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Nina Wasserman, education and programs associate at Philipse Manor, said that every year the Manor hosts an event for Presidents Day as a chance to honor the U.S. government and the influence the men elected as presidents have accomplished.
“In Yonkers, especially, we really see the influence,” Wasserman said. “Abraham Lincoln himself wrote a letter to the city during the Civil War thanking them for contributing troops and supplies.”
George Washington passed through Yonkers during the Revolutionary War, while Theodore Roosevelt had many speaking engagements in the city. Roosevelt High School in Yonkers is named after the former president.
Children had the opportunity to take a quiz on the presidents and take part in a scavenger hunt of presidential portraits to learn more about each one.
Wasserman said that Presidents Day is important for the whole country, but with the history of presidential activity in Yonkers, the day has even more meaning.
“Maybe people learned something new and will come back to visit us,” Wasserman said. “There are a lot of different facets of history in Yonkers spanning from the colonial period to industrialization. There are lots to tell about our own city.”
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