Washington Monument: Undressed; Notes

      A couple of years ago, the Minister of Latin American Affairs experienced a rare occurance : an earthquake in Washington,DC.  It shook the Washington Monument, and loosened a few stones on the 550' tower's facade.   Rappelling inspectors recommended a redo of the stonework which has just been completed.  The surrounding scaffolding is in the process of being removed, restoring the view familiar to so many Americans, especially those living and working around the White House.  The monument is a stone's throw from the OAS building on 22nd St. NW.  The blinking red lights at the summit of the monument continue to guide pilots on approach to Reagan Airport.

Research Approved

      While in DC, the Mayor sought some genealogical information and decided to check the National Archives.   Why the Archive?  Well, they hold the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Articles of Confederation, the original Amendments to the Constitution, a few treaties, a few documents ending wars of all sorts, and many more.  The Mayor figured a little immigration facts could be found.   In no time I was directed to the Archive Research Center around the corner from the main entrance.  Upon entering, it became evident that the staff takes its job seriously.   No one is allowed to begin looking for any document without providing: identification, certification(requires an info session on the org. terminal) and a photo ID necessary for presentation before entering the secure area of the building.   This process takes less than an hour and is not a problem at this time of year-not a lot of students running through the building.   After all was said and done, I was issued the researcher's ID- the federal standard for Archival access to the national treasures on file.   The ID is good for 1 year from date of issue and is renewable.   Cost: free(included in your taxes.
    Now that I'm officially a researcher, I'll be looking for more information to aid the Tahoma administrators and El Dorado County officials.   You're welcome.