{"id":1995094,"date":"2023-08-09T07:08:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-09T11:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/local-history-lovers-revive-patrick-henrys-legacy-in-his-home-countys-school-library\/"},"modified":"2023-08-09T07:12:48","modified_gmt":"2023-08-09T11:12:48","slug":"local-history-lovers-revive-patrick-henrys-legacy-in-his-home-countys-school-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/local-history-lovers-revive-patrick-henrys-legacy-in-his-home-countys-school-library\/","title":{"rendered":"Local history enthusiasts bring Patrick Henry&#8217;s legacy back to life in the school library of his home county."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flocal-history-lovers-revive-patrick-henrys-legacy-in-his-home-countys-school-library%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1995094&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2>In Hanover County, Virginia, a Local Hero is Remembered<\/h2>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-round-of-schools-ditching-shakespeare-for-promoting-misogyny-racism-and-more\/\" title=\"New Round Of Schools Ditching Shakespeare For Promoting \u2018Misogyny, Racism,\u2019 And More\">school library<\/a>, a historic courthouse, and \u200ca\u2063 county museum,\u200c the people\u2019s \u2063orator is coming back.\u200b It \u200dseems \u200cfitting, \u2063really, \u2063that Patrick Henry \u2014 the man who turned down the national spotlight for his community \u2014 would have the\u2063 spotlight of history shine on him in his own\u200d hometown. In Hanover County, Virginia, a few\u2063 citizens have decided\u200d their local hero\u200b is worth remembering and have \u2063worked to make it happen.<\/p>\n<p>Oscar Walker, a retired engineer and\u2063 historical enthusiast,\u200b has spent the past few months trying to ensure Patrick Henry\u2019s legacy is preserved \u2014 and he recently received\u200c news that his initial work had been successful. A signed copy \u2063of <em>Patrick Henry: Champion of Liberty<\/em> by\u2062 John \u200dKukla would be accepted at the Patrick Henry High School library \u200dfor the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wash-gov-inslee-signs-bill-banning-sports-teams-use-of-native-american-mascots\/\" title=\"Wash. Gov. Inslee signs bill banning sports teams\u2019 use of Native American mascots\">coming school year<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve\u2063 always had \u2064an interest in the local history and \u2064civic affairs locally,\u2064 and I was \u2026 looking for a fresh direction,\u201d Walker said.\u200c <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>At the time, Walker was \u201creading a \u200dlot\u201d \u200band watching the news. Like many citizens, he was\u200c dissatisfied with \u2062what\u2062 he saw: little civil discourse, few efforts at honest persuasion, and politicians who are totally disconnected \u200cfrom the people they serve. Furthermore, the past few years have been full of cultural iconoclasm. The <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/07\/01\/why-we-should-keep-confederate-statues-standing\/\">destruction of\u200c statues<\/a> is a symptom of <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2019\/06\/19\/americans-gobble-history-books-colleges-shut-history-departments\/\">historical ignorance<\/a> \u200c that finds its \u200broot in our classrooms. Teachers, meanwhile, continue to push the\u200b boundaries of what is acceptable for children to study, from <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/05\/24\/bob-woodson-on-rejecting-the-lefts-race-obsessed-revisionist-history\/\">racist \u2064views<\/a> of history to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/05\/31\/biden-education-bureaucrats-overrule-georgia-parents-to-protect-porn-in-schools\/\">pornography<\/a>. Parents began noticing these trends during \u200dCovid as their children learned \u2063\u201csocial studies\u201d at\u200d home, \u2064but communities remained disconnected from their\u200d historical roots.\u200b <\/p>\n<p>Walker\u2019s frustration left him\u200c wondering what he could do,\u2062 but in \u2064the meantime, he \u2062kept reading. That would\u2064 turn out to be\u2062 exactly the catalyst he needed.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cA young attorney recommended I read \u2062a book on Patrick\u2064 Henry, and I was \u2064familiar \u2014 had participated in the reenactment\u2064 of Parson\u2019s Cause\u2062 [Henry\u2019s defining colonial right legal case] \u2063as \u200ba jurist spectator in the St John\u2019s Church,\u201d Walker said. The Parson\u2019s\u2062 Cause Foundation reenacts the case that preceded the American Revolution and launched \u200cHenry\u2019s political career at the Hanover Courthouse and historic St. John\u2019s Church throughout the\u200b year.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The first time Walker \u2064read Kukla\u2019s book, he was \u201crefreshed\u201d and decided to dedicate\u2062 his \u200dnewfound energy to more visibility for Hanover\u2019s local\u200b Founding Father. Around the same time,\u200d school boards across the country were fighting parents over school library content and curriculum. Those \u2064two events converged in a unique way for \u200cWalker.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere in Virginia, \u200ba lot \u200dof people have lost \u2062sight\u2062 of the fact that our \u200cstate was kind of the \u2064granddaddy of the 13, and the teaching\u2062 of history had been on a\u200b decline. \u2026 I went to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jordan-warns-wray-produce-docs-on-fbi-bullying-of-catholics-and-concerned-parents-or-be-held-in-contempt\/\" title=\"Jordan warns Wray: Hand over docs on FBI bullying of Catholics and parents or face contempt.\">school board \u2064meetings<\/a>, and what\u200d I\u200b discovered is that an\u200d uneducated population can be fooled,\u201d Walker \u200csaid. \u201cWhy are our \u200ckids not getting this? We\u2019ve \u2064got plenty of role models,\u2063 but\u200b they\u2019re not\u2064 worthy of really following. The more I looked at it, we\u2019re sitting here where our \u2063nation \u200dwas\u2062 birthed, we \u2064have \u2063a great story that needs to be \u2064told.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Walker decided it was time to contact John Axselle, then the chair of the school board, to see what he \u2063could do to bring Patrick \u2063Henry back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOscar made me aware\u200d because generally \u2064people in my\u2063 position are not\u200b made aware of\u2063 any individual book,\u201d\u200c Axselle\u200c said. \u2062\u201cThe board was having an \u200bissue at the time where we were \u200bfinding \u2063books that we \u2064didn\u2019t\u2063 care for because\u2063 of\u2063 pornographic material, so Oscar\u2019s \u2064coming to me\u200d was\u200d the perfect time because we\u2062 were already \u200cfocused on \u200bbooks in the library.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Walker\u2062 and Axselle worked together \u2064to see if \u2064the local schools\u200b had any copies of the \u200bPatrick Henry biography.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGuess\u2064 what? Not one copy,\u201d Walker said.<\/p>\n<p>Walker \u2063took time to meet with the author, get a signed copy of the book, and \u2062contact a \u2063few others who would be interested in \u200chelping him.\u2064 Once he was ready, he and Axselle put the question to the board: \u200cCan we approve this book?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn \u200bone week (which is absolutely a miracle with \u2063government),\u200c the people \u2064came back and said we\u2019d \u200bvetted the author, we\u2019ve\u200c vetted \u2064the \u200cbook, and we\u2019d be happy to receive it,\u201d Walker said.<\/p>\n<p>In late June, Walker\u2062 and Axselle put together a presentation event. It was simple and even a bit rushed, but they \u200dfound that people were eager to come together to \u200bsupport kids learning more about history. The superintendent of schools attended and offered remarks; representatives from various schools and boards across the county were \u200cin attendance, and students and alumni from Patrick Henry High School spoke about how much this meant to them.<\/p>\n<p>Chance Toliver,\u2062 a\u200c current student, was drawn to Henry out of his love for history and his Christian faith. Toliver stressed \u2062how much\u2064 his classmates needed an \u2064honest view\u2063 of history.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHistory now is being reworded to kind \u2062of fit the agenda or \u200cthe curriculum, not to offend people but to censor more; \u200cnot to tell all stories\u200b and all sides and let \u200dpeople make their own\u200d judgments,\u201d Toliver said. \u201cIn <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/despite-insistence-by-democrat-politicians-and-medical-elites-empirical-evidence-does-not-conclusively-show-that-masks-reduce-the-spread-of-covid\/\" title=\"Despite Insistence by Democrat Politicians and Medical Elites, Empirical Evidence DOES NOT Conclusively Show that Masks Reduce the Spread of COVID\">high school<\/a>, your brain develops and \u200cyou\u2019re more involved in politics, voting,\u2064 and social\u2064 media. People are\u200d starting to get phones \u2062and develop opinions, politics get \u2063brought up in school\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Toliver said he loves\u2063 his school and teachers, and he\u2019s excited about the addition of apolitical \u200dhistorical accounts \u2063in the library.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt \u2064doesn\u2019t have to be either side, just \u2063learning the information and how to tell what is\u2062 real,\u201d Toliver said.<\/p>\n<p>His sentiment was shared by Travis Rector, a graduate of Patrick\u2064 Henry High School.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s not enough time spent reflecting \u200don the Founding Fathers in general in high\u200d school education,\u201d Rector said. \u201cThere\u2062 needs to be more awareness of what these men were giving up, there\u2019s a lot of things they sacrificed \u200bin order to pursue\u2064 liberty for everyone. We\u2019ve got to\u200d remember \u200bthat in this day and age where we \u2064get so comfortable and complacent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Those involved in the library endeavor are \u200bpleased with the outcome but say it\u2019s\u2064 not enough. \u2064When asked how this\u2062 historical effort \u200bwould continue, they said the community is coming together to do\u200c more already. Especially with Hanover County\u2019s 2020 \u2064tricentennial, its residents have a \u200crenewed focus on their community\u2019s place in history. Walker spoke highly of the \u200dnew director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hanovercounty.gov\/1093\/Museum\">Hanover County \u2062Museum<\/a>, and Rector and Axselle both emphasized \u2064the <a href=\"https:\/\/parsonscause.org\/the-foundation\">Parson\u2019s\u200b Cause Foundation<\/a>, which is dedicated to the remembrance of Patrick Henry\u2019s\u200d work\u2062 and\u2063 oration partly \u200bthrough its Parson\u2019s Cause reenactment.<\/p>\n<p>No one from\u2064 the museum or \u2064Parson\u2019s Cause\u200d Foundation offered\u200c comment. The\u2062 foundation\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/parsonscause.org\/the-foundation\">website<\/a>, however, says it is\u200d dedicated to \u200b\u201cpromoting \u2064the \u2062historical\u200c importance of The Parsons\u2019 Cause Trial \u200d\u2026 producing the Parsons\u2019 Cause reenactment \u2026 and enhancing the public\u2019s awareness \u2064of persons and events relevant to the history of the\u200c United\u200d States of America in general and the Commonwealth of Virginia in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Walker believes all of his community\u2019s efforts center on one thing: memory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne\u2062 mentor suggested if \u2063you want to make something \u200blasting\u200c then you have to memorialize or memorize it. \u2064So that is the next chapter,\u201d \u2064Walker said. \u201cFor\u200d those who want to get involved in something in their community,\u200b look for\u200d one \u200cperson\u200c in \u2062your\u200c local history that people can\u200b identify with.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Over the next few\u2064 years, Hanover County will celebrate the anniversaries \u2064of significant events in the founding \u2064of \u2063our nation. If Walker, the Parson\u2019s\u200b Cause Foundation, and Hanover schools are successful, \u2062they will also celebrate \u200bPatrick Henry \u200cand his\u200c incredible persuasive \u2063leadership.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>historic courthouse, county museum, and school library eagerly await the return of Patrick Henry, the people&#8217;s orator. It is only fitting that this man, who prioritized his community over national fame, now receives the spotlight of history in his hometown of Hanover County, Virginia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2057,"featured_media":1995095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1995094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1995094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2057"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1995094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1995094\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1995095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1995094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1995094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1995094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}