THE MICHILIMACKINAC DISPATCH Michigan Society of the Sons of the American Revolution Northern Michigan Chapter July 2018 Volume 2, Issue 2 NMC Chapter dual member is elected President General of Sons of the American Revolution! At the 128th Congress in Houston Texas, NMC chapter member Warren Alter has been elected at President General of the Sons of the American Revolution. The congress was from July 13 to 17th. If you see Warren you can also congratulate him and his wife Nancy on becoming land owners in the big state of Texas. At congress he won a 5-acre parcel that was auctioned off as a fund raiser for the Texas Society. The parcel is in southwest Texas close to El Paso. CONGRATULATIONS. At the June joint meeting with the DAR, NMC members and Century Club members Dr. Ken Musson, Joseph Conger, and Robert Istnick (L to R) received their SAR Military Service Medal for their services in the U. S. military. Over 25% of our members served our country in the military. RECOGNITION AWARDS 2018 NMC CHAPTER Meetings: August 18th at 11AM Ruby Tuesday, TC, MI On June 22nd Compatriot Richard J. Schafer was approved as our newest member of the Chapter. Induction of this compatriot will take place on August 18, 2018 at Ruby Tuesday in Traverse City. He is veteran of the Viet Nam War. He will also be given his War Service Medal at this time. October 20th at 11AM Ruby Tuesday TC, MI
Consider Attending the September Fall 2018 Leadership Conference, Tour the Library, Greet Fellow Compatriots and Meet Mr. Brown 2018 Cass River Encampment Six Compatriots from the MISSAR participated in the Spring 2018 Leadership Conference in Louisville on March 2 nd and 3 rd. Attending were : Paul Callanan, MISSAR President, Dennis VanWormer, State Treasurer and Secretary, James Petres, MISSAR 1 st Vice President, Ken Goodson, MISSAR 2 nd Vice President, Joseph Conger, MISSAR Society Trustee and Mickey McGuire representing Huron Valley and a presenter on the Public Relations Committee. This conference is held twice a year, spring and fall, at the Brown Hotel in downtown Louisville just one block from the NSSAR office. There were over 65 conferences from Americanism to veterans matters, not including executive officers meetings and three banquets! Compatriots from around the country and foreign nations attend helping to make the conference very informative, busy and fun. An added bonus is the chance to visit the NSSAR Library with its great collection of genealogy books and to meet with society genealogists. The Kemmer Family Joseph Conger, Gerald Burkland, Norm Palmer, Aaron Wiles (L to R) If you are up for learning more, meeting congenial compatriots and becoming (Guest MISSAR member and Mr. Brown) more involved in our organization, contact one of your colleagues for information and put on your travel shoes. Louisville awaits you. 2
The Northern Michigan MISSAR Chapter Supports Le Grande Traverse Society The Le Grande Traverse Society received its first book as a gift from Joseph Conger, Northern Michigan Chapter President, NSSAR at our Annual Meeting. Joseph confirmed the Northern Michigan Chapter support for current and next year and read, "Why the Flag Is Called Old Glory" from The American Patriot's Almanac, which he donated to the society library. The American Patriot's ALMANAC by William Bennett (Daily Readings on America) will be a good resource for us. Some of the contents of the book are: Twelve Great Reasons to Love a Country, Flags of the Revolutionary War, Fifty All-American Movies, Fifty American Quotes, Flag Etiquette, Songs of American Patriotism, Poems of American Patriotism, Faith and the Founders and a whole lot more. Le Grande Traverse Society, N.S.C.A.R. is active in Traverse City. The articles on this page are examples of outreach which gives our society visibility and value within the community. Not only are the events attended, but they are also reported in the area newspapers which reach many more persons who might not have seen the presentations. Civil War Presentation Joseph Conger spoke on The Last Land Battle of the Civil War at 1 p.m. April 27 at the Traverse Area District Library. Preservers of history and promulgators of patriotism help keep our society aware of the price paid for freedom. 3
In the January 2018 issue of the MichiliMackinac Dispatch, we mentioned that Speaker Bureau opportunities exist for presentations for your area civic groups or other organizations. There are several members of the NMC Chapter who are willing to present these historical programs. This is chance to get before a group and talk about the SAR. Please contact Joseph Conger 231-590-3687 or Mike Perry (650) 520-6314 or Gerald Wall 989-821-6616 on availability. Below are samples of the type of presentation available. George Scheck, former employee at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, has been speaking on behalf of the NMC. His talks have been at the Traverse City Library. The three-part talks are about the clothes of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and the Civil War. Scheck is a retired Revolutionary War re-enactor who raised his kids around campfires on his weekend travels. His presentation entitled Why Uniforms Were the Way They Were comes from intimate knowledge gained in order to make the uniforms which became so popular that he started a company making them for re-enactors. Clothing and accoutrements of the period enhance his presentation including items soldiers typically carried and a musket and rifle. While presenting programs is not for everyone, we have some very able presenters with solid programs that strive to fulfill the mission of SAR which is, in part, to instill patriotism, to maintain our living history and to educate our citizenry. We would be remiss to not take advantage of their expertise and willingness by approaching local libraries, fraternal organizations, schools, junior college history instructors, veteran organizations and the like to offer programs which compliment their mission as well. Give it a shot, so to speak. The NMC speakers bureau will be active in Roscommon with Gerald Wall talking about Flag etiquette on August 4th. Compatriot Wall presents in full Revolutionary War attire which greatly enhances the presentation. Perhaps the most important flag guideline involves how citizens should behave around the Stars and Stripes: The flag of the United States is the emblem of our identity as a sovereign nation, which the United States of America has been for more than 200 years. Therefore, citizens are asked to stand at attention and salute when their flag is passing in a parade or being hoisted or lowered. Joseph Conger will speaking before the Biggs Bellaire Interest in Genealogy Group on August 2nd on joining a heraldic society. 4
Uniforms as Presented at June 2018 Meeting Northern Michigan Chapter 2018 Officers President Vice-President Secretary Treasurer Genealogist/Reg Chaplain Historian CAR Liaison DAR Liaison Veterans Coalition Allison Bryant Michael Perry David Whitehouse Daniel Trincknell Joseph Conger Gerald Wall James Sullivan Daniel Ticknell David Smith James Sullivan Newsletter Donald MacFarland 2018 Chapter Trustees Roger Benter David Smith John Sawyer 2018 B of M Allison Bryant Joseph Conger The Color Guard "V" (l to r ) Gerald Burkland, Paul Callanan, James Strain (drums), George Scheck, Brent Kemmer, Joseph Conger Remembrances Eugene Selden, a long time loyal NMC compatriot, passed away on March 10, 2018 at his home. Gene was born on April 1, 1928 in Bay City and served his country in the U.S. Army. 5