COUNT PULASKI DAY GIVES SOME IN ILLINOIS THE DAY OFF

Illinois schools and a number of state offices are closed today in observance of one of the nation's more obscure holidays: Count Casimir Pulaski Day in the Land of Lincoln.

Outside the Chicago area, Illinoisans who know about Count Pulaski may be in the minority, although the count does have his own national holiday in October.

Seventh-graders at Meridian School north of Mounds in Pulaski County know about the count. So does the seventh-grade history teacher at Meridian and Pulaski County Sheriff Gene Dixon. A bank employee in Southern Illinois says she has heard about the count but doesn't know exactly who he was.

Some of the people who know about Pulaski still wonder why a Polish immigrant who became a U.S. general during the Revolutionary War has his own day in Illinois, a state he probably never visited.

A sixth-grader, who hasn't attended the seventh-grade history class at Meridian yet, said simply, "He was a friend of George Washington." That is partially correct; Pulaski joined Washington's army.

That guess was closer than that of a state employee, who mentioned that the count "may have founded" Pulaski County.

Although the count was not the founder of the county, Pulaski the county and Pulaski the city, both in extreme Southern Illinois, were named after the general along with a military fort in Georgia: Fort Pulaski, which is logical since Gen. Pulaski was killed in battle about 17 miles east of the fort.

Fort Pulaski, a former military fortification on Cockspur Island, was made into a national monument in 1924. The fort, which features brick walls that are 7 to 11 feet thick, is still surrounded by a moat with a drawbridge.

The Meridian history teacher, Kay Walker, didn't know about Count Pulaski when she first started teaching at Meridian.

"I saw a picture of the count on a horse in the school library," she said. "I looked up additional information, and I use it now when we study the Revolutionary War."

Count Pulaski Day became official in Illinois about a decade ago after legislation was passed making the first Monday in March Pulaski's birthday, or Count Casimir Pulaski Day.

State legislators from the Chicago area pushed for the legislation. Chicago has more Polish people than any city in the U.S., and the holiday was named in recognition of that fact.

For the record, the Pulaski story is one of a Polish nobleman and army general. He was born in Lithuania on March 4, 1748, studied law and served in the army under Charles, the Duke of Courland.

He was exiled from his country after being accused of attempting to kill King Stanislaw Augustus III, and wound up in France where he met Benjamin Franklin, who suggested he go to the U.S. Pulaski eventually found his way to the United States and offered his services to the cause of American independence. In 1777, he joined Washington's army as a volunteer.

Gen. Pulaski was fatally wounded during a siege of Savannah in the Revolutionary War. He commanded a cavalry troop and light infantry, which became known as Pulaski's Legion.

In October 1779 he started his assault on Savannah. On Oct. 9, he was wounded and was taken aboard a ship in Savannah Harbor, where he died two days later.

The Illinois holiday is described as a semi-holiday affecting only schools, some government offices and banks.

Many banks, especially those in Southern Illinois, do not observe Casimir Pulaski Day. "It's just another Monday," said one banker.

All schools are closed, but not many children apparently know why.

One youngster said, "I don't know who he was, but it's sure fun being out of school."

Said another, "He was a rich man wasn't he? Was he president?"

And from a third, "He was a man who came over from another country to help in a war here."

One enterprising youngster said he thought he knew who Pulaski was and added, "I'll read your story" to make sure.