Valley Forge gears up for Washington’s b-day party
UPPER MERION >> The story goes that in 1778 at Valley Forge, a group of drummers and fifers gathered in front of General George Washington’s quarters to serenade him on his birthday.
Thanks to the folks at Valley Forge National Historical Park and The Culinary Arts Institute of Montgomery County Community College, the tradition will continue in a much grander fashion as the time comes to celebrate Washington’s 288th birthday at the park on Monday, Feb. 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Everyone is invited to join George and Mrs. Washington, members of the Continental Army, and a variety of revelers to create birthday cards, enlist into the Continental Army, get a free slice or cupcake and meet soldiers of the 2nd PA Regiment.
Representing Historic Philadelphia Inc., John Lopes will portray George Washington and Carol Spacht will portray Martha Washington, noted Bob Donnelly, acting chief of interpretation and education.
“The interpretation division takes the lead in planning and organizing this event with other park divisions, park partners, and volunteers,” Donnelly said. “It is a big team effort to pull it off and we could not do it year in and year out without everyone’s help. The event lead this year is Park Guide Dave Lawrence and his assistant lead is Park Guide Steve Walter.”
The park has held the current modern celebration since 2006, but there have been other modern celebrations the past 25 years, “and we can trace 20th century versions of the celebration of Washington’s Birthday back to 1913 when the Boy Scouts would come to the park and conduct a wreath laying ceremony,” Donnelly explained.
“We also have an accounting ledger entry from 1778 (when Washington and the Continental Army were actually encamped at Valley Forge during the American Revolution) where an Army band was hired to play for General Washington on his 46th Birthday at Valley Forge in 1778. Captain Caleb Gibbs, Commandant of the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard, made an entry in the ‘Daily Headquarters Expense Book’ on Washington’s birthday for the participation of Colonel Thomas Proctor’s 4th Continental Artillery Band. The band was paid 15 shillings for their services, hence, it had to be for extra duty, beyond what would have been expected of them.”
The kids really enjoy the “Join the Continental Army” program where they “enlist” in the Army, muster into formation, and then undergo “drilling” with wooden muskets, Donnelly added
“It is a great event, and it is free to the public,” he said. “The event is geared toward families and the kids (and parents) really like coming to the park and making birthday cards for General Washington, which we display in the visitor center. General Washington inspects the “troops” and then everyone is “issued” a free cupcake courtesy of the culinary students of the Montgomery County Community College Culinary Institute. The institute also bakes a cake for the General, using Martha Washington’s recipe (albeit modified), which the General cuts with his sword and pieces of cake are also served to the public, as supplies last.”
Donnelly said his favorite aspect of the event is watching the kids drill on the minigrand parade.
“It is a fun event and everyone gets a big kick out of it, especially the parents,” Donnelly said, adding that the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment will also be at the event, dressed as Continental Soldiers and conducting musket and cannon firing demonstrations, as well as Soldier life programs, at the Muhlenberg Huts (Tour stop # 2).
The cakes are now a tradition that started as an “act of kindness” back in 2014, noted Joe Jacques, The Culinary Arts Institute of Montgomery County Community College lead instructor for baking and pastry arts.
“The school was doing a 50 Acts of Kindness for our 50th anniversary and this was one of the events that was chosen, baking the birthday cake for Washington’s birthday,” he explained.
“We now do it every year, with Martha’s Great Cake, cupcakes, and we also do a celebration cake where Washington comes out and we all sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him and he cuts the cake with a sabre. The cake is served out to all the people visiting. We try to focus on the children and then the adults get cake also.”
The vintage recipe for Martha’s Great Cake is similar to a panettone bread, Jacques said.
“It’s a very rich brioche, buttery bread, with dried fruit, multiple spices, and then it’s iced with royal icing. It’s technically a cake but it’s more of a fruity bread, when you think of it,” he added. “Back in the time period they would have let the icing harden and that would have preserved the cake for several weeks so they could then transport it to wherever General Washington was to serve it to the troops and himself. Now we don’t let it harden because the kids like it a little better if it’s soft.”
The students began baking the cakes that Monday, Jacques said on Thursday afternoon.
“Today we’re icing the cake and we’re also icing about 500 cupcakes. And then we’ll package them on Monday and my class and I will go out to Valley Forge Park and hand out all the cakes to the visitors and kids.”
Grounded in a recurring red, white and blue theme, the patriotic design changes somewhat from year to year, Jacques allowed.
“The students really do control the design. I just make sure that it’s what Valley Forge Park is looking for and that the cake is big enough for the celebration itself. The actual birthday cake, which makes it a big party celebration it’s a 14-inch by six inch cake, which feeds about 100 people, and the cupcakes are a traditional sponge cake recipe — the standard, eggs, butter, sugar, flour. We make it very soft and spongey. The Martha’s cake, which serves about 300 people, is a lot of fun because it shows you the evolution of cake, because it was a bread versus what we think of as a cake.”
The birthday celebration gets bigger every year, Jacques noted.
“We’re lucky this year, as of now, because the weather is supposed to be really nice and whenever it’s nice we usually have a big turnout. We meet in the lower parking lot. As it gets closer to the celebration they cluster the kids in formation up the hill into the upper lot and that’s where we do the celebration out of. It’s all outside … rain, sleet, snow, freezing weather, no matter what it is we celebrate.”