Show it ashlaun A I 1 4 I 1 v N F 7 te 0 0 1 i r 1 51 R 1 i 41 li U fn I 1 0 maaia dymm t 1 4 1 CUM 0 91 AV ba by fire the narrow houlemard hou semard end of the oval by ELMO SCOTT WATSON giong all the independence day eel 1 eb rations throughout the united f states this year none Is mole moie illk interesting lote resting than that which r w will take place at charlottes J valle I 1 a there on july 4 will be celebrated the one hun dreith anniversary of the death of james monroe fifth dent of the united states au an thor of the monroe doctrine and three times ambassador of 4 the united states to a foreign land the occasion cislon oc will be under the auspices of the james monroe centennial memorial commission appointed last spring by gov gar car land pollard of in t and aill ft mark the tile first honors ever paid to monroe officially by his ills na the blate mate the ceremony cir ctr emony hlll begin alth ft ath a five minute introductory talk which president hoover will wake by radio from his camp on the this will mill be foll raed ced by an address by william II 11 castle undersecretary of state who mho will speak at the university of virginia and whose talk will i ill also be broadcast over the national g company ch aln the ceremonies will mill be attended by more than a hundred mem hers bers of the diplomatic corps at washington and following the morning exercises the entire party will go to to ash lawn five are miles from char lottes ville the home of monroe where a lunch eon will be served by the tile owners mr and mrs jay IV johns in the afternoon a reception u will ill be held at ash la lawn n and another at monti cello home of thomia jefferson two miles away in the evening the visiting diplomats will be given a dinner by the university of virginia and following tie dinner another address in memory of monroe and hs ills anniversary will be given iven by prof william r dodd the historian of the university of chicago although the principal centennial celebration will take place at the tile Un university hersity of in charlottesville particular interest will center around A I 1 la laa a mch Is to be bc sada d n a s sc ne nit national lonal shrine for this lovely old colonial house surrounded by a it COO acre estate has been thrown open to the public by its owner mr air johns a patriotic virginian who mho purchased it last year to prevent the estate from becoming divided and and to preserve it as a place of inspiration for americans ash lan was uns the tile home for ag years during the most active period of the life of james monroe the last of the famous N higinia d dynasty naty monroe seems never to have definitely decided on a name for this estate highlands near milton I 1 heads most of his letters N written here but it Is variously referred to by monroe and others jefferson called it oakwood once at least that monroe considered it for a nime Is highly probable tn in view of the fact that he called the estate lie par purchased chased pj later oakhill OaK hlll the name ash lawn laun may wt will have been his ills selection for it show shon a a love of trees he Is known to have had bad the present owner considers it to continue the use of the name ash lawn as the place has been known by that name ever since Hon lion roea roes time historically the home is mot interesting mon roe speaks of it 9 as A home of twenty six years standing from it he lie ep departed arted in 1817 to be inaugurated fifth president of the united states he ile sold it late in 1823 not long before the end oi of his second terra term in office it Is located at the eastern foot of carters mountain on a rise of ground merlo oling the eastern valley north ward lies monticello md and southward morren the first jeffersons homo home and the second that of william short these three men were friends as well sell as neighbors which aich probably accounts for the proximity of the homes the first sign of 0 ash lawn Is a towering nor pine tree visible from miles around standing high above all the tile other ancient trees on the hilltop which jefferson selected at his friend friends 8 request ai as the site for the home which be tie was li g during the years when be he was minister to france one turns from the main road into a locust bordered lane winding up to the garden entrance here stands the old stone mounting block worn by many feet la in the years when monroe dispensed hospitality to visiting statesmen and diplomats one imagines monroe turning back at this spot for a last look at fit his beloved home before riding to washington to take the oath of office a last lookyat the great pine tree which dominates the e elate late from the mounting block the white pillar of the house are almost obscured by the great box trees almost 10 feet tall which form the entrance to the garden these two clumps are faced by two ones at the opposite side of an ovil formed by english dwarf box krom this oval opens the walk flanked by double rows of box loading leading to the doorway the gar den planned while monroe was in france shows decidedly the french influence when it Is remembered that this type of boxwood under the most favorable candit conditions ions only about half an inch a year the size and beauty of the trees which bere the alde of ash lawns lamas original orner is all the yore wore imar impressive salve the front part ot of the bouse house was built after monroe s time but one steps down from the entrance hall into the original rooms where at every turn one notes architectural details which characterize the handl of jefferson monroe had written from iranee trance to his friend at monti cello asking him to choose a site for the home he was to build on his return specifying that it should be in eay distance of monticello and In inclosing losing several tentative plans for the house here are the small paneled cupboards beside the fireplace such as its jefferson built in his own oun home and a graceful archway opening from a small hallway into the side pardon garden here and there are bits of rare old pewter peter a spinning wheel old chairs on which Mon monroe monroen and his friends sat about a blazing log fire a era cra die mirrors reflecting the sun which comes in through the windows of french design much of the atmosphere of the original home has been re 1 r 1 1 I the I 1 rr c V M aiice act t the uv late wits VU purchased qed by the pre ent owner in the basement cne rne finds the old kitchens with the original floors of brick laid in a pattern and the heavy doors still perfectly bal on missive hinges shaped like the letter II 11 in the kitchen ore finds many of the original iron griddles and atil kettles and scarred old wood blocks from the kitchen door a few steps lead to the icehouse the overseers house and the smokehouse where fine old hams were prepared some of Ilon monroes roes letters show how reluctantly he left his home when he went ent to the lifite house in 1817 tor seven yeas of his term cs rs president he used ash lawn lamm as R summer white house he ile often declared to friends that ash lawn coald by be the last of his possessions to go if he should be la in financial straits like ills liis friend jefferson he found himself after a long life of public trice service hinl hird preyed to meet his creditors finally in he sold ash lawn lamn in n order to meet a pressing debt to the bank of the united st g ash lawn lavin bi ts a garden unique in plan and composition of tills this contine continent nL historically it has no equal for it atas nag almost entirely planned and planted by monroe himself the garden Is evergreen and Is one of the finest boxwood gardens in america the north and south sides are hedged with i ith arbor vitae and bush box boxwood the house forms the western boundary the driveway the eastern through the openings in the trees of the orchard which ilitch Is on the other fide side of tl e drive the tile Is visible the land rolling gently as far for as it may be seen to one side the north of the en there extends a ro row of 0 tall brush box perfectly shaped and planted in an S curve of gentle swing ahls same formation on the other side Is not quite complete but lie tile southern portion Is lq missing and Is believed to have been destroyed Is flanked banked alth alth two large pieces of bush box on each side from froin each of these four straight rows ros of english djarf box run to the front of the house where th rows are closed by four pieces of the larger semper boxwood between the two inside rows an old brick walk alk leads from oval to house this quadruple row of english dwarf box Is unique being known only in foreign gardens the original brick walk goes around the left side of the house where there stands a it magnificent magn ift white oak one of the largest in the state fifteen feet in circumference the foundation planting of the house Is rhododendron lind the base of the arbor vitae hedge on the south bide side of the garden Is filled in with ith the same shrub this planting was at one time in to boxwood the arbor vitae hedges on the north and south sides of the garden were probably planted by some one who nho was aas impatient of the growth cf of the boxwood this and the vicissitudes of time no doubt account for the fact that the entire garden la Is not now entirely enc enclosed loed in a solid hedge of boxwood as it was originally this independence day celebration at charlottesville lottes ville Is the climax of the centennial celebration in honor of monroe which IN aich has been arranged arra nied by the memorial previously referred to this commission also had charge of a celebration at en tn the anniversary of Ilon monroes roes birth april 28 of this bear when the famous loit statue of monroe a great figure 11 feet high carved from a solid block of car rara ram marble 33 years ago for the republic of venezuela was as unveiled at ash asli lawn latin tho TW statue was made by Attl lilo new york sculptor by order of president crespo of venezuela following a dispute between england and lene venezuela zuela in alch which president grover cleveland intervened under the monroe doctrine dent crespe had planned to place the statue be fore the capitol in caracas but before it coi cot id ld be sent to south america a revolution overthrew crespos government and he died in jill since tt atiat at time the statue had bad remained in if afe e sculptors studio and it was by accident that mr johns discovered and purchased it to I 1 e erected at it aeh sh L 12 12 1 2 one other long iong delayed honor came to monroe this year A bust of him was one of the four which was unveiled in the hall of fame at new york university last may he ile was the last of tho the early presidents to be thus honored a 2 fact which seems all the more unusual because of his importance in american history monroe has been called one of the most versatile of our presidents the following resume of his varied career will ill indicate what a busy alfeas life nas his ills from the mo years previous to the down to his death on independence day arst I zt one hundred years aeo ago 1774 entered william and mary blary college 1776 I 1 leftenant len tenant in continental army 1780 military tary commissioner from to southern army 17 studied law with jefferson 1782 chosen to the assembly member of the executive council 1783 IT 8 member ember M of the continental congress 1780 Married miss opened law office in fredericksburg 1788 member of virginia convention to ratify the constitution const I 1 tat lo 10 n 1790 united states senator united states minister to france IWO 1799 1802 goi arnor of I V Irgin virglnia la t twice I 1 C e e elected 1803 nister to france spain and angland 1810 chosen to assembly for third time 1811 again chosen governor of virginia resigned 1811 IT cf state under aln million ind also secretary of war aar 1817 president 1821 inaugurated second time i 1821 enunciation of monroe doci A 4 1824 reception to lafayette 4 1825 retired from 0 by western Nw News iDor Daver union |