One of Mount Vernon's most cherished traditions began during the Second World War. Wall was able to report in the spring of 1943 that 1,200 pounds of rubber and several loads of scrap metal had been salvaged, the heating plant was converted from oil to coal, and the "use of automotive equipment has been rigidly restricted." In order to provide food for the employees, production of fruits and vegetables was increased in what was known as the Kitchen Garden (now the Lower Garden), as well as in an "auxiliary garden" on the estate, and field crops (wheat, oats, rye, and hay) were cultivated for the first time in years. Mount Vernon staff tried to help the war effort as much as they could. Between January and March of 1943, the government ordered a ban on pleasure driving, further hurting the number of visitors. Sightseeing buses were withdrawn from service in June of 1942, and shortly after taxis in the city of Washington were limited to a radius that prohibited them from coming as far as Mount Vernon. Gasoline rationing, a shortage of rubber for tires, and travel restrictions instituted by the government were all important factors contributing to the loss of visitation and revenue. Most of these people were local residents, either living or working around the area. Between May of 1943 and the same month in 1944, only 131,992 paying visitors came through the gates. In June of 1943, the number of paying visitors was 97% lower than the average for the five previous years-July of 1943 was 93% lower. By late 1942 and early 1943, the Association's income had dropped by 75%, reflecting a paid attendance of only 197,735 people, the lowest level since 1918-1919. With the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December's attendance dropped 7% from the same month in the previous year, while the decline in January was 22%, 43% in February, 40% in March, and in April 67%. Those figures, however, hid an important fact-between May of 1941 and December of the same year, attendance had been up and was setting new records. Between May of 1941 and May of 1942, there were 765,000 paid admissions, plus an unrecorded number of service members who were admitted for free. One of the biggest problems during the war was a sudden and long-lasting drop in attendance for the first time since the Great Depression. As an additional precaution, copies of the measured drawings of the mansion "were sent to a depository in the middle west" and the original drawings of the mansion plan were "stored in steel fireproof filing cases in the Archives Building which is fireproofed." 2 Except for two rooms, the rest of the furniture on the third floor of the mansion was removed to a storage area.Ī prioritized list was prepared of the Washington memorabilia in the collection, so that objects could be moved quickly to the storage facility from the mansion or museum in case it was necessary. Steps were taken to protect the collections as well. In addition, air raid precautions were quickly adopted. The day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, two new night watchmen were added to the staff and the frequency of security patrols was doubled. We are too far in the country to be endangered by an attack having the National Capital as its target." 1ĭespite the reassurance, a number of actions were taken almost immediately to increase security on the estate. Wall explained that the "Bombing of Mount Vernon seems a very remote possibility. Although Mount Vernon was near Washington, D.C., which was considered a prime target for attack during World War II, Mount Vernon's Superintendent Charles Cecil Wall tried early on to calm the fears of his governing board, the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.
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