April 2017 Dr. Bill Hearter, Arizona SAR Vice President to present April Meeting Program. We will welcome Dr. Hearter at our April 22nd meeting and he will present his program: Fort Mifflin, Savior of George Washington and the Revolutionary Army. Dr. Hearter, is a native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He is a Compatriot at the Barry M. Goldwater Chapter of Arizona SAR. Dr. Hearter is a member of numerous lineage and chivalric societies and a well known speaker on a host of topics. He has been active in Arizona SAR and currently serves as State Vice President. He completed his undergraduate work at Gettysburg College, simultaneously earning his B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Vertebrate Biology. Dr. Hearter earned his M.D. at the Medical College of Pennsylvania and received specialty training in Diagnostic Radiology at the University of Rochester, New York. Additionally, Dr. Hearter received his Master of Theology from Laud Hall Seminary. He is a Diagnostic Radiologist by profession, and is Lieutenant commander on inactive reserve with the United States Public Health Service. In his spare time he finds time to pursue his love of scuba diving and is a SCUBA Diving-PADI Instructor and Dive master. He is married to Kathleen Marie Mills Hearter, and they have four children: Elizabeth, Lauren, William, and Heidi. Join us on Saturday, April 22, 2017 at the Golden Corral at 17674 N. Litchfield Road, Surprise, AZ 85374. Breakfast meeting, program begins at 8:30 a.m. Arizona SAR State Meeting being held Saturday, April 29th. All Compatriots are invited to attend. President Monez, Arizona SAR has sent out his notice of the State Society and BOM meeting which will be held on Saturday, April 29th at the Holiday Inn in Casa Grande, Arizona. This will be a full meeting with a short State Society meeting to consider a bylaws change on dues collection as well as a State BOM meeting, lunch, and then break out sessions focused on how we can enhance the Arizona SAR experience and be more effective in our various pursuits. All Compatriots are invited to attend these State meetings, it s not just for officers. The meeting begins at 9:45 a.m. and ends at 5:00 p.m. You can still register by contacting William Baran at wbaran@cox.net or go to the following link to register online. AZSAR Meeting Registration
Saguaro Chapter AZSAR Meeting Minutes March 25, 2017 The Saguaro Chapter met on this date at the Golden Corral in Surprise. 2nd Vice-President Tod Hamilton called the meeting to order at approximately 8:45 AM. A quorum was met by the attendance of 12 members. Seventeen guests were present. Chaplain Jim Heller gave the Invocation and led in the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and the SAR Pledge. Treasurer Bob Wixon gave a financial report: checking account balance of $92 and a savings account of $5,761. Saguaro has not received its allocation of 2017 dues from the State SAR. It will be forthcoming very soon. Registrar Jan Huber reported that the five applications of the Jerry Cole family are being reviewed at National. Chaplain Jim Heller has been in touch with Saguaro Compatriot Larry Lichtenberg who is slowly recovering from a serious illness. He requests our prayers. Mike Fisch reported that the March 2017 Saguaro Patriot newsletter is just hot off the press and contains the means by which to register for the April 29th State SAR Board of Managers Meeting. He will be publishing the next edition of the SARIZONA News in the very near future. It will be 20 some pages in size. Rather then send it as an email attachment he will be providing the convenience of a website link. Stan Hughes has been busy submitting articles on Saguaro Chapter activities to many local newspapers. Flag Committee Chairman, Manuel Rodriguez continues to encourage ongoing reviews of neighborhoods and businesses for American flag displays worthy of a special SAR Certificate. He reminds us of the importance of the proper retirement of worn out American flags. Five winners of the Saguaro Chapter SAR Youth Brochure contest were present with their families and their history teacher Christopher Raso. They are all students at Canyon Ridge School in Surprise. Two were chosen as first place winners, two as second place winners and one honorable mention. All were presented with a certificate and the first place students were awarded $50 each and the second place students were awarded $25 each. The meeting program was delivered by Compatriot David Swanson who is a member of the Barry M. Goldwater Chapter and the AZSAR Historian. He told a very interesting story about his research on the founder and founding of the AZSAR. For one significant result, it led to the discovery of the burial place of Herbert F. Robinson in Albuquerque, NM. As a token of thanks David was presented with a framed print of a George Washington portrait. AZSAR President Steve Monez was present and he spoke to the chapter about the important activities of the organization: education, membership support, and honoring our Veterans; to name a few. He recognized Mike Fisch for his outstanding work as a SAR newsletter publisher. He told us of our need to send 3 chapter delegates to the April AZSAR BOM meeting to vote on proposed By-Laws changes. The general meeting was closed by Chaplain Heller leading in the recitation of the SAR Recessional and he pronounced the Benediction. The Board Of Managers meeting followed immediately. Under Old Business: Secretary Huber reported that he continues to work on drafting a revised set of the Constitution and By-Laws for the Saguaro Chapter. Under New Business: Jan Huber, Loren Littlefield, and Mike Fisch were chosen as the delegates for the April BOM meeting. Allen Nash will serve as an alternate if needed. Treasurer Bob Wixon led a discussion on a 2017 chapter budget he has drafted. Saguaro Chapter operated with a financial deficit of $471 in 2016. We may experience a similar deficit this year unless we can implement methods of increasing our income. Items discussed as ways to raise money were: 1) 50/50 ticket raffles at our chapter meetings (for the support of youth activities); 2) hold raffles for such items as American Revolution firearms; 3) request grants from local businesses; 4) request donations; and 5) seeking "co-branding" for our youth contests. Treasurer Wixon also gave reminders that we need to decide about renewing the National SAR Magazine advertisement on our chapter meetings and that our CD matures in early May. Jan D. Huber Saguaro Chapter Secretary
SAR Founding Document Brochure Winners were presented certificates and cash awards at the March 2017 Saguaro Chapter Meeting. Left to Right: SAR VP Tod Hamilton, Addy E. Ofalia, Bria L. Waits, Gabriela I. Sublasky, Laurel B. Chapman, Abby L. Grovit, and history teacher Christopher Raso. Photo: Stan Hughes Founding Document Brochure Winners Presented at March Chapter Meeting Saguaro Chapter President Allen Nash has spent a great deal of time cultivating educational programs for schools in this past several years. He has served as the Americanism Chairman for Arizona SAR and the fruits of his labor have begun to pay off. This year we had over 85 entries for the student brochure contest which is held nationwide by SAR Chapters. Arizona s activities and participation have increased significantly under Allen s leadership. As we get further from the founding of our country, less and less attention is paid to America s founding documents: the Articles of Confederation, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the Federalist Papers. The brochure contest is designed to help keep those documents alive in our history.. Students write a brochure featuring any four of those documents. This year s SAR Saguaro Chapter contest had 85 entries with 64 entries from Canyon Ridge School alone. This year s First Place winners are Gabriela I. Sublasky and Bria L. Waits; Second Place winners are Maliyah Y. Spencer and Addy E. Ofalia; and Honorable Mention went to Laurel B. Chapman and Abby L. Gjovit. All winners were students of History Teacher Chris Raso at Canyon Ridge School. First place winners continue on to compete in the Arizona State SAR contest. Compatriots who might be interested in working with youth and future programs should discuss their interest with President Nash and he can let you know the opportunities available throughout the year. As we expand our programs the need for further underwriting to help defray costs is an issue that the BOM is grappling with. If you have ideas how the Saguaro Chapter can find underwriters for these programs please let a member of the BOM know about it. The Arizona SAR is a 501-C3 organization and can accept charitable donations.
242 Years ago April 19, 1775 The American Revolution Begins This painting is by William Barnes Wollen, this painting is in the National Army Museum. At about 5 a.m., 700 British troops, on a mission to capture Patriot leaders and seize a Patriot arsenal, march into Lexington to find 77 armed minutemen under Captain John Parker waiting for them on the town s common green. British Major John Pitcairn ordered the outnumbered Patriots to disperse, and after a moment s hesitation the Americans began to drift off the green. Suddenly, the shot heard around the world was fired from an undetermined gun, and a cloud of musket smoke soon covered the green. When the brief Battle of Lexington ended, eight Americans lay dead or dying and 10 others were wounded. Only one British soldier was injured, but the American Revolution had begun. By 1775, tensions between the American colonies and the British government approached the breaking point, especially in Massachusetts, where Patriot leaders formed a shadow revolutionary government and trained militias to prepare for armed conflict with the British troops occupying Boston. In the spring of 1775, General Thomas Gage, the British governor of Massachusetts, received instructions from England to seize all stores of weapons and gunpowder accessible to the American insurgents. On April 18, he ordered British troops to march against the Patriot arsenal at Concord and capture Patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock, known to be hiding at Lexington. The Boston Patriots had been preparing for such a military action by the British for some time, and upon learning of the British plan, Patriots Paul Revere and William Dawes were ordered to set out to rouse the militiamen and warn Adams and Hancock. When the British troops arrived at Lexington, Adams, Hancock, and Revere had already fled to Philadelphia, and a group of militiamen were waiting. The Patriots were routed within minutes, but warfare had begun, leading to calls to arms across the Massachusetts countryside. When the British troops reached Concord at about 7 a.m., they (continued next page)
found themselves encircled by hundreds of armed Patriots. They managed to destroy the military supplies the Americans had collected but were soon advanced against by a gang of minutemen, who inflicted numerous casualties. Lieutenant Colonel Frances Smith, the overall commander of the British force, ordered his men to return to Boston without directly engaging the Americans. As the British retraced their 16-mile journey, their lines were constantly beset by Patriot marksmen firing at them Indian-style from behind trees, rocks, and stone walls. At Lexington, Captain Parker s militia had its revenge, killing several British soldiers as the Red Coats hastily marched through his town. By the time the British finally reached the safety of Boston, nearly 300 British soldiers had been killed, wounded, or were missing in action. The Patriots suffered fewer than 100 casualties. The battles of Lexington and Concord were the first battles of the American Revolution, a conflict that would escalate from a colonial uprising into a world war that, seven years later, would give birth to the independent United States of America. (Reprinted fromhistory.com) Shown below various images of the Battle of Lexington created over the years. Top: John B. Warner, Connecticut Historical Collection, and Bottom: Amos Doolittle (engraver) and Ralph Earl (artist) New York Public Library.
SAR Wants Your Patriot Ancestor Biography Submitted By Stephen J. Miller Honor your Patriot Ancestor by submitting a short biography of less than 500 words. This will be placed on the SAR website. Several thousand have been submitted already, however, thousands more could be added. The value would be for future members who are related to one of these patriots to narrow their search for a proof. The biography should include anything you know about his service and where he lived. Also, include his wife and children if you know them. State if they are or are not proven. Include birth, marriage and death information if you know it. Submit to: the SAR web address or to the Committee Chair, Douglas Collins at aliedoug@twc.com If you want to see your biography or others you can check the website www.sar.org To review the SAR Patriot & Grave Index instructions go to the www.sar.org website and search for Patriot Index. In the future this information may be placed in an ancestor search area. Take time to develop your Patriot s biography. It adds to the fabric of our nation s history. Following is an example of a biography: William Addison was born December 29, 1766. He entered the service in 1780 as a substitute for his brother Christopher Addison. He was a mere 13 years of age. After a short period of service under Captain Camp Strother, he was discharged. Later in 1780 he re-enlisted in Fairfield County in a company of Rangers (Mounted Militia) commanded by Captain John Gray. He served primarily in a local force that engaged and rounded up Tory soldiers until the unit received orders to join the army of General Green shortly before the famous Battle of Eutaw Springs. The unit joined General Pickens on the day before the battle and entered into the engagement. He was wounded by a spent round (ricochet) during the battle. He served in the active service for a total of three years. His service is confirmed by Brigadier General Francis Marion (The Swamp Fox), whose Pay Book L, entry 1, lists William Addison as being paid for service in the South Carolina Militia. In 1788 he immigrated to Kentucky and settled in Madison County. After being in Kentucky only nine weeks, he joined the company of Captain Jacob Starnes in the war against the Northwestern Indians. He was mobilized for a total of nine weeks in that campaign. He later relocated to Todd County, Kentucky, where he was granted a pension for his service on June 3, 1833, in the amount of $80 annually. He died on May 20, 1853, and is buried in the Gant Cemetery in the Sharon Grove community of Todd County Submit your ancestors biography today. New Member Applications approved by National SAR Compatriot Jan Huber has been working with several prospective members for some time and their applications have been approved by SAR. We look forward to the installation of the following new members in the weeks to come. James Robert Swindell His Patriot was Benjamin Coe, Jr. Jerry Cole, Allan Glen Cole, Chris Allan Cole, Jonathan Rick Cole, Ricky John Cole. Their Patriot was Matthew Cole We welcome them to the Saguaro Chapter of Arizona SAR. The Saguaro Patriot Published by the Saguaro Chapter Arizona SAR Mike Fisch, Editor mjfisch2010@gmail.com If you have news you want to share with our members please send it to me for publication. Published October through May to coincide with Chapter Meetings