Tea at the Marshall House

     One of my favorite things to do is have afternoon tea.  I recently found out that the Marshall House in Leesburg, Va was having teas with a speaker.  It was part of the 2013 Katherine Marshall Tea Series, hosted by The George C. Marshall International Center.  How fun!  Tea and history together.  The Marshall House, which was formerly known in the area as Dodona Manor, is an 1820's Federal house with mid 19th century additions.  It is a National Historic Landmark,  and was the home of George C. Marshall and his wife, Katherine, who purchased it in 1941.  I went with a few friends, and had a great time.  The tables were set up in the dining room with everyone having their own place card and menu.  There were two kinds of tea to choose from, Buckingham Palace Garden Party Tea and Lady Londonderry Tea.  There was a nice assortment of finger sandwiches, and the scones were delicious.  The ones I had were orange cranberry.  Their texture was a little like shortbread, and the orange flavor was throughout the whole scone.  Each table had Devonshire cream and preserves to put on their scones.  Then a beautiful plate of petit fours and lemon squares made its entrance to the table.  So many treats to choose from!
     Then it was time for our speaker.  Mrs. Eeda Dennis shared her memories as a child during WWII in Norway, and the impact of the Marshall Plan, which was The European Recovery Program.  Listening to her first hand account of what she and her country went through made me grateful of the many blessings we have.  No soldiers are knocking on my door and wanting to take over my house for their headquarters, nor are they marching up the coast burning all the villages just for the fun of it.  She also mentioned how grateful the Norwegians were to the Americans.

     "To him more than any other individual, the United States and the Free World owes its future.  His place is at the head of commanders of history." -Harry S. Truman

     To learn more about George C. Marshall and the George C. Marshall International Center visit georgecmarshall.org