America's Byways® Press Room
May 8, 2008 - Mother's Day on America's Byways

May 11th is Mother’s Day. This annual holiday was first declared by US President Woodrow Wilson on May 8, 1914 when he signed a Joint Resolution designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. Celebrate on America’s Byways.

  • Madonna of the Trail Statue: The Madonna of the Trail Statue commemorates the “Pioneer Mother of the Covered Wagon Days.” The statue depicts a heroically proportioned woman in full stride with a babe in her arms and a small child clutching at her skirt. This is the first of eleven identical statues dedicated on July 4, 1928 by Judge (later President) Harry S. Truman. Today, you can visit these monuments to motherhood on several of the America’s Byways:
    • Historic National Road in PA, WV, IN, IL
    • Santa Fe Trail in CO
    • Historic Route 66 in NM
    • El Camino Real in NM
    • Coronado Trail Scenic Byway, AZ
  • Mother’s Day Garden Party on the George Washington Memorial Parkway in VA
      Mount Vernon Estate welcomes warmer weather with a festive Spring Garden Party on Mother’s Day weekend, May 10 and 11.

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