Monmouth College student Patrick McGuire poses with famed Washington historical interpreter William Sommerfield at Mount Vernon last summer.

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MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth College senior Patrick McGuire will deliver a talk entitled “George Washington: Pioneer Farmer,” on Feb. 11 at 3:30 p.m. in the Barnes Electronic Classroom, which is located on the lower level of the college’s Hewes Library.

The talk is free and open to the public.

McGuire, a history major from Hickory Hills, spent 10 weeks last summer as an intern at Mount Vernon, Washington’s landmark home and plantation in eastern Virginia. There, he was introduced to George Washington, farmer extraordinaire.

“He much rather wanted to be remembered as a farmer than anything else,” said McGuire, who was a “historical interpreter” at the home’s Pioneer Farm site, describing Washington’s role in late 18th-century agriculture to as many as 1,200 visitors per day.

As one of five interns, McGuire lived on the estate in guest quarters. There were 20 other employees at the farm site, and about 400 workers in all at Mount Vernon.

McGuire plans to be a teacher, and his internship only strengthened his belief that some learning needs to be done outside the textbook and, preferably, outside the classroom, as well.

“You can sit in a classroom and tell students these things, but it’s so much more valuable to actually experience it,” he said. “For example, I got to see letters he wrote to Martha.”

To earn academic credit for his experience, McGuire did a research project on Washington and his farm equipment.

“I loved it,” McGuire concluded. “It’s something I wish everyone could experience. It was the greatest summer I’ve ever had.”

Released by the Office of College Communications
Barry McNamara, Associate Director of College Communications
Phone: 309-457-2117
Fax: 309-457-2330