July 11, 2002
For 43 years, Eddie Kearns has been guarding the home of the most famous founding father. In the process, he has nabbed trespassers arriving by car and boat, he has caught a president illegally smoking cigars, and he has seen a ghost. It's all in a day's work.
But not for much longer. On July 14, Kearns will retire with an enviable track record—not a single successful break-in has occurred during his watch, which started back in 1959.
Kearns was one of seven brothers born and raised in Franconia, when "there was nothing really there, it was just woods," he remembers.
His first real job was as a 16-year-old stock boy at the Mount Vernon Gift Shop, when it was still owned and operated by an outside vendor. He then put in more than three years with the National Guard and the U.S. Army, before joining the staff of the U.S. Post Office in Alexandria.
When, at the age of 25, he accepted a job as a night security officer at Mount Vernon, Kearns knew he had found a real home. It is a job he has thrived in for more than four decades.
Although relatively few intruders interrupt the nighttime tranquility on Washington's estate, Kearns has met his fair share of special guests—both invited and uninvited.
Like the trespasser who arrived by boat and thought he could tour Mount Vernon at any hour of the day or night. Kearns caught him trying to open the locked door of Washington's study. After a brief altercation, Kearns escorted the unwanted guest back to his yacht for the trip home. "It was clear he had been drinking a little," noted Kearns. "In fact, you might say he was downright drunk."
A happier occasion occurred in 1963 when President and Mrs. Kennedy hosted a gala dinner party under a tent on the east lawn. "I remember seeing the President walking down the lane with a cigar in his mouth," recalled Kearns. "It was against the rules, but I decided to let it slide."
Then there's the time soon after his tenure began, when he caught a glimpse of a hooded figure in black, who escaped around the corner of the Museum building in the blink of an eye. "It was my only ghost spotting in 43 years," said Kearns, "but that's just fine with me."
OTHER REMARKABLE moments include a visit from the elegant, soft-spoken Katherine Hepburn, and the numerous times Kearns has seen fireworks over the Potomac. "I wouldn't be surprised to find out that I've seen more fireworks at Mount Vernon than anyone else alive," noted Kearns. "And every time, I think it's something special."
Kearns is known as one of Mount Vernon's most dependable employees, and he seldom misses work for any reason. Some say he is the Cal Ripken of Mount Vernon. He retires on July 14 with 2,054 hours—almost a full year of accrued sick leave.
"I'm looking forward to traveling, to seeing my daughter in Blacksburg, and all sorts of relatives and friends," Kearns noted on the eve of his departure. "But I'll always think of Mount Vernon as a home away from home. It's a remarkable place."
<bci>James Rees is Executive Director at Moun Vernon Estate.