Just added my little Golden Egg tale to Liz's (Brambleberry Cottage) Time Travel Thursday...♥
Wishing everyone a glorious Easter!
(If you have been following my antique postcards (previous post), there are a few new Gnomes...I think the one on the rooster is really spectacular ~ makes me want to do a painting of him!)
♥ ♥ ♥
Do you have a favorite Easter Egg Hunt memory? Mine was from 1964; I was 6 years old, and it was a Methodist Sunday School egg hunt...the Saturday before Easter, in the town's park.
I was shy and didn't hunt agressively like a lot of the other children...I only had a few...and then, of all things, another little girl came up to me and said she hadn't found any, and would I share mine with her?....
Well, Good Grief...I didn't know what to think ~ (no, that's not right ~ I thought ~ "Go find your own, I don't have many, either!"), but, sweet Southern-Belle-in-the-Making (my daughters will laugh) ME, I SHARED, gave her half...now, I might have felt a surge of pride in myself for doing that, but then, I just felt like crap. I was doing poorly anyway, and I had just given away TWO of my four pitiful eggs!
Then ~ I almost couldn't believe it ~ there, right in front of me in a clump of grass, was a
GOLDEN EGG!
Oh, my goodness...I can still remember the heart-pounding giddiness of it all...I don't remember how many more eggs I found (oh, back then, even though there were plastic eggs, egg hunts were always done with REAL, hard-boiled eggs...which we later ate...with no negative effects, that I remember!)...But it didn't matter ~ I had found one of THE eggs, and I was secure in that knowledge...;^)
The prize for finding that special egg was one of the brand new, hard-to-come-by, John F.Kennedy silver half dollars...
This is what Wikipedia says about the Kennedy half at that time...
Within hours of the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, Mint Director Eva Adams called Chief Engraver Gilroy Roberts, informing him that serious consideration was being given to depicting Kennedy on one of the larger silver coins: either the silver dollar, half dollar, or quarter dollar. Adams called Roberts again on November 27 and authorized the project, stating that the late president's widow, Jacqueline Kennedy preferred that he be depicted on the half dollar,[1] replacing the previous design of Benjamin Franklin.[2] Kennedy's reasoning was that she did not want to replace George Washington on the quarter.[1][3]
In the interest of time (the striking of the new coin was to begin in January 1964), Roberts modified the existing bust of Kennedy he had created for use on the Kennedy medal in the Mint's Presidential series, while Frank Gasparro began modifications to the reverse he had created for the same medal.[1] Both Roberts' and Gasparro's designs had been approved by Kennedy.[1] After the Mint produced trial strikes, Jacqueline and Robert Kennedy were invited to view them.[1] Mrs. Kennedy viewed the designs favorably, but suggested that the hair be altered slightly.[1] It was also suggested that a full or half figure of the president be used instead of the profile, but Roberts noted that there was not enough time to produce an entirely new design because of the project's time constraints, and also that he believed the left profile would give a more attractive appearance.[1]
Congressional approval was required for any design change within 25 years of the last.[2] In early December, Representative Henry Gonzalez (Democrat-Texas) introduced a bill for Kennedy to appear on the half dollar.[4] On December 10, the new President, Lyndon Johnson, endorsed the call for a Kennedy half dollar, asking Congress to pass the legislation promptly to allow striking of the new piece to begin early in 1964. President Johnson stated that he had been moved by letters from many members of the public to agree with the plan.[5] The bill to authorize the Kennedy half dollar passed on December 30, 1963.[6] Work was already underway on coinage dies; the use of the already-available designs allowed for the completion of the first dies on January 2, 1964.[3] Only proof coins were initially struck.[7] The first Kennedy half dollars intended for circulation were struck at the Denver Mint on January 30, 1964, followed by the Philadelphia Mint the next week.[1] A ceremonial first strike was held at both Philadelphia and Denver on February 11, 1964.[8]
The coins vanished from circulation soon after their release in April 1964 due to collectors, hoarders, and those interested in a memento of the late president.
I didn't know until I looked this up that it was such a prize, really.
I wish I had kept that particular coin, but my Grandpa got in the habit of giving them to me, as well, and they all were put together.
One more thing...
Our Dogwoods bloomed extra-early this year, due to the warm temperatures...
(the Dogwood-Azalea Festival in Charleston, Missouri (just down the road) is not for another couple of weeks...I feel bad for them that the "show" is over... but the celebration goes on!... I will be there, painting faces...) ~ here are a couple of photos from 10 days or so ago...
(I didn't get any photos of the azaleas here, but they were spectacular, as usual ~ just short-lived because of the warm weather...)
And, whether the stature of the Dogwood tree has truly changed or not, I love this bit of folklore...
"The Legend of the Dogwood Tree"
An old and beautiful legend has it that, at the time of the Crucifixion, the dogwood was comparable in size to the oak tree and other monarchs of the forest. Because of its firmness and strength it was selected as the timber for the cross, but to be put to such a cruel use greatly distressed the tree. Sensing this, the Crucified Jesus in his gentle pity for the sorrow and suffering of all said to it, "Because of your sorrow and pity for My suffering, never again will the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used as a gibbet. Henceforth it will be slender, bent and twisted and its blossoms will be in the form of a cross - two long and two short petals. In the center of the outer edge of each petal there will be nail prints - brown with rust and stained with red - and in the center of the flower will be a crown of thorns, and all who see this will remember."
Hope you all have delightful memories of Easters past!
Have a wonderful day...♥
♥ ♥ ♥
Anne♥
0 comments:
Post a Comment