about his childhood honesty is only Sure, there were cherry trees at Mount Vernon, and George Washington even chopped down some of them. The tale about his childhood honesty is only a legend, originating in the imagination of Mason Weems, an early biographer of Washington. Generation after generation of schoolchildren have grown up with these stories about our first president. For millions of Americans, these and other remarkable tales about George Washington are truer than the red, white and blue, and more American than apple pie. Since they have existed for years, the stories must be true, right? Wrong! At times it seems that the "Father of Our Country" is the subject of more myths than a Greek god. To set the record straight, scholars at Mount Vernon have examined the most popular myths about George Washington, and revealed the real truth behind the legends of our childhood. Myth: As a boy, George . have never determined the origin of the wooden teeth myth, but Americans have long been fascinated with Washington's dental problems. The portrait of Washington on every classroom wall, Gilbert Stuart's famous "Athenaeum" portrait, certainly helped to encourge the legend, depicting the d president with a pecular latexpression. Washington er complained to his dentist about the dentures that he wore for the portrait, claiming that the set of teeth was uncomfortable and made his mouth appear to be p. tight-lippe- v .J. "4 &zj Irak, AT' ' viol; L. & swelled. Myth: George Washington originating in the imagination of Mason Weems, ,an early biogrpaher of Washington. Since so little is known about Washington's childhood, Weems invented several anecdotes about Washington's early life to illustrate the origins of the heroic qualities Washa legend, ington exhibited as an adult. Introduced to countless schoolchildren as a moral tale in the Reader textbook, the parable has become a persistent part of American mythology. Mc-Guff- Myth: George Washington wore false teeth made of wood. Fact: Although Washington did wear false teeth, they were constructed from ivory, animal and human teeth, not wood. Historians threw a silver dollar across the Potomac River. Fact: Some people insist that money did go further in those days, but even George Washington could not have hurled a dollar across the mile and a quarter-wid- e Potomac River. The source of this popular legend can be traced to George Washington Parke Custis, Martha Washington's grandson, who was raised at Mount Vernon. In his memoirs, written late in his life, Custis testified that Washington once threw a piece of slate "about the size and shape of a dollar" across the Rappahannock River near Fredericksburg, Virginia. While the strength of Washington's arm has never been documented, it is worth noting that the Rappahannock River at the site of the Washington family homestead today measures only 250 feet across, a substantial but perhaps not impossible distance to throw. Myth: George Washington always wore a powdered wig. Fact:' Fashionable but never a slave to fashion, Washington refused to wear a wig and instead powdered his auburn brown hair and combed it into a small braid in back. The neatly powdered hair topped off an impressive figure. Washington stood nearly six feet three inches tall and was consistently described as a handsome and imposing presence. As a young man he ordered clothes from Europe, but for his inauguration as president in 1789 he sported a specisuit of brown broadally-made cloth manufactured in America. ' -'- ., , 'y,--. r-,-- , ,j . Photo courtesy Mount Vernon- - This fanciful engraving depicts the popular story about our first president that all Americans t remember from their childhood. But did George Washington really chop down that cherry tree? 19th-centu- ry Fact: On December 14, 1799, George Washington died in his bed at Mount Vernon of a throat infection called quinsy. At Washington's request, the doctors at his bedside bled their patient several times, a common medical practice believed to rid the body of the dangerous ills carried in the blood. Certainly the bleeding would have weakened Washington considerably, but medical experts agree that it did not cause 18th-centu- ry his death. Myth: As master of an extensive plantation, George Washington was one of the wealthiest men in the country. Fact: While George Washington had considerable land holdings, he was "land poor" and never had a big supply of ready cash. His attempts to rent his lands to tenant farmers were not very successful, and his public duties during the Revolutionary War and the presidency prevented him from devoting the time necessary to run a profitable plantation. The lack of cash proved to be embarrassing when, in April 1789, he had to borrow money to journey from Mount Vernon to New York for his inauguration as first president. Myth: George Washington's real birthday is February 11. Fact: The Washington family bible even says that George Washington was born on February 1 1 . But since Washington was born in 1732, when the colonies still followed the Julian calendar, the date of his birth had to be adjusted when the Gregorian calendar was adopted in 1752. To conform to the new Myth: George Washington than his wife Martha. Fact: The enduring image of was much younger Martha Washington among Americans is of a pleasantly plump old white-haire- d lady wearing a mob-caGeorge Washington, on the other hand, is pictured in the prime of his life, as a strong military leader or distinguished president. Actually, Martha Washington was older than George, but only by eight months. When they married in January 1759, she was 27 years old and her groom was just a month shy of his 27th birthday. She died at age 70, surviving hec husband by two years. George and p. buried in the U.S. Capitol. Fact: There is indeed a crypt fdF' calendar, all dates prior to that days, year were moved forward making Washington's birthday fall on February 22. The Gregorian calendar was already in use ifl Europe, so the change merely ac- -. knowledged that while the old calendar may "February 1 1 ," to the rest of the world it was really February 22. To his credit, George Washington began celebrating his birthday on the.22nd of February immediately, and never again considered the 1 1th to be his 1 1 in the George Washington U.S'J Capitol, but it has remained empty ; for nearly two centuries. After' Washington's death in 1799, his widow consented to the wishes oTv government officials and agreed tp! have Washington's remains trans ferred to the Capitol, but she died' before final arrangements were made. Other family members andthe executors of Washington's es tate later refused permission to" move the body, and a new tomb1 was constructed at Mount Vernotf have-rea- - natal day. Myth: George Washington is Sale Table . 50-7- 0 20TEACHING AIDS ALL MONDAY ONLY! 'Limited to stock on hand MPIiBl T STATI0I THE PARENT-TEACHE- CENTER R 748 So. 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