APRIL 13
April 13 was just another day on the calendar. It had no significance. Most dates have no relevance or importance except birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, or some memorable event. As life marches on, dates of note are added to the mix and some are deleted in the ebb and flow.
It was not until my acceptance to the University of Virginia, walking its hallowed columns, appreciating the grandeur of the Lawn, the educational component, and the general experiences of college life (fraternity, sports, parties, friends, etc.) that the date took on meaning. But it was a process that evolved over time and became more important and meaningful as the years passed, after I graduated and could say I had achieved that distinct honor as penned in James Hay, Jr.’s poem, The Honor Men, “I have worn the honors of Honors. I graduated from Virginia.” I acknowledge my days at Virginia were those when it was for all purposes all men and we wore coat and tie. Times have changed.
Yes, the date. It is the birthdate of the founder of the University, Thomas Jefferson, April 13, 1743. He is a controversial figure to say the least. He is flawed, but I found and find him fascinating, amazing and provocative. He seems to have had an opinion on everything and anything. His interests and talents were boundless. I wonder if there is anyone in history more often quoted. Hank Burchard, a Washington Post reporter, described him as “our polymath Founding Father.”
As I became more settled and life became more routine and patterned, I began reading about Mr. Jefferson. I read articles. I read John Meacham’s book, Thomas Jefferson, The Art of Power. I read Joseph J. Ellis’s books, American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson and Founding Brothers. I readily confess that volumes have been written about this perplexing personality. I have not even touched the surface.
I felt Jefferson’s position on slavery had been distorted, particularly when present day standards were used to judge him. Gordon Wood, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian from Brown University, argued that “he was a man of his time. Let’s not ask him to be something that he wasn’t.” So I read a host of articles on this one topic and ended up writing an article about him and slavery, concluding that I could not do justice to him or the subject in a few pages. My admiration was not diminished while I accepted his limitations.
In 1943, the Jefferson Memorial was dedicated on the 200th anniversary of his birth. On April 13, 1976, the $2 bill was re-introduced as a Federal Reserve Note as part of the U.S.A.’s Bicentennial celebration. Notably, the picture on the Note is Thomas Jefferson.
On April 13, 1965, the Beatles’ song, “Help,” was released: “Help, I need somebody Help, not just anybody….”
The University and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello join together to present the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals on his birthday to recognize achievements of those who embrace endeavors in which Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and the third U.S. president, excelled and held in high regard. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals in Architecture, Law, Citizen Leadership, and Global Innovation are the highest external honors bestowed by the University. It does not award honorary degrees. The University plants a tree in celebration of a member of the UVA community, who has made significant, lasting contributions to University life. Other events include volunteering in one’s community.
All these worked in making April 13 a meaningful day for me. I celebrated, if in no other manner, than by recalling the words and wisdom of Mr. Jefferson, the great institution he founded, my days in Charlottesville, and the impact it has had on my life since.
My first cousin, the daughter of my uncle, my mother’s brother, was born on April 13. For many years and to the present, I have teased her about sharing her birthday with Jefferson. She should be honored.
Yet, April 13 has not always been marked by happy events. In 2014, s gunman killed three people at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City in Overland Park and the Village Shalom Retirement Community Center in Leawood, Kansas.
It was on this day in 1945 that the American Army brought the citizens of Weimar, Germany to Buchenwald, the infamous concentration camp, so they could witness the atrocities the Nazis had committed. In his book, KL, A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps, Nikolaus Wachsmann describes a day in Buchenwald, “…Food was only handed out at irregular intervals…persistent water shortages caused terrible dehydration…men could not wash…stench became unbearable… prisoners suffered from infections, including frozen limbs….” This camp was one of several in which my father was a prisoner.
I recently heard that the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington was organizing an Atlanta mission to the Museum, including a special behind-the-scenes tour. My partner, who had never been to the Museum, encouraged me to participate. I had visited the Museum several times, so I was not that interested, but she persisted so we both signed up for this mission. I also made arrangements to do a search on my parents’ and relatives’ experiences during the Holocaust.
To my surprise, we located my parents’ marriage certificate. I knew that they met after the war in a displaced persons camp in Landsberg, Germany, and were married there before they immigrated to the U.S. Yet, I never recalled them ever celebrating their anniversary nor ever mentioning the date of their marriage. And here it was! The Heiratsurkunde. I stared at it in somewhat disbelief. My parents of blessed memory were married on April 13, 1946.
The US Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Jefferson Memorial are an eleven minute walk from one another. On the north portico of the Memorial are these words of Jefferson:
“Almighty God hath created the mind free.
All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens…are a departure from the plan of the holy Author of our religion…
No man shall be compelled to frequent or support religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain their opinions in matters of religion.
I know but one code of morality for men whether acting singly or collectively.”
And so, I have come full circle.
stan m lefco oct 13 2019