It isn’t every day a Fredonia student is invited to the White House, much less two. But this was recently the case for senior History major Charles Johnson and alumnus Jordan Nicholson ’13, who majored in Social Studies.
As a public history intern at the McClurg Museum in Westfield this semester, Johnson has had the opportunity to see the national impact of local history. He has been digitizing the letters and papers of Naval Cmdr. William Barker Cushing, a Civil War hero best known for sinking the Confederate ironclad Albemarle.
Cushing, the subject of a recent book by History Professor Emeritus Julian McQuiston, was one of Fredonia’s Cushing brothers, who are well known for their military exploits. A descendant of the Cushings provided the museum with funds for the digitization project. Cushing’s brother, Alonzo, recently received the Medal of Honor for his heroism at Gettysburg, and John Paul Wolfe, the McClurg curator, was instrumental in locating the closest relative to accept this medal.
As a result, both Wolfe and Johnson were invited to the White House ceremony on Nov. 6; unfortunately, due to the cost and short notice, Johnson was unable to attend. Nicholson, however, was able to attend the ceremony. As a member of U.S. Senator Charles Schumer’s staff, Nicholson also played a key role in making this ceremony happen. Schumer’s office was able to convince the Pentagon that the descendant located by Wolfe was Cushing’s closest living relative, so the ceremony could occur.
