2025 marks the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Greater Washington Area Historical Society in Washington Township. To honor this occasion, we'll take a look at the photo above and its significance.
The picture is of James Holcomb holding a gavel. When the historical society formed in April 1975, he became its first president. The article "New Washington Historical Society Has Reversal in Nation's History" by Romeo Observer News Editor John P. McPartlin discussed the meaning of both having James as president and the item in question in the May 8, 1975 issue.
According to the story, James - a chemist at Parke-Davis company - and his family moved "into their century old octagon-shaped Mount Vernon home a little over two years ago from Harrison Township."
The significance of getting a man from Mount Vernon to be the president of a historical society located in Washington was not lost on McPartlin. He stated, "The first president of the United States, George Washington, retired to Mount Vernon after serving his presidency. In Washington Township, the historical society went to Mount Vernon to get its first society president."
This was the reversal that the article title was referring to.
As for the gavel, charter programming member Mrs. Donald Kelley presented it to James to use at their meetings at the charter night when the newly elected officers were installed. It had an unusual background. The wood actually came from the White House itself. In 1948, after Harry S. Truman won the presidential election, a structural inspection of the White House was conducted. His advisors "found the old mansion to be dangerously weakened and the president ordered that the building be re-inforced."
This meant numbering and removing the interior of the presidential home as well as excavating the basement and positioning it with steel beams. Truman would end up serving all but ten months of his four-year term in the Blair House - the residence for visiting dignitaries, while the White House was being repaired.
Mrs. Kelley explained, "The government decided to sell the best pieces of wood which were taken from the building. At this time, I purchased a piece of wood which had been extracted from the foundation of the Blue Room. Later I had it made into a gavel."
Kelley added, "There is nowhere I would rather present this than to our first president, Mr. Holcomb, in the beautifully restored Octagon House in Washington."
The Loren Andrus Octagon House went through some repairs just like the White House did over 25 years prior.
James Holcomb remained president of the Greater Washington Area Historical Society until 2023 when he stepped down. Today, he is the treasurer of that organization. Meanwhile, the gavel remains in the hands of the historical society.
Happy Anniversary, Greater Washington Area Historical Society! Here's to another 50 years.
To discover more about the history of the Greater Washington Area Historical Society, you can contact the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org and/or check out the Washington Historical Museum. The latter is open 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the Month from June through November.
Images and sources courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives; Melvin E. and Joan D. Bleich Collection, The Romeo Observer, May 8, 1975, p. 1-C and Greater Washington Area Historical Society