By: Taylor Rigney
Displayed in the school library freshly hung painting of George Washington. Oak Grove was fortunate enough to be one of the select schools to receive reproductions of the famous painting of Washington given out by the Mount Vernon Ladies Association.
In 2004, Mr. Sutton, OGHS U.S. History teacher, was lucky enough to be accepted to attend Mount Vernon’s prestigious George Washington Teacher Institute, a highly competitive program that brings teachers from thirteen different states to Mount Vernon for a week during the summer, where they study George Washington’s life and accomplishments and get the chance to live on the grounds of Washington’s estate.
Being an alumnus of this program, Mr. Sutton received notification from the Mount Vernon Institute that, to commemorate George Washington’s character and achievements, it would be offering free limited-edition framed replicas of Rembrandt Peale’s Porthole Portrait of George Washington to schools that completed and sent in a school administrator’s request letter. Mr. Jeff Vanderheiden, OGHS Assistant Principal, wrote a letter to the Mount Vernon Institute, explaining why Oak Grove would make a good candidate to receive the painting, and later the school received notification that it had been selected to receive a copy. So far, about 7,000 schools across the country have requested to receive a 30” x 36” copy of the portrait.
In addition to the portrait of George Washington, Oak Grove received an American flag that has actually been flown over Washington’s home of Mount Vernon. Both the flag and painting are to be put on display in the high school library.
On February 22, the OGHS Historical Society will be sponsoring a reception to formally dedicate the portrait and flag to the school. School board members, as well as local business owners who have made contributions to the Historical Society, are expected to attend the reception.
