All of us want Mrs. Anderson…and the pony.

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On Easter Monday, March 28, 1910, Larz and Isabel Anderson attended a field day for children at Randle Highlands in the District of Columbia. Known now as Washington Highlands, the area was first developed by Col. Arthur E. Randle (1859-1829), a prominent Washingtonian. The children of Randle Highlands petitioned Isabel to attend their festivities and help give away a pony:

We, the undersigned children of Randle Highlands with pleasant recollection of Mrs. Larz Anderson's participation in our Easter Celebration, most earnestly petition our beloved Mrs. Isabel Anderson, authoress, to grace this year's celebration with her presence, and hide the pony egg in the forests of Randle Highlands for us to find: the finder of the egg marked "pony" gets the pony, and all of us want Mrs. Anderson and the pony.

The petition, signed by 75 children, is a charming reminder of the extent to which people of all ages loved and adored Isabel.  Children are still connected to the name “Randle Highlands.” One of D.C.’s finest public schools, Randle Highlands Elementary, is located there.

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Detail: Mr. & Mrs. Larz Anderson at Randle Highlands, D.C.
Easter Monday 1910

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1910 photo: Library of Congress,
Manuscript Division. Croped/edited version copyright © 2013 by Skip Moskey
(Digimarc® Guardian for Images)
map: Public domain via Wikipedia Commons