Grand Haven Daily Tribune  February 22, 1906

Washington’s Birthday.

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BY DAVID FLETCHER HUNTON.

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Now let us sing of Washington,

The father of the free;

Who fought for freedom’s holy cause

And gave us liberty.

Aye, let us think of him today—

Our nation’s honored son:

The hero of a hundred fields—

Our own George Washington.

We think of him at Valley Forge,

As oft in earnest prayer,

For all his hungry, half clad men,

Around the camp fires there.

We think of him as “First in War.”

The ‘First in Peace”—and then—

The first enshrined within the hearts

Of all his countrymen.

We think of him as President—

A King without a crown;

The first to guide our Ship of State,

To greatness, and renown.

High-high upon the roll of fame,

We see the name he won;

The honored, cherished, heart-dear name

Of our George Washington.

That name, in all the years to come,

Will on history’s page,

The best beloved American—

The no’blest of the age.

Grand Haven, Mich., Feb. 22, 1906