Huh? Who is Casimir Pulaski? If you live in the Chicago area, you know that Casimir Pulaski was a Polish nobleman who fought in the Revolutionary War and helped General George Washington defeat the British. He is credited with saving Washington’s life. He is called the Father of the American Cavalry, and Pulaski Day is now an Illinois state holiday.
Many years ago I recall a colleague telling me that we should have a school holiday in honor of Pulaski. I laughed at the time. But many Chicago-area public school students now have the first Monday in March as a holiday. To in-service my School Board about word finding, I used Pulaski Day as an example of using mnemonic cues to remember a multiple-syllable word. I pulled out my jumble of keys and asked the superintendent to “pull the last key.” With a puzzled look, she reached for my car key and gave it a tug. She “pulled the last key.” Pull/last/key for Pulaski. Those Board members have never forgotten the name for Pulaski Day. Neither have my word finding students!
