Dena Horton, the Southwest Washington Outreach Director for U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, presents the city of Centralia with a U.S. flag that was flown over the nation's Capitol last August on the 200th birthday of Centralia founder George Washington. The flag was given to the city on behalf of Sen. Cantwell at the unveiling of Centralia's statue of its founders on Aug. 11.
Esther Hall Mumford of Seattle, author of a 1990 children's book about George Washington called "The Man Who Founded a Town," poses with the new statue of Centralia founders George and Mary Jane Washington moments after it was unveiled on Aug. 11.
Attendees gather around Centralia's new George and Mary Jane Washington statue for a group photo as clouds clear and the sun shines on Aug. 11 at a party ending Centralia's bicentennial celebration for the African-American pioneer George Washington.
Centralia welcomed visitors from throughout the Pacific Northwest on Aug. 11 to dedicate a new bronze statue of the city’s founders, the African-American pioneers George and Mary Jane Washington.
Hundreds of people attended a party in George Washington Park that concluded the city’s year-long 200th birthday celebration of the park’s namesake, who founded the town with his wife, Mary Jane, in 1875.
Despite occasional downpours, spirits were undampened and enthusiasm was on full display throughout the day’s festivities.
“It was wonderful and the heavens opened to help us celebrate. Thanks for helping us celebrate the Washingtons,” said Versa Alexander, a retired school counselor from Tacoma who attended.
The day began with a 5K fun run sponsored by Life Center Church on a route designed to approximate the boundaries of Washington’s original 1850s homestead.
By mid-morning, visitors were streaming into the city’s central park, which Washington donated to the city he founded. A Tacoma-based a capella group, The Gospel Echoes, provided music for the day, including their own arrangement of Washington’s favorite hymn, “Salem’s Bright King.”
The event included the debut of a new 200-page biography of Washington, titled “George Washington of Centralia.” Every dollar received for the book was donated to a new scholarship at Centralia College created this year in honor of George and Mary Jane Washington. Copies of the book are available at the Lewis County Historical Museum.
Life Center Church also donated the proceeds from its 5K run to the scholarship. The first recipient of the annually endowed scholarship, Centralia College nursing student Piper Schofield, was present at the event
Attendees at the party enjoyed free pulled pork sandwiches and shaved ice. Kids were able to play in two bounce houses.
Bicentennial volunteer John Martin manned a table where a special George Washington commemorative postmark was available. The unique postmark will be available at the Centralia Post Office until Sept. 10.
For the second year, prizes were given to young elementary school students as part of a George Washington coloring contest and ongoing “George Washington in the Schools” project. There was also a station set up for children to color a special sheet that local illustrator Sara Light-Waller developed for the occasion.
The highlight of the day was the dramatic unveiling of the statue on a bench alongside Pearl Street, which was covered with a thick cloth until that moment.
At 1 p.m. on Aug. 11, just as the day’s torrential downpour ceased, the covering on the statue was lifted. Dignitaries including Centralia Mayor Lee Coumbs, former Mayor Bonnie Canaday, city councilor Joyce Barnes, statue sculptor Jim Stafford, a representative of U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, and state Sen. John Braun pulled on a rope attached to a pulley on a Riverside Fire Authority truck ladder. The statue was unveiled just as the sun emerged from the clouds.
KNKX public radio host Ed Ronco covered the event for a story that will air this Thursday afternoon when the station broadcasts its “All Things Considered” program live from Chehalis. In a recent podcast, he described the statue unveiling.
“It was very dramatic,” Ronco said. “People pulled on the cord. The drop cloth came off in the pouring rain. The rain stopped as soon as the drop cloth came off, which was very neat. The crowd cheered and oohed and ahhed and everybody got their first look at the new statue.”
Attendees were invited to visit the George Washington Museum created over the past year at the Centralia Downtown Association’s office at 328 N. Tower Ave.
Others visited Washington Lawn Cemetery, where Washington and his family are buried. One African-American couple who attended from Seattle said they were drenched by rainfall as they walked to the park, and that residents of a home along the way invited them in, giving them refreshments and drying their clothes until the poor weather passed.
This was the second year that Centralia partied on the weekend before Washington’s Aug. 15 birthday, led by the George Washington Bicentennial Committee. Plans are already underway to officially make the event an annual “Founder’s Day” celebration, organized by the Centralia Downtown Association.
Colleen Stewart, a lifelong Centralia resident, said she has deeply appreciated the yearlong focus on the life and legacy of Centralia’s founder.
“The George Washington statue brought a fresh breath of air to our city,” she said. “I love it. It brings a note of hope and what we can be as a nation!”
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Brian Mittge was asked to serve as chair of the all-volunteer George Washington Bicentennial Committee when it was formed in January of 2017. He can be reached at brianmittge@hotmail.com.
