One day the kids
will thank us, by George!

Robyn’s ’Hood
By Robyn McCloskey

My husband is what you might call a history buff. Fortunately for him we happen to live in Newtown, which prides itself on being steeped in history, mainly because some of the Revolutionary War took place here.
When traversing the main streets of Newtown, you will stumble upon plaque after plaque laying claim that a certain George Washington traversed these same streets. In fact, just a few minutes from our home is Washington Crossing State Park. It is a beautiful park dedicated to memorializing George Washington and his courageous crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas night 1776 to lead his troops to Trenton and a surprise attack on Hessian soldiers, thereby turning the tide of the Revolutionary War.
The park hosts a re-enactment of this historic event every Christmas Day, even though George and his boys did it under the cover of darkness. Apparently the re-enactors need their sleep . . . so much for historical accuracy.
I have heard that the re-enactors consider it an honor to vie for the privilege of portraying Gen. George Washington. Now for a little Washington-Crossing-the-Delaware trivia: George Washington was portrayed for years by the late Jack Kelly, who, you may or may not know, was a rich Philly businessman and the brother of the late Grace Kelly. So all those years, you see, Jack Kelly was crossing the river to celebrate not just the legacy of the father of his country, but also the royal stature of his sister Grace of Monaco, where she became a princess after giving up a charmed career as an actress.
As you see, keeping your balance in a rowboat during such a major historical re-enactment does have its pressures.
We have tried on various Christmases past to take advantage of this living history that occurs just about in our own back yard every year. I’d have to say those years when we did succeed in dragging our kids kicking and screaming from their new Christmas loot were memorable. There’s something to be said for getting away from all the materialism of the day to spend quality time with your family in the great outdoors, watching a bunch of guys dressed as Revolutionary War heroes cross a big creek in boats, doing it the way they think George did it.
While our offspring consider these family outings as borderline abuse, my husband and I like to think we’re building lasting family memories. And it seems to be working, because our children always assure us they will never forget.
When the real George Washington crossed the Delaware, leading a ragtag flotilla of some 2,400 soldiers, he did so in what was known as a Durham boat, made by a company in Durham, Pa. There were lots of Durham boats on that Christmas, filled to capacity with freezing soldiers.
To convey this moment in history with a modicum of accuracy, the re-enactment always used five Durham boats, primarily because that’s all the park could afford. Sadly, one winter while the boats were in storage, a terrible storm destroyed all but one. So these days, instead of five boats crossing all at once, there is one boat that crosses five times. Tedious, I know, but you have to admire their colonial spirit.
Some years of the re-enactment it is so cold that the river freezes, preventing the boat from crossing. Not wanting to disappoint their teeth-rattling spectators, George and his soldiers bravely opt to cross the Scudder Falls Bridge on foot.
Inevitably, it is at this point that someone in the crowd who has imbibed in a little too much Christmas cheer thinks it is hysterical to shout, "Hey, why didn’t he just do that in the first place? Woulda been a whole lot easier!!" or "Good one, dude, c’mere and have some eggnog."
Over the years we have recruited various family members and friends to join us. It’s also good for our kids to see we’re not the only "mean parents" who make their children stand in the freezing cold on Christmas Day to watch a bunch of strangers in funny outfits row a boat from Pennsylvania to New Jersey.
And hopefully they’ll do the same with their kids.
After all, there’s a history lesson here. If George hadn’t crossed the Delaware 231 years ago, there may not be such a thing as PlayStation. ••
Robyn McCloskey’s column appears each week in the Northeast Times. She can be reached at crmccloskey@verizon.net