Back in the day, the United States used to mark the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln (February 12th) and President George Washington (February 22nd) as two separate events. In fact, it was only Washington’s birth that was celebrated as a federal holiday, starting in 1879, and it was on his actual birth date of the 22nd. In 1971, it was made a floating holiday, marked on the third Monday of February. Now the day is most commonly known as Presidents’ Day and is taken to be a combination of George and Abe’s birthday. The newspaper clipping on the left shows a student in the Mount Sinai Hospital School of Nursing 60 years ago reading a book about George Washington to a group of pediatric patients. The student’s name is Frances Klepadlo, and she was in the Class of 1954. (The nurse on the far left is also a Mount Sinai graduate, as is evidenced by her distinctive cap.) Ms. Klepadlo recently sent an old operating room nurse’s uniform from her student days to the Mount Sinai Archives to be preserved, along with this clipping. The timing worked out perfectly for us to share it with you in honor of George Washington’s official birthday. Happy Birthday, Mr. President!
On February 27th, the Levy Library will be closing at 10:50 PM, due to construction. There will be demolition work on the 12th floor starting at 11pm. Regular hours will resume Friday, February 28th at 7:30 am. Apologies for any inconveniences!