Join us on Saturday May 20th at 10:30 AM at Cafe Platano in Lathrop for our monthly meeting. This month’s meeting will be packed full of information from the annual state meeting, as well as opportunities we have coming up as a chapter.
May 20, 2023
Minutes
Supplies: Attendance Sheet, Pledge Cards, Flags, Lectern, Sign
President Scott Elliott called the meeting to order.
Chaplain Gary Overby gave the invocation.
We recited the American Flag Salute
We recited the SAR Pledge
Introductions
Officer Reports:
Secretary: Not able to be present this meeting. Minutes posted online.
Treasurer: Charles Newcomb shared that our balance is over $8000 at this time.
A check was presented for our two lifetime members’ dues.
Payments were made to our oration contest winners.
All of our regulatory filings for the year were completed.
Youth Programs: Gary shared updates about all of the JROTC medals that we have given out over the last month.
Introduction of New Members & Guests: We had Don Littlefield with us for this meeting. Don is the Executive Vice President for the California Society.
New Business
Our summer break has been adjusted so that we now take off the months of June and July and return in August. This will help line up members who take family vacations while the school year is out of session.
An update was shared via the following email,
This is to let you know that Donald DeForest Sanford, my father, passed away Friday evening the 9th of Dec. He was a member of Delta Chapter for a short time while he was still able to get around. He died at 99 yrs, was proud to be an SAR member like his grandfather Maitland DeForest Barstow. Please inform those who may have know him of his passing.
Thank you,
Stephen D. SanfordThe three students who competed in our oration contest were presented with their award certificates, checks and medal at Enochs High School.
President Elliott gave a presentation at Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors about America 250 and made our chapter available to help with any celebrations or commemorations happening over the next few years.
Our chapter has been invited to participate in Family Heritage Day on October 6th. We would have the ability to be at the event representing the SAR to people who already have a link to their family’s history. This could be a great opportunity to find potential new members.
The Director of Parks & Recreation for Stanislaus County has connected with our chapter and told us they would be glad to give us access to any of their facilities for chapter events and activities.
President Elliott shared a recap of the Annual State Society Meeting
Delta Chapter was presented the Outstanding Chapter Award
Delta Chapter was presented with a certificate for our participation in Wreaths Across America
December 16th: Wreaths Across America falls on the same day as the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.
Consider Doing Something or Joining Something
SAR YouTube Chanel: Members Should Subscribe - Link Here
George Washington Endowment Fund
James Fosdyck recently passed away. He has previously visited our chapter to share about the GWEF. I ask all members to consider donation to the fund in his memory. If you commit to donating $1000 you get to become a George Washington Endowment Fund Fellow.
Museum Foundation
The CASSAR is going to be giving $100,000 over next five years with a matching gift of $25,000 and a donation of 1,000,000 left in a SAR member’s will.
Museum Wishlist Online
If our chapter (or an individual) wants to, we can contribute towards an item from the wishlist to donate to the Museum. To participate, please contact Museum Board Chairman M. Kent Gregory, Ed. D. at drkentgregory@earthlink.net or visit the website here.
The Kern Chapter has developed Video Modules for 5th Grade history curriculum.
We can talk to school districts that we have contacts with to share this.
Memorial Day: We’ve been invited to come out on Memorial Day to join the Silicon Valley Chapter. Here is the email witht he information:
The Silicon Valley Chapter SAR color guard would be pleased to have you join us at the May 29, 2023 Memorial Day ceremony at Oak Hill Cemetery, 300 Curtner Avenue, San Jose. The ceremony starts at 9:30 AM at Oak HIll Cemetery. The Silicon Valley Chapter SAR will also be manning an SAR information table at Oak Hill Cemetery before and after the Memorial Day Ceremony.
The Silicon Valley Chapter SAR also has available two loaner uniforms substantially the same as your Revolutionary War uniform if there are others in your SAR chapter who would also like to participate in the Memorial Day ceremony, just contact me ahead of time if someone wishes to reserve one of our chapter loaner uniforms so that I can bring the uniform to the event.
I look forward to having you join the Silicon Valley Chapter SAR at the Oak Hill Cemetery this coming Memorial Day.A copy of the program was passed around from the Annual Memorial Service.
We are looking at possible Color Guard Events: Modesto Nuts, Baseball teams etc…
The fall Business Meeting in Nov of 2023 will be held down south on Queen Mary
America 250 Minutes: Read by Melvin HowellAmerica 250 Minutes: Daily History
On this day in history, May 20, 1774, Parliament shuts down self-rule in Massachusetts in response to the Boston Tea Party. In December of 1774, Boston citizens angry that Parliament was taxing imported tea, even though they had no elected representatives in Parliament, responded by dumping 42 tons of tea into Boston Harbor.
Parliament responded with a series of acts intended to reign in the unruly colonists. The acts were officially called the Restraining Acts, but were commonly called the Coercive Acts in England. The colonists, however, called them the Intolerable Acts and this set of acts was largely responsible for igniting the American Revolution.
The first act to be passed was the Boston Port Act which closed Boston Harbor to all trade until the ruined tea was paid for. This was accomplished with a naval blockade and thousands of troops in Boston. Naturally, the citizens of Boston resented the occupation of their city, just as they had when it was occupied a few years earlier, during an occupation which led to the Boston Massacre.
On May 20, 1774, Parliament enacted the next set of acts. The Massachusetts Government Act required that most government positions be filled by appointment of the King or the governor, who was himself appointed by the King. This effectively gave control of the government to the King. Massachusetts had a long tradition, as did all the colonies, of self-rule, with locally elected officials controlling local governments. As you can imagine, the citizens were outraged. In addition, the Act forbade town meetings (where much of the rebellion was being fomented) to meeting only once a year.
Along with the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act gave the governor of Massachusetts the right to remove trials of colonial officials to other colonies or even to England. The purpose of this act was to remove the authority of colonial laws and colonial juries over government officials. Such locally created laws and local juries were often at odds with royal prerogatives. The Administration of Justice Act was actually called the “Murder Act” by George Washington because it allowed colonial officials to commit crimes against local laws and get away with them.
The final two parts of the Coercive Acts were the Quartering Act, which renewed the British army's authority to house troops on private property, and the Quebec Act, which expanded British French-speaking Quebec south to the Ohio River and west to the Mississippi. It granted freedom of religion to Quebec's Catholic speaking residents and also removed the right to self-rule in this territory. The Quebec Act outraged American colonists because the French were still seen as an enemy after the French and Indian War and Catholicism was viewed with disdain by many Protestants, not necessarily because of religious differences, but because of Catholicism's history of entanglements in authoritarian European governments. So the colonists viewed the strengthening of French Catholic Quebec as a direct threat.
Colonists in all thirteen colonies were alarmed by the Intolerable Acts. If self-rule could be closed down in Massachusetts, Parliament could do it in any colony. Their response was to form the First Continental Congress to deal with the Acts as one body. When the First Congress met in Philadelphia in September of 1774, they remonstrated with Parliament for changes to be made, but also warned all the colonies to begin gathering arms and ammunition to prepare for war.
SAR Recessional
“Until we meet again, let us remember our obligations to our forefathers, who gave us our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, an independent Supreme Court and a nation of free men.”
The Benediction: Chaplain Gary Overby
Upcoming Events
Memorial Day Ceremony: May 29, 2023 at 9:30 at Oak Hill Cemetery, 300 Curtner Avenue, San Jose
Next Chapter Meeting: August 19th at 10:30 at Cafe Platano
Enjoy your summer break!