Compatriots;
President Kaiser is dealing with some personal health issues, and he has asked me to pen this month’s President’s Corner on his behalf.
We had 12 members attend our October business strategy meeting at Cattlemen’s Restaurant in Rancho Cordova; this was a disappointing turnout for a chapter with over 200 members – 130 of whom live within easy driving distance of our venue. We can do better! Several items were discussed as outlined in the minutes below. The highlights were a motion and vote to sponsor 2 high school students to attend Freedom Foundation’s Spirit of America Youth Leadership program in Valley Forge next spring, and a resolution to conduct 5 business strategy meetings and 5 dinner meeting per year to engage our members in working on the challenges we face in our youth and community programs. Our complete meeting schedule for 2023 will be posted in our newsletter editions.
Our chapter’s mission is to actively support the three goals of the SAR: Patriotism, Historical, and Educational.
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Patriotism: Our chapter works to inspire our community through our Color Guard, who wearing Revolutionary War uniforms, participate in civic and patriotic events such as Memorial Day, Independence Day, Constitution Day, and Veterans Day; we provide recognition each year to local law enforcement officers, public safety officers, and other citizens who exemplify the highest traditions of our nation including the young men and women who are leaders in our communities such as high achieving high school students of history, Eagle Scouts, ROTC, JROTC, and Sea Cadets. We acknowledge our member veteran's service to our nation with Certificates of Patriotism and the awarding of SAR War Service or Military Service Medals. We support our veterans and partner with various veteran’s organizations in various local patriotic events and SAR’s America 250 program.
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Historical: Our chapter supports genealogical research and presentations; our Patriot Research System contains the names and, in many cases, biographical information on those patriots who helped achieve American independence. We actively support National History Day in Sacramento County by participating as judges in the various events; we offer an America 250 prize to students for the best paper, website, and documentary in the county competition.
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Educational: Our chapter sponsors many youth awards programs that encourage independent study around historic and patriotic themes; these include essay and oration contests for high school students and Americanism Poster and Brochure Contests for elementary school students. We distribute history and media resources to our local schools, Our “School Guard” members (SAR and DAR) provide “living history” presentations in 5th grade assemblies in our local schools. We sponsor teachers to attend week long seminars each year at Freedom's Foundation campus at Valley forge, and we sponsor high school students each year to attend Freedom Foundations Spirit of America Youth Leadership Program at Valley Forge.
These programs can’t be sustained without the support of our entire membership!
It’s time we ask ourselves, why we joined the SAR. Is it because we want a certificate to hang on our wall? Or, do we want to make a difference in the lives the young people in our communities through our educational programs, honor the memories of our patriot ancestors, and help preserve the history of this great nation?
I joined the SAR as a means to meet other members of my community who shared my interest in American history, I wanted to formally document my linage to the American Revolution, and I wanted to leave a legacy to my descendants of their connection to those who achieved our American freedoms. I actively support the mission of the SAR because I personally feel that I owe a debt to my patriot ancestors who paid for my liberties with their blood and treasure. The least I can do is volunteer 4 or 5 hours of my time a month to keep their legacy alive.
Won’t you join me? Please attend our next meeting and ask how you can help.
Craig Anderson
Executive Vice President
Sacramento Chapter
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Sons of the American Revolution
Sacramento Chapter
October 22, 2022
Minutes
Attendees
Roy Adkins, Carl Ahlberg, Craig Anderson, Abigail Brooks (CAR), Scott Brooks, Peter Darnell, Doug Drake, Jim Faulkinbury, Jeff Goodwin, Russ Kaiser, Don Littlefield, Don Sparks (online), Jon Wroten
President Kaiser convened the meeting at 10:07 AM
President Kaiser called upon Don Littlefield lead the group in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance
President Kaiser called upon Jim Faulkinbury to lead the group in reciting the Pledge to the SAR
New Member Induction
First order of business was to induct Jon Wroten as a member of the SAR, Sacramento Chapter.
Chapter Meetings:
Following an extensive discussion of meeting venues, days of the week, and needed meeting accoutrements, the group decided to hold dinner meeting at the Old Spaghetti Factory at 6:00 PM on the 3rd Wednesday of January (Volunteer recognition & a Speaker), April (Youth Awards), June (Speaker), September (Public Service Awards), November (Veterans recognition). In February, March, May, October, and December we will meet at Cattlemens at 10 AM, and hold all-hands business strategy meetings. In addition, Jon Wroten will Chair a venue research project to see if there are other private meeting rooms available in Sacramento area that offer food service at a competitive price. Craig Anderson will assist if needed.
Spirit of America Youth Leadership Program
Motion by Craig Anderson to sponsor two high school students to attend the Spirit of America Youth Leadership Program offered by the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge. Estimated cost tuition and travel, $1500 per student. Motion second by Don Littlefield. Motion approved by unanimous consent.
Sacramento Chapter Color Guard
The SAR Color Guard is the public face of the SAR. We need Color Guard (CG) members. We need a new approach to encourage members to join the Color Guard. We agreed to add CG videos to out CG section on our website. We will also publish periodically a separated CG newsletter about how to join, outfil and participate in CG events. We have an extensive Color Guard uniform and equipment page for equipping yourself. See: https://sar-sacramento.org/uniforms.shtml and photos of various Continental Army and militia uniforms (use password “Patriot”). Bottom line: If you want to join the Color Guard, speak up, and let us help you!
2023 Officers and Program Chairmen needed
We need candidates to serve as President, Secretary and Registrar. Russ Rheams is VP Programs. Don Littlefield will serve as Treasurer. We also need Program Chairmen and committee members to help execute our SAR mission. Attached is a list of positions we need to fill.
Office positions: President, Vice President, Secretary, Registrar
Programs: Americanism Poster contest, Brochure Contest, Eagle Scout recognition, Knight Essay Contest, Orations content, ROTC/JROTC recognition, Public Service recognition, Flag Certificates, etc.
America 250
Mt Vernon Memorial Gardens has invited Haslett’s Regiment to their Presidents Day celebration on Monday, February 20, 2023. The SAR should inquire about participation separately or with Haslett’s. The SAR also needs to plan America 250 events or activities and coordinate with the CASSAR and NSSAR, as well as other groups, to educate the American public about our nation’s founding.
SAR Recessional
President Kaiser called upon Don littlefield to lead the group in reciting the SAR Recessional.
President Kaiser adjourned at 12:07 PM
Minutes prepared by Don Littlefield
October 22, 2022
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Congratulations! Welcome to the California Society, Sons of the American Revolution. We are honored that you have elected to join our society of descendants of those patriots and heroes who gave us our freedoms. The California Society conducts many patriotic, historical, and educational programs in our communities, and we rely heavily on our member volunteers to keep them strong and vibrant.
If you haven’t yet been, you will shortly be contacted by a representative of your chapter; We urge you to meet your fellow compatriots, join them in their chapter programs, and become an active member of your chapter and state society. We are looking forward to meeting and working with you in the future.
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During our annual November dinner meeting, we will honor our nations veterans.
This month we will be honoring two American Legion members who have have worked for many years supporting local veterans programs. Don Harper and Frank Squire, both Vietnam War Veterans, will be awarded highest award that can be given to a non-member for service in our state and local communities - the SAR Silver Good Citizenship Medal. The presentation of this award to these veterans has been approved by the California State Society SAR.
The SAR currently lists 31 Sacramento Chapter members listed in their Veterans Corps roster who have received SAR Certificates of Patriotism and War Service or Military Service Medals. If you are a SAR member veteran and are not enrolled in the Veterans Corps, see our Veterans Recognition Chairman.
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November Guest Speaker
Joe Scheimer
Vietnam: The Secret War
Joe grew up in Northern California in Central Valley, now named Shasta Lake City. He is a double graduate of Sac State with a BA in Government, and an MA in International Affairs. He also has a MS in Management from Troy State University. He has 4 Instructor Pilot ratings.
Joe spent 24 years in the Air Force, starting as an airborne Forward Air Controller (FAC) in Vietnam, then as a FAC in Special Operations in Laos. He has over 4,500 hours of flying time, over 1,000 hours of which are in combat. He has 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 12 Air Medals, and various other medals including the Legion of Merit. He has over 1,000 hours in the A-10 Warthog. He retired from the military in 1993 with the rank of Colonel.
He retired a second time in 2013 after 20 years as an Investment Advisor with LPL Financial. For three of those years, he also flew as a corporate pilot for NetJets flying the Intel Shuttle. He and his wife Marie, a retired school teacher, have been married for 48 years. They have two successful daughters and two wonderful granddaughters.
Joe has been a Rotarian for 26-years, and is a member of the Rotary Club of Fair Oaks. His favorite memories are of three wheelchair deliveries: one to Lima, Peru; one to Santa Fe, Costa Rica; and one to Iquitos, Peru. There is nothing more rewarding than putting someone in a wheelchair and giving them mobility that they have dreamed of for many years – that gave them a life!
Joe enjoys corvettes, fishing, traveling, and reading historical biographies.
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SACRAMENTO CHAPTER SAR NOVEMBER MEETING
Wednesday November 16, 2022
OLD SPAGHETTI FACTORY, 1625 WATT AVE.
6:00 – 7:00 CHECK-IN AND SOCIAL HOUR
MEETING BEGINS PROMPTLY AT 7:00PM
Our May, 2022 Sacramento Chapter meeting will be held at 6:00 PM on Wednesday November 16th at the Old Spaghetti Factory, 1625 Watt Ave., Sacramento. (Near Arden) The Old Spaghetti Factory is offering us a great meeting facility, convenient parking, and competitive pricing.
Dinners include crisp salad, hot fresh baked bread, entrée, and spumoni ice cream for dessert. Entree choices are: Baked Lasagna, Fettuccine Alfredo, or Sicilian Meatballs. Please contact Either Wes Anderson (Phone (530) 312-0917 -email wesleyann2@comcast.net) or Craig Anderson Phone (916)257-7892 - email craigandersonsar@gmail.com for reservations:
Meal prices remain at $30 per person, cash or check payable at the door. For those who wish to reserve and pay by credit card, Click on the Button below to make your reservation online. Transaction fees apply
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Homespun Heroes: The Colonial Militiamen
Oxford’s English Dictionary defines the term militia as “a part of the organized armed forces of a country liable to call only in emergency.”
The influence of the militia in the military was major contributor to the eventual success of the American forces over the British Army in the Revolutionary War. In that epic struggle, about 231,000 men served in the Continental Army—although never more than 48,000 at any one time, and never more than 13,000 at any one place. The sum of the colonial militias numbered upwards of 145,000 men and provided the bulk of the American forces as well as a pool for recruiting or drafting men into the Continental Army.
Militiamen typically wore plain clothes rather than the uniforms of regular soldiers. Their homespun garb soon assumed a mystique of its own, especially the ubiquitous hunting shirt. This garment, typically woven from a linen-like material called osnaburg, originated in the counties west of the Blue Ridge Mountains — an area known in British North America as the backcountry. American colonists believed the hunting shirt resembled the dress of Native American warriors and tended to regard the distinctively fringed shirt as a symbol of resistance to Royal authority among those seeking independence from British oppression.
In the summer of 1775, riflemen from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia joined the New England troops already gathered in Boston to form a Continental Army—hunting shirts galore! And as stories of their superior marksmanship skills spread, General George Washington, the newly appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, took note. In a letter dated July 24, 1776, he wrote that he “earnestly encourages the use of hunting shirts” in part because they were “justly supposed to carry no small terror to the enemy, who think every such person is a complete marksman.”
My fifth-great-grandfather, Zimri Heywood (1731-1798) was the designated ancestor submitted with my application to the Sons of the American Revolution for the registry. He was affiliated with the Eleazer Lawrence Company, a Massachusetts militia group allied with the British military units during the French and Indian War. In this capacity, he saw action in the Crown Point Campaign fighting to wrest control of the Lake Champlain stronghold from the French army.
In the days of deteriorating British authority following the French and Indian War, the Second Continental Congress assumed responsibility for regulation of the military under the Articles of Confederation. American revolutionary interests had taken control of the militia system, placing the emphasis on training, and excluding men with Loyalist sympathies. In effect, the Americans had created a full-time regular army (the Continental Army) using the militia units to fill in shortfalls. In this capacity, Zimri Heywood served as a captain in the 2nd Regiment of the Lincoln County Massachusetts Militia during the Revolutionary War.
This ability to replace fallen soldiers with fresh troops by calling on the militia favored the American military effort in the initial stages of the war; British attempts to supply soldiers from England or to recruit volunteers from Loyalist sympathizers could not make up for losses sustained in battle. In the Battle of Bunker Hill, fought on Saturday, June 17, 1775, victory for the British came at a terrible price—nearly half of the 2200 Redcoats who entered the battle were killed or wounded while the patriots sustained about four hundred casualties.
The British Army won a pyrrhic victory only after the Americans had run out of ammunition. American troops had faced off against the might of the British Army and the world took notice! The losses sustained by the British that day would play a significant role in the long war. The struggle for American independence ended with the surrender of the British forces at Yorktown on October 19, 1781. Although the contribution of the militia in the Revolutionary War might be debated among military historians, the ultimate victory over tyranny with the contribution of the citizen soldier is tightly woven into the fabric of our American heritage.
Peter Darnall
Sacramento Chapter
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Compatriots
Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge, Spirit of America Youth Leadership program sends students back to their Valley Forge campus for four-day sessions that will include a mock congressional debate, a free enterprise challenge, leadership workshops, and guided tours of Valley Forge and historical Philadelphia. The programs dates for 2023 are March 9-12 and April 20-23.
Applications are now open. The application requirements can be found on Freedoms Foundation website (see the links below). If you have children, grandchildren, or know of other young people in your community that would be interested in this experience, please pass this information along to them. Completed applications are due on November 1, 2022, and the completed essays are due on December 1, 2022.
Each year, the California Society SAR sponsors two students to attend the Spirit of American Youth Leadership program at Valley Forge PA. This year the Sacramento Chapter also sponsored a student in 2022. I encourage you to support this great program.
Click on the links below for more information.
Craig Anderson
CASSAR Chairman
Spirit of America Youth Leadership Program
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Color Guard Commander David Beach |
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BLIND GOLFERS TOURNAMENT - HAGGIN OAKS COLF COURSE
On October 25th, the Sacramento Chapter Color Guard participated in a flag raising ceremony at the opening of the Blind Golfers Tournament at Haggis Oaks Golf Course. Guardsmen present were Commander David Beach, Jim Faulkinbury, Don Littlefield, Carl Ahlberg, and Doug Drake. After the flag raising, a comment was heard from the audience: "This makes you proud to be an American" Click the button below to view the video.
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UPCOMING COLOR GUARD EVENTS |
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Friday November 11th 2022 9AM
Folsom Veterans Day Parade
Begins at Montrose Drive and E. Bidwell
Ends at Folsom City Lions Park
Route length 1.5 Miles
Arrive by 8:30AM
Contact Don Littlefield for additional information.
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Monday, November 14th 2022 10AM
Posting the Colors
Sacramento Chapter DAR Meeting
Howe Community Park,
2201 Cottage Way, Sacramento
Arrive by 9:30AM
Contact David Beach for additional information
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President
Russell Kaiser
Executive VP
Craig Anderson
VP Meetings
Vacant
Secretary
Larry Brasher
Registrar
Jim Faulkinbury
Treasurer
Don Littlefield
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Dinner Meeting
Wednesday November 16th 2022
Old Spaghetti Factory
1625 Watt Ave
Sacramento
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State Society
148th, Annual Meeting
April 14-15th, 2023
Costa Mesa, CA.
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National Society
Leadership Conference
Louisville, KY
March 2, 2023 to March 4, 2023
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Cyber Scams
If you receive an email from a purported Compatriot in need of help that is unsigned, with no personal contact information seeking contributions to any type of fundraising site; or an email addressing you by name from another member of your Chapter requesting the expenditure of funds or the purchase of gift cards, consider it a hoax. These messages are getting more sophisticated and may even include the unauthorized use of the SAR logo and/or a pseudo SAR email address.
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The Sacramento Courier is the official newsletter of the Sacramento Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution. Unless explicitly. stated, the opinions expressed herein are the opinion of the authors, and not necessarily those of the Sacramento Chapter SAR.
Editor Wes Anderson
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The Sacramento Chapter SAR; a 501(c)(3) non profit charitable organization
EIN # 68-0004288
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