Jul 4, 2008

A Patriot Act

Local displays museum-quality Revolutionary War collection

By Kristina Peterson / Daily News Staff Writer

It is no coincidence that Palo Alto resident Dick Alexander's home, cell, office and fax numbers all end with the digits "1776."

The personal injury attorney's fondness for the Revolutionary War is reflected on the walls of his San Jose office, where he displays what he believes is "the largest collection of prints of the American Revolution this side of Philadelphia."

In years past, Alexander took some of the 50 prints and historical memorabilia he keeps at his Waverley Street home to craft a temporary office exhibit for the Fourth of July. But this year, he said, the display will remain, lining the lobby, hallway and meeting rooms of Alexander Hawes, the law firm he founded 22 years ago.

"It's a good reminder for me because I fight the redcoats," said Alexander, who represents clients with catastrophic losses against major corporations and insurance companies in court. He is currently
representing a 12-year-old boy brain-damaged after he was struck by a woman allegedly speeding through a school zone.

When clients walk into Alexander's sixth-floor office, he greets them with a $2 bill.

"Jefferson is on the $2 bill. It carries a lot of the history of the (American) Revolution," said Alexander, demonstrating how the back of the bill displays the same print that hangs in his office hallway, John Trumbull's "Declaration of Independence."

Alexander started his collection in 1990, shopping for prints while in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Paris. Several of his prints depict George Washington in heroic, if not quite realistic, situations, he noted.

"Here he is in another untenable position," said Alexander, standing in front of a print showing Washington charging from the front line.

A few oil paintings and replicas such as the flag flown by John Paul Jones on the Bonhomme Richard ship - the only American flag with blue stripes - round out his display.

Alexander's interest in early American history dates back to his childhood in Cleveland, where he attended Paul Revere Elementary School, Nathaniel Hale Middle School and John Adams Senior High School.

"It's always been a part of me," said Alexander, who attended the University of Chicago Law School before moving to the Bay Area.

"California has its own history, but the essence of this country was forged by a small group of well-educated people - mostly lawyers - who were well-read in the philosophy of the time," he said.

Together, they created a government that has sustained a "stunning success of human rights," Alexander said.

For his part, Alexander said he tries to follow the spirit of the founding fathers by making as much of his case information public, on his Web site, http://www.alexanderinjury.com.

"All of my clients have to agree that any matter of common public value will be published," he said.

And he worries that children no longer learn in school the fundamentals of history, such as the contents of the Bill of Rights or the significance of France's contributions to the Revolutionary War's success.

When asked about the similarity between a red, early American flag showing a pine tree on a white square and the Stanford University emblem, Alexander said he often hears that question "from people who don't know anything about American history."

Still, Alexander said his passion for the American Revolution does not consume his personal life with his wife of 40 years and two children. They do not take historical-themed vacations, for example. Recently, he has been reading books on 20th century history and working on his Web site's blog. And he counters any attempt to be labeled a Revolutionary War buff.

"I just have a great respect for the people who founded the country and had the courage to do the right thing at the right time," he said.

And in one case, it is pure coincidence that Alexander and his wife moved to Palo Alto in 1976, the country's bicentennial.

"That was just happenstance," Alexander said.



E-mail Kristina Peterson at kpeterson@dailynewsgroup.com.