Society Saturday - Yorktown Day

The Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America held their fall board meeting in Yorktown, Virginia to coincide with the Yorktown Day celebration.  Our hotel was right on the York River with a lovely view from each room.

Our first stop was the Grace Episcopal Church - originally built in 1697.

Several prominent people are buried in the church cemetery including Thomas Nelson (hero of Yorktown) and Nicolas Martiau (Huguenot founder of Yorktown).

 

The church was originally built of marl (center) from the York river bank, then reinforced over the years.

Our next stop was the Rosewell Ruins.  This was the former home of Mann Page and his descendants, all prominent men of early Virginia.  Thomas Jefferson was a family friend and frequent visitor and is said to have  penned part of the Declaration of Independance while staying there.

The mansion was destroyed by fire in 1916 and is currently the site of an ongoing archeological project.

Drawings and models at the visitor center show that it was quite a mansion when it was built.

The next day was Yorktown Day - the 235th anniversary of the surrender of the British.  There were several wreath layings and other patriotic celebrations throughout the day.  A parade down main street was led by a group of reinactors and consisted of several patriotic groups.

This was followed by a ceremony at the Victory Monument with representatives from several patriotic groups, as well as the consul from France.  A huge wreath was placed on the monument.

Society Saturday - Baltimore and the War of 1812

The National Board of the US Daughters of 1812 spent a day touring some historic sites in Baltimore.

Our first stop was at Fort McHenry, site of the August 1814 bombardment that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the "Star Spangled Banner".

We learned what life was like during the past 200 years of the fort's existence, saw the soldiers' quarters, looked out over the ramparts, examined the cannons, and of course, saw where the flag stood.

That afternoon, we visited the Star Spangled  Flag house, where we learned all about Mary Pickersgill, and how she made the flag.   There is a museum next door with a wall showing how big the flag actually was - 30 x 42 feet.

Society Saturday - Columbus Day 2016

It was a beautiful day in Washington DC when several patriotic and historical groups gathered to celebrate the 524th anniversary of Columbus landing in the new world.

The Children of the American Colonists were represented by their National President and President General, along with a few members.

The National winner of the NSDAR Columbus Essay is the State President of Pennsylvania CAC.  She read her essay to the crowd.

Then all of the organizations presented their wreaths.

thanks to NCCA and Susan Meer for the photos.

Society Saturday - Feeding the children of Haiti

To celebrate the 126th anniversary of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, every chapter was asked to do a community service project this week.  Our chapter chose to go to Feed My Starving Children.

This is a non-profit agency that uses volunteer groups to pack food that is sent to third world countries.  The food is dried rice, soy, vegetables and a vitamin powder. Because of the recent hurricane Matthew, the food we packed was sent to Haiti. 

Several members of the Isle a la Cache chapter DAR, along with members of the Pierce Downer C.A.R., had a fun and productive morning for our #DAR #dayofservice. 

Society Saturday - Heritage Weekend

The Illinois Heritage Alliance held their Fourth Annual Heritage Weekend last week.  This year, there were 18 societies represented, inlcuding a few new societies - new to the state or just new to the weekend.

Members gathered Friday evening for a meet and greet.  This is always a good opportunity to meet new people and reacquaint with old friends.

Saturday morning started with a color guard supplied by the local Sons of the American Revolution chapter.  We had a color guard from a local Naval Sea Cadet unit on Sunday morning.

Each Society held their meeting in an open format so that others (especially prospective members) could attend.  They gave basic information about their society, such as dates and locations of meetings, and membership requirements, in addition to conducting their own business.

Everyone joined together for lunch and dinner on Saturday.  Our luncheon speaker was Betsy Jones, the Governor General of the National Society Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims.  She attended Heritage Weekend as part of her official visit to the Illinois Branch.  She gave an entertaining talk on the "Colorful Ladies of Tombstone".  It was an entertaining look at some of the early residents of that famous old western town.

Our speaker that evening was Kathryn Harris.  She gave us a first person interpretation of Elizabeth Keckley, who was the dressmaker for Mary Todd Lincoln.  We learned another aspect of that first lady.

On Sunday morning, there were 6 more meetings.  Everyone went home with a sense of satisfaction after that weekend.

Www.facebook.com/IllinoisHeritageAlliance

Society Saturday - Children of the American Colonists meet in Lexington

The 76th Annual General Assembly of the Children of the American Colonists was held in Lexington, KY.

These were cupcakes!

Our "Fun Day" began with a trip to the Kentucky Horse Park.  There, the members (and adults) learned about horse racing, and the history of domesticated horses.  Some went for horseback rides.

The afternoon was spent at Spindletop estate.  This is the private club for Alumni of UK.  We enjoyed a picnic buffet, swimming, and touring the house.

In the evening, members enjoyed pizza and swimming, then had fun in the hospitality room.  As usual, all participated in making a Christmas gift to be delivered to our veterans in December.

On Saturday, we conducted the business meeting.  National President Reagan Zolman did an excellent job of presiding.

The meeting ended with a memorial service for one Honorary President General and several Life Promoters who died this past year.  Anthony P. played taps.

In the afternoon, we traveled to the Jack Jouett House.  Jack Jouett was known as the "Paul Revere of the South".  He traveled 40 miles to warn the Virginia legislature that British Dragoons were on the way.  After the Revolutionary War, he retired to Versailles, Kentucky.  Our CAC National Project this year was to place a marker and flags at his house.  We dedicated the marker and flags on a beautiful sunny (and warm!) afternoon.  After the dedication, we enjoyed refreshments provided by the Kentucky Daughters of the American Colonists.

In the evening, we held our Candlelight Banquet.  Awards were given out, we were entertained by the singing of member Molly M., and new officers were installed.

Reagan is now a Kentucky Colonel.

New Life Promoters

The evening ended with fellowship and plans to attend next year's General Assembly in Missouri.

Workday Wednesday - Thirty Years at the County

I am reposting this from my work blog so  that my descendants will have an idea of what I did for most of my life ----

Thirty years ago, I was a wide-eyed naive intern starting my rotation on Ward 60A - General Surgery - at Cook County Hospital.  I had chosen this residency because of the world famous trauma unit at the hospital.

After 6 years of residency (including a year of research), I decided to stay on as the Clinical Trauma Fellow.  Upon finishing the fellowship, there was an opening on the attending staff which I accepted.
Long story short, I never left.  I had never intended to stay at the County or in Chicago as long as I did.  I looked elsewhere for fellowships and jobs, but nothing could compare to the World Famous Trauma Unit at Cook County Hospital.

I have worked in 3 Trauma Units in 2 hospitals - the original unit on the third floor of the old hospital followed by the "new" unit on the first floor of the old hospital - and, for the past 14 years, in the unit at the new hospital.

I have worked under three Trauma Directors, with several Trauma Attendings and Fellows, and innumerable nurses, clerks, pharmacists, therapists, etc.

I have helped train nearly 2500 residents and a similar number of medical students.  I have watched some of those residents pursue their own careers in trauma and become leaders in the field.

I have treated thousands of patients over the years.  In addition to resuscitating and admitting my share of the now over 6000 trauma activations per year, I have helped to care for many more while they were in the Trauma ICU and wards.

Now, after 30 years, it is time to move on.  I have been reflecting on the past 30 years - more than half my life - spent at one of the country's busiest Trauma Units.  There are many things I will not miss, but several that I will:

I will not miss:

• Hospital food - while the cafeteria in the new hospital is much better than the old "Cafe' Cloaca", it is still just hospital food.
• Fighting with a combative patient at 2 am who needs care because of an injury they sustained  while drunk or high.
• Notifying families that their loved one is dead as a result of senseless violence, or drunk driving.
• Trying to sleep in the call room, knowing that I may be called to save a life at any minute.
• Not having the appropriate suture, dressing, or medication because a) the hospital is on credit hold with that company, b) someone forgot to reorder or restock that item, or c) nobody on night shift can access it.
• The morning drive to work.  I live 20 miles away by mostly expressway.  My morning commute has lengthened from 30 minutes to 90 minutes and it doesn't matter how early I leave.

I will miss:

• All of the staff I have worked with.  Although we came from many walks of life, I believe that we all had the welfare of our patients in mind.
• Spending time with the residents on call - we bonded over shared experiences and take-out dinners.
• Seeing a patient who was once near the brink of death leave the hospital for rehab.  Or even, better, seeing that patient come back weeks  later to say "Thank you".
• Impromptu teaching during morning report, on call, and in the OR.  While  enjoyed giving lectures, my favorite type of educating was discussing the injury pattern, work-up and management of whatever patient happened to come in at the time.

Goodbye, Cook County Trauma Unit - you will always hold a special place in my heart.