The Lake-Sumter Gazette

Transcription

1 LAKE - SUMTER CHAPTER of the The Lake-Sumter Gazette Editor: Bob Beightol May 2017 IMPORTANT NOTICE Chapter Bylaws Amendments: Two amendments to the Lake-Sumter SAR Chapter bylaws were approved by member vote at the May membership meeting. As a result, our fiscal year will run from July 1 st until June 30 th of the following year; and the Chapter annual audit will be conducted in July of each year. Committee Vacancies: Past President and Current Chaplain, Ralph D. Nelson, Jr. recently noticed and brought to the attention of the Executive Committee that he was Chairman of six different committees and requests that he be replaced as Chairman of the following three: Education, Americanism Poster and Oration. Get your bid in early and grab the committee of your choice. If you have questions, contact President Hardwich or Compatriot Nelson directly and take advantage of his many years of experience. 1

2 Table of Contents President s Msg 2-4 JROTC Award Presentations Officer/ Committee 5 Military Service 15 Chairs Award Attendance Roster 6 Presentation Committee Report 6-10 Moody Donation Officer Oath 11 This and That Poster Contest Gazette Info 20 Winner Message from President Hardwich The blossoming of Spring, during the month of May, and the renewed spirits of the planting season, accompanies the close of the depths of winter. Although the season has changed, we still need to take time to remember our patriot s sacrifices. Winter has relinquished its grip on our relatives, but the war of independence would continue to unleash its burdens on them. With the beginnings of Spring well underway, the time for planting seeds for the crops was well at hand, as well as the planting of the seeds of independence. 2

3 While our patriot ancestors had regrouped from several defeats, they were also reveling from some dramatic victories. The continual dual concepts of protest and conflict competed for their time as the development of the theory of our foundation of independence was taking place. A number of events took place during this time frame, including: On April 5, 1774, Benjamin Franklin writes an open letter to Great Britain s prime minister, An Open Letter to Lord North, from the Smyrna Coffee House in London. It was published in The Public Advertiser. The first shots were fired in the cause of American independence on April 19, 1775 in the Battle on Lexington Common. In Ralph Waldo Emerson's famous poem, "the shot heard 'round the world" came from the musket of a Concord militiaman. In reality, the first blood was shed hours before the Redcoats reached the Old North Bridge. The confrontation on Lexington Common between 77 militiamen and nearly ten times that number of British Regulars ended with the death of eight Lexington men. The Redcoats moved on to Concord. When they got there, they found several thousand farmer-soldiers who had already heard of the bloodshed at Lexington. With their nerves steeled, the Americans drove the Redcoats back to Boston and placed the city under siege. The Revolution had begun. North Carolina is the first state to call for independence from Great Britain on April 12, Her Provincial Congress, meeting at Halifax, North Carolina, passed a resolution that has come to be known as the Halifax Resolves. In the document, the Congress instructs its representatives to the Continental Congress to vote for independence if the other colonies agree to do so. The resolution does not instruct them to introduce a resolution for independence to the Congress, but to vote in the affirmative if the other colonies agree to it. The winds of change were underway with freedom being pursued. Your Lake-Sumter SAR chapter continues to move forward with many chapter activities, as well as participating in community events. We as a chapter, and as individuals, keep active in a number of important activities: May meeting attendance was 29, including 20 members and 9 guests. All our members that have participated in referring friends and family need to be congratulated. Keep sending 3

4 John Moore the names of any additional family, friends, and acquaintances that may qualify for membership. Special thanks need to go to John Moore for his perseverance in getting new members on board. We have completed the Rumbaugh Oration contest. Hopefully, these contestants will also qualify for the Knight Essay contest. Ralph Nelson is following up on a presentation at our June meeting. Compatriot Nelson developed a new Poster Contest. The committee worked to secure participation of several local schools. At this time we have three schools that participated with a contest winner being selected. The winner s poster will be in competition at the BOM meeting. With several chapters participating in the FLSSAR Florida Newsletter competition, the Lake-Sumter chapter is in the final running. The chapter is competing in the Camp Reports Color Guard contest. A trip has been planned to car pool to the Thomas Creek battleground. The Florida State SAR Board of Management meeting is May 19 20, Glenn Langston is preparing for our participation in the Independence Day parade in Tavares. Glenn will lead a group of eight members in the parade. As we move forward to the conclusion of our Spring meetings, please give thought that our Patriot ancestors were challenged with protesting the implementation of taxes without any representation. God bless our patriot relatives for what they did to persevere and save our country. All the best to each and every member. Good health, prosperity, and happiness to you and your family. Jerry Hardwich, President, Lake-Sumter Chapter Sons of the American Revolution 4

5 Committee Chairs Chapter Officers President: Gerald C Hardwich 1 st VP: Allan Lane 2 nd VP: George W Chaffee Secretary: Edward J Riley Treasurer: Ronald L Grove Historian: Richard K Offutt Registrar: John H Moore Sergeant at Arms: Basil Linville, Jr Member at Large: Robert L Beightol Member at Large: Basil Linville Genealogist: Tom Wilcox Public Service: Flag: Good citizen: Veteran Recognition: SAR Service: SAR Tenure: Audit: Awards: Color Guard: Americanism Poster: DAR Liaison: Education: Eagle Scouts: JROTC: Oration: Meeting Donations: Membership: Editor: Nominating: Program: Publicity: Quartermaster: Veteran s Programs: Website Manager: Allan Lane Glen Langston Ralph Nelson Bob Beightol Ralph Nelson Ed Riley Allan Lane Allan Lane Glenn Langston Ralph Nelson Robert Moody Ralph Nelson Bill Hayes Bill Hayes Ralph Nelson B.J. Linville John Moore Bob Beightol Ralph Nelson Allan Lane Bob Beightol Basil Linville, Jr George Chaffee Scott Bushnell Member Meeting May 3,

6 Attendance Roster Members Guests 1 Beightol, Robert 2 Buchanan, Charles 1 Buchanan, Florence 3 Bushnell, Scott 2 Bushnell, Myra 4 Carl, Jim 5 Chaffee, George 6 Grove, Ronald 3 Wysong, Martha 7 Hampton, Don 4 Barnes, Robert 8 Hardwich, Jerry 5 Barnes, Jerry 9 Hayes, Bill 6 Barnes, Ronald 10 Lane, Hubert 7 Thompson, Brian 11 Langston, Glenn 8 Purvis, Sharon 12 Linville, Basil Jr 9 Purvis, Alex 13 Moody, Robert 10 McVeigh, Mary 14 Moore, John 15 Mosher, Ken 16 Nelson, Ralph 17 Offutt, Richard 18 Riley, Edward If your name is not on the list, then YOU did not sign in!! Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 11:00 a.m. by Chapter President Jerry Hardwich who was assisted by Chapter Secretary Ed Riley. The Color Guard was called to advance the colors following which Compatriots Ron Grove and Bob Beightol led the members in the Pledge of Allegiance and the SAR Pledge, respectively. Following the posting of the 6

7 colors, the Color Guard retired and Compatriot Chaplain Ralph D. Nelson, Jr, gave the invocation. Guests were identified as former member Bob Barnes who is applying for reinstatement; Ron and Jerry Barnes, members of the SAR in Parkersburg, WV, and brother and cousin, respectively of Bob Barnes. Additional guests were the local poster contest winner, Alex Purvis, and his family, father Brian Thompson, mother Sharon Purvis and Grandmother Mary McVeigh. Following identification of guests, President Hardwich called for Committee reports. First Vice-President Compatriots: I am currently contacting possible presenters for our upcoming season. If any members are aware of any interesting presentations that would be appropriate for our chapter, now is the time to get the information to me so I can try to get them on our schedule. Also, any member who would like to try their hand on a topic that relates to American history or other topics of interest to us, please get in touch with me and we will discuss it. I plan to complete our program schedule early in the summer. 7 Color Guard 4 th of July Parade, Tavares, FL: Color Guard Commander Glenn Langston reminded members of the upcoming 4 th of July Parade in Tavares, FL. A golf cart will be made available for those who prefer to ride. Due to the heat, uniforms will not be required and shorts will be allowed; however, the wear of tri-corner hats and SAR insignia is encouraged. Passing of candy to the youngest of the crowd has become popular. As a reminder, candy cannot be thrown from the golf cart or into the crowd by the walkers. Candy should be handed to the children or thrown on the ground close to the curb to eliminate the need for the children to run into the street to retrieve the candy. As always, safety must be our priority. SAR Color Guard Magazine: Compatriot Langston asked that a photograph of the Chapter Color Guard be obtained for submission to the SAR Color Guard Magazine. The electronic magazine is published quarterly by NSSAR, and contains articles of interest to the Color Guard which may include but are not limited to: Uniforms; How To s (establishing a Color Guard, drill manuals, handling weapons, etc.); Events; and Announcements. Following our monthly meeting, two versions of the photograph were obtained, one with the Color Guard

8 with members from the meeting; and the second with the Color Guard alone. Both can be seen below; hopefully, one of both will be seen in the next issue, due out in July May 3, 2017, Members left to right: President Jerry Hardwich, Secretary Ed Riley, Compatriots Don Hampton, Bill Hayes, Ken Mosher, Richard Offutt, Ralph Nelson, Glenn Langston, Bob Moody, George Chaffee, Charles Buchanan (Hidden behind flags), Jim Carl, Bob Barnes and Ron Grove. Lake-Sumter SAR Chapter Color Guard (Left to Right): Color Guard Commander Glenn Langston, Ralph D Nelson Jr, George Chaffee and Ken Mosher, dated May 3,

9 Education, Americanism Poster, Oration Committees Compatriot Ralph D. Nelson, Jr, announced that the Chapter Americanism Poster Contest winner was at the meeting with his family to receive his award for winning the contest. As the Chapter winner, his poster will be forwarded to the FLSSAR Board of Management (BOM) to be considered in the next level of the national contest. Editor s Note: At the Lake-Sumter Chapter Executive Committee meeting, Compatriot Nelson shocked the committee when he announced that he is currently Chairman of six different committees for the Chapter. He now feels the need to divest himself of three of the six chairmanships, which would be the Education, Americanism Poster and Rumbaugh Oration Contest Committees. I checked Compatriot Nelson s assertion and found it to be correct. I should have been neither shocked nor surprised as he has been the workhorse of the Chapter at least since my induction four years ago. It is time gentlemen, while he is willing to spread the wealth, step up and grab the committee of your choice! DAR Labels for Education Program Compatriot Bob Moody, collected labels and box tops from members for the DAR education program which were presented to DAR Myra Bushnell who was in attendance. Chapter Newsletter Editor Bob Beightol again requested that the members submit photos and biographies for enclosure in the member section of the Chapter web site. Remember, biographies can be typed into or cut and pasted onto the biography section of the web site. Photos must be submitted to the web master, Compatriot Scott Bushnell, 9

10 who will add them to the web site. Compatriot Bushnell can be contacted at Members are requested to submit any information they have concerning SAR activities, preferably with photographs; however, will be accepted with or without. All submissions will be considered for publication in the Chapter newsletter as well as being listed in events calendars, both past and future. Veteran Recognition Committee Chairman Beightol reminded members that if they have had military service and have not yet received an SAR Military Service Award, he should be contacted to initiate the application process. Three additional members, Compatriots Hayes, Buchanan and Riley, were inducted into the FLSSAR Veteran Battalion bringing the total of Lake-Sumter SAR Chapter members in the Battalion to twenty-one. Publicity Committee Chairman Beightol advised that he and Compatriot Robert H Moody, continually strive to publicize the activities of the Chapter in local newspapers to assist in recruiting efforts. If you have an idea for a publicity release, or if you see any article in local newspapers about the SAR, please forward them to the Publicity Committee. Registrar s Report One application is currently pending approval. Two new members have been identified; however, were not present for induction. The two members were Orin and Nicholas Owen, both of Eustis, FL, both of whom will be inducted at a future meeting. 10

11 Officer s - Oath of Office Pictured from left to right are newly elected officers as they are administered their oath of office: President Jerry Hardwich, 2 nd Vice President George Chaffee, Secretary Ed Riley, Treasurer Ron Grove, 1 st Vice President Allan Lane, and Past President Scott Bushnell who administered the oath. Chapter Activities 2017 Chapter Americanism Poster Contest by Ralph D. Nelson, Committee Chair As previously reported, the Contest is open to all fifth graders from the Lake and Sumter County areas. The fifth grade is when the students study the early history of British colonies in North American and how they became the independent United States. The theme this year was a specific patriot, Captain John Barry of Philadelphia PA, who was one of the most successful Navy captains during the American Revolution. In 1783, he led the crew of the frigate Alliance in repelling three British warships that had attacked the Alliance and a freighter carrying barrels of French silver coins. The coins were being transported from Havana to Philadelphia and were vital for paying the Continental Army troops at the end of the war. 11

12 The winning poster was from Groveland Elementary School, 5 th Grader, Alex Purvis (left), who was awarded the $50 prize. To the right is his winning poster. Alex s poster will be transported to the FLSSAR Board of Management as an entry in the next phase of the poster contest. From left to right is Poster Contest Chairman Ralph D Nelson, Jr, Poster Contest winner, Alex Purvis; with his parents Brian Thompson and Sharon Purvis, plus Grandmother Mary McVeigh. JROTC Awards JROTC Committee Chairman Bill Hayes provided the following list of awardees, schools and SAR presenters for the seven JROTC awards presented this year: Eustis High School, Air Force JROTC, Cadet Brandon Rains, Presented on April 21 st by Compatriot Glenn Langston; Leesburg High School, Air Force JROTC, Michael Gaylord, presented May 5 th by Compatriot Bill Hayes; Mount Dora High School, Air Force JROTC, Cadet Zachary Albright, Presented on May 6 th by Compatriot Bob Beightol; South Lake High School, Navy JROTC, Cadet Luke Kohler, presented on May 3rd by Compatriot Scott Bushnell; South Sumter High School, Navy JROTC, Cadet Louis Roscoe, presented May 13th by Compatriot Ron Grove; Umatilla High 12

13 School, Cadet Eric Krauss, presented on May 4 th by Compatriot Glen Langston; American Legion, Sea Cadets, Petty Officer 1 st Class William Pyles, presented an SAR Citizenship Award on May 21st by Compatriot Bill Hayes. Additional information as provided by the presenters is as follows: South Sumter JROTC, Bushnell, FL by Compatriot Ron Grove For the second year in a row, I had the pleasure of attending the awards program of the South Sumter High School JROTC program. I learned a good bit more about the program this year as I sat with the gentleman who conducts the orienteering. This year, South Sumter JROTC was tops in the state. When I attended last year, I was told the school board was not going to fund the program; however, this year learned that was incorrect, and that the board had actually funded the South Sumter JROTC program. In fact, it was the U.S. Navy who had failed to fund the program as the program had fallen below the 100-member minimum. The program this year, had 80 members, up from 74 the previous year. They have been given 3 additional years to get their membership to the 100-member limit at which time, the Navy will restore full funding. It also should be noted that last year there were 2 naval officers running the program, but this year only one, Chief Martinez. Chief Martinez lives in Jacksonville, but drives down each week to complete his JROTC duties showing an extreme dedication to his JROTC students. Another adult volunteer heads the air rifle program. To his credit and that of his students, two of his cadets will represent Florida later this year in a national competition being held in Nebraska. This year the NSSAR Bronze JROTC certificate and medal were presented to Cadet LT Louis Roscoe (below left). Cadet Roscoe s parents departed with his Certificate and medal before I could obtain his photograph. I was; however, able to obtain his photograph, sans medal, and a second photo after he was announced as King of the Ball (below). I was also able to meet up with last year s winner, Brian Weller (right). In his picture, you can see our medal (left most under the rows of ribbons) with the yellow and blue ribbon. Cadet Weller 13

14 will be attending college in Jacksonville this fall, continuing with ROTC and pursuing a nursing degree. South Lake High School, Groveland, FL On May 3, 2017, Compatriot Scott Bushnell awarded the SAR Bronze JROTC medal with certificate to Cadet Luke Kohler. Mount Dora High School, Mount Dora, FL On May 6 th, Compatriot Bob Beightol awarded the SAR Bronze JROTC medal with certificate to Cadet 1 st Lt Zachary Albright, a Junior at Mount Dora High School. Just a note about last year s winner at Mount Dora High School, Cadet Kofi Blake, who won several awards at this year s awards ceremony. He has been accepted and will attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the fall. 14

15 Military Service Awards Three Lake-Sumter SAR Chapter members, Kemp (Bill) Hayes, Charles Buchanan and Edward Riley, are inducted into the FLSSAR Veteran Battalion and received certificates from President Jerry Hardwich. This brings to a total of twenty-one members of our Chapter who have been inducted into the Battalion. Congratulations to Compatriots Hayes, Buchanan and Riley. Presentation The Siege of Fort Stanwix and the Battle of Oriskany By Compatriot Scott Bushnell 1 st Vice-President Allan Lane introduced this month s presenter as our own Compatriot Scott Bushnell. Compatriot Bushnell provided a very informative presentation on the Siege of Fort Stanwix and the Battle of Oriskany. The British to divide the areas controlled by the Colonist invaded from Canada and in doing so, Fort Stanwix was placed under siege. An American and Oneida Indian force, numbering approximately 800 men, moved with the intention of relieving the siege at Fort Stanwix. Prior to their arrival at the fort, in the Oriskany valley, they were ambushed by a force consisting of British loyalists and Mohawk and Seneca Indians. The Battle of Oriskany was one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolutionary War with the American force losing about half their number and the Loyalists losing 15

16 approximately one third of theirs. Although the Battle of Oriskany was deemed a loss for the American force, ultimately the British invasion was defeated. In addition, because of the battle, dissention occurred among the Iroquois and Oneida Indian Nations resulting in their civil wars distracting the tribes from the British American conflict. In a surprise move, Compatriot Scott Bushnell (seated) had the audience stand, raise their right hands and swear under oath, that they would enjoy his presentation. Well done Compatriot Bushnell! 1 st Vice-President Allan Lane as he awards a Certificate of Appreciation to this month s presenter, Compatriot Scott Bushnell. Robert H. Moody - Donation Compatriot and Past President Robert H. (Bob) Moody, made a significant donation to the Chapter of his Brown Bess musket with bayonet. He believes the musket will be a fine addition to the Chapter s Color Guard activities. Thank you, Compatriot Moody, for your many contributions to the SAR, to include the latest, which is the donation of your musket. Editor s Note: Brown Bess is the nickname for the British Army s muzzle-loading smoothbore Land Pattern Musket. This musket was used as the British Empire expanded and remained in use for over one hundred years with many incremental changes in its design. One of the variations included the Long Land Pattern. The Long Land Pattern musket and its 16

17 derivatives, all.75 caliber flintlock muskets, were the standard long guns of the British Empire's land forces from 1722 until Of particular interest is that most male citizens of the American Colonies were required by law to own arms and ammunition for militia duty and the Long Land Pattern musket was a common firearm, used by both sides in the American War of Independence. There is also evidence that the muskets were used by the Mexican Army during the Texas Revolution of 1836; the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848; and during the Civil War, at the Battle of Shiloh in Next Meeting The next meeting of the Lake-Sumter SAR Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, will be as follows: Date: June 3, 2017 Time: 11:00 AM - General Membership Meeting 10:00 AM - Executive Committee Meeting. Members are encouraged to attend. Place: John Gela Memorial American Legion Post 219, 194 West Fountain Street, Fruitland Park, FL Speaker: Compatriot Tom Wilcox Topic: Battle of Brooklyn: The Lost Battle that Won the War. Lunch: The Post will be serving their BBQ sandwiches or plates with pork & chicken, baked beans, slaw, and a roll. Coffee $1 with free refills and deserts for $1.00. Canned soda is available in the meeting room. This and That Our Web Site: /lakesumtersar.org USS Oriskany: For those of you, who like me, enjoy useless but enjoyable facts, I provide the following: The USS Oriskany, commissioned in 1950 (below left), was named after the battle described by Compatriot Bushnell in this month s presentation. In May 2006, off the Florida coast, the USS Oriskany was scuttled in 17

18 the Gulf of Mexico, to become an environmentally friendly man-made reef (below right). Member Photographs and Biographies: To those members who have encountered difficulties in adding photos and/ or biographies to the Chapter web site the following information is provided. Webmaster Scott Bushnell, advised that member portraits cannot be added by the member and should be sent to him via at and he would add the photo to the member page. The biography can be typed directly onto the member page or cut and pasted from a Word document by the member. Color Guard Recruitment: Those of you who have an interest in joining the Chapter Color Guard, will find the following URL of value: The URL will take you to the NSSAR Color Guard newsletter for ideas about uniforms and Color Guard activities. Consider volunteering! If you have additional questions I am sure Color Guard Commander Langston or any of our Color Guard members would be glad to provide answers. Volunteers: Volunteers are needed immediately to act as Chairman for the following committees: Education, Americanism Poster Contest and the Oration Contest committees. Should you have time or a desire to enhance the lives of our young people, or simply have questions as to how you could help, please contact any of the Chapter officers. Remember, as few as a couple of hours could make or break one of our Chapter programs and you don t have to act alone. You could pair up with another member and both assist in the same program. Updating Personal Information: Remember, updating member information such as address, address, or phone number is the responsibility of the member. If you are registered on the state/ chapter website (which uses the same data base) and/ or the National website (a different data base) you can update your own information. If you aren t registered on either, or need help completing the update, contact or send the information to our Chapter Secretary Edward Riley, at apej2313@yahoo.com. He can then update the appropriate data base. 18

19 Member Recruitment: Our individual primary effort should be in the direction of new member recruitment. Remember, male children, siblings and grandchildren are all eligible for the SAR. Should you have candidates, please connect with Registrar John Moore at Participation Points: Compatriots, remember the importance of tracking your points. Eligible events with point values can be found under the Admin section of the Lake Sumter SAR Chapter website. Military Service Awards: If you served in the military but have not received a Military Service Award, please notify the Chairman, Veteran Recognition Committee, Bob Beightol at bogi0104@bellsouth.net. Two additional members of our Chapter are believed to be eligible for induction to the FLSSAR Veterans Battalion and applications are currently being processed by FLSSAR. Revolutionary War Maps: Compatriot Tom Wilcox, provided the following link to a Library of Congress web site which provides digital images of maps produced during the period of the American Revolution. Thank you, Compatriot Wilcox! About this Collection - American Revolution and Its Era: Maps and Charts of North America and the West Indies, Museum of the American Revolution: Information received from Compatriot Ralph Nelson, disclosed that the Museum of the American Revolution had recently opened in Philadelphia, PA. The following URL provides a link to a review of the museum. Should you have additional questions not answered by the link, it is believed Compatriot Nelson has already visited the museum and could be willing to provide answers. Thank you, Compatriot Nelson! Book Review: Compatriot Ralph Nelson reported he has recently ordered author s Jenny Cote's soon-to-be-printed book, "The Voice, the Revolution, and the Key" (about the path from youth to adult for Patrick Henry and Benjamin Franklin), and he is considering ordering the book as a birthday present for his grandsons. The link to her site's page describing the book is 19

20 Lake-Sumter Gazette Contact Information Robert L Beightol bogi0104@bellsouth.net Phone: Compatriots, please submit all news items and photos you believe of interest to the membership, via , with a name and telephone number for a point of contact. Remember, if you think it is interesting, chances are your fellow members will too! 20