Clara Barton moved the headquarters of the Red Cross from Washington, D.C. to Glen Echo, Maryland in 1897. Just across the street was the premiere amusement park of the time: Glen Echo Park. Was it merely coincidental? Or, as rumor mongers claimed, was it the presence of the park that caused Miss Barton to move to Glen Echo? “Has anyone seen Miss Barton?” "She's on her high horse this morning." Translation: “Those men bureaucrats got to her. She’s gone to the park to calm down.” Glen Echo Park had the largest carousel of the time. The ‘high horse’, the one that raised the highest as the carousel spun around, was Miss Barton’s favorite. One ride on the high horse would clear her head, and prepare her for the day ahead. ~ © Paul (AHikingDude@aol.com) ~ © July 8, 2003 Writers' Corner Index