Piedmont Chapter Georgia Society Sons of the American Revolution The Piedmont Piper Edition CXXV(125th Issue) PiedmontChapter.org September 2015 Message From Piedmont Chapter “Constitution Day” President Bill Kabel I’ve been preparing a Speakers Bu- reau presentation about the United States Constitution which I’ll be giv- ing to the Martha Stewart Bulloch DAR Chapter. As I was doing the research, I came across several facts about the Constitution that I found most interesting. ―Constitution Day‖ It took less than 100 days to create the first draft of the Constitution, and just is September 17, so I think it’s timely 116 to finalize it. Can you imagine our elected representatives today agree- to share with you some of those facts ing on, creating, and writing something so significant in that amount of time? about the document that is the guard- How many years was it that they couldn’t even agree on a budget?! ian of American Democracy: There are 39 delegate signatures on the Constitution, but only 38 men signed it. John Dickinson of Delaware was going to be absent, but before he left he asked George Read to sign it for him. In This Issue One state refused to attend the Constitutional Convention, and it eventually became the 13th and last state to ratify it – over a year after George Washing- Chapter Meeting Highlights ton had been inaugurated as our first President. That state was Rhode Is- land. Upcoming Events One state decided that it was going to ratify the Constitution even before it became a state. Vermont was our 14th state. Welcome New Members Doug The most recent amendment to the Constitution, the 27th, which deals with McNeil, Bruce and Kyle Hagenau Congressional salaries, took over 202 years to be ratified. It was sent to the states for ratification on September 25, 1789. Fellowship Christian School student John Tyler, and seven other Vice Presidents, were, in fact, ―unconstitutional‖ wins NSSAR Award Presidents because there was nothing in the Constitution until the 25th amendment that provided for them to become President when the President Old Soldiers Day Parade they served was no longer President. The Constitution says only that the Vice President will assume the duties thereof. ―Bring a Friend‖ in October Continued on page 2 Page 2 The Piedmont Piper Message From Piedmont Piedmont Chapter Chapter July Chapter Meeting Highlights President Bill Kabel Compatriot Terry Manning, President of the Atlanta Chapter was the guest speaker “Constitution Day” at the Piedmont July meeting. He gave a very interesting presentation entitled Continued from page 1 "Martha Washington - A Brief Biography" The two men most prominent Martha Washington was born on June 2, with the Declaration of Independ- 1731 at Chestnut Grove plantation in New ence (Thomas Jefferson and John Kent County, Virginia. Martha was the Adams) did not sign the Constitu- first of eight children born to a wealthy tion. Both were Ministers serving planter named John Dandridge and his overseas (France and Great Brit- wife Frances Jones. Martha Washington ain). was 27 years old and a widowed mother of When they started working on the two when she married George Washington in 1759. She was also one of the Constitution the delegates locked wealthiest women in Virginia, having inherited some 15,000 acres of farmland the doors and stationed guards at from her deceased husband, Daniel Parke Custis. Martha’s marriage to Daniel them. Do you suppose they had Parke Custis, who died on July 8, 1757, lasted just over seven years. She had nosey reporters back then? They many suitors and chose George Washington. evidently were more concerned about getting something accom- At the end of 1758, Washington resigned his military commission. On January plished than being concerned 6, 1759, less than ten months after their initial meeting and less than eighteen about transparency and Sunshine months after her husband’s death, Martha Dandridge Custis married George Laws. Oh my, how priorities Washington at her home in New Kent County. have changed in the last 228 years! Washington moved his new wife and newly-adopted stepchildren, Martha One well-known Patriot refused ("Patsy") and John Parke ("Jacky"), to his home in Mount Vernon, Virginia. to attend the Constitutional Con- There the couple raised their children and entertained Virginia society. The vention because he “smelt a rat.” Washingtons gave up eight years of their lives to the American Revolution, That was Patrick Henry. and returned home to Mount Vernon in 1782. By 1788 Mount Vernon was again prosperous, and they had the time to enjoy themselves, as well as their As I was preparing the presentation it was adopted children—grandchildren from her first marriage. interesting to discover many more ―facts‖ about the Constitution. I often wondered After much soul-searching, Washington agreed to have his name put forward what it would be like if we could only rein- for election as the first President of the United States under the new Constitu- carnate some of our patriot forefathers to tion. serve today. Somehow, I think things would be very much different. He bowed to his sense of duty and was unanimously elected president. On April 16, 1789, he set off for New York City, the nation’s temporary capital, for his inauguration. They left New York City for good in August 1790, stay- Bruce and Kyle Hagenau were in- ing at Mount Vernon for three months before returning to Philadelphia, the ducted as new members of Pied- new capital in November 1790. mont Chapter at August Meeting. In the photo l-r: President Bill Kabel, They lived in Philadelphia until the end of his second term. While the first lady Kyle Hagenau and Bruce Hagenau. Addi- was noted for her generosity and warmth as the nation's premier hostess, she tional details will be provided when longed for her private life in Virginia. In a letter to a niece, she confided: "I available. think I am more like a state prisoner than anything else; there is certain bounds set for me which I must not depart from." When George's presidency ended, the Washingtons returned to Mount Vernon in March 1797, and George passed away only two years later. After her death, Martha was buried beside him in a modest tomb on the estate. George Washington died in 1799 and Martha Dan- dridge Custis Washington died May 22, 1802. Compatriot Manning concluded his presentation noting "Martha Washington, the worthy partner of the worthiest of men." The Piedmont Piper Page 3 Piedmont Chapter July Chapter Meeting Highlights GASSAR President Thomas M. Owen The Piedmont Chapter was privileged to have GASSAR President, Thomas M. Owen, at the July chapter meeting. He spoke about the Georgia Society, stressing the need to increase our membership. The Georgia Society for most of the past ten years has been dealing with a glass ceiling of fluctuating member numbers and heavy turnover of core SAR people. We seldom turnover our BOM members, Committee Members, or our Color Guard, and the challenge is to encourage this same level of commitment from each of our members. He noted that we presently have 32 Chapters and that three new chapters are in the plans for this year. He said our present membership is 1719, and our organization has remained near this level for several years. President Owen said we acquire about 150-250 new members each year, but on the down side we lose nearly that same amount. Retention of core memberships is essential if we are to thrive as an organization. We are charged with the responsibility of preserving the memory and traditions of the Patriots of the Revolutionary War. We per- petuate their accomplishments via membership strength, and it is through that strength in numbers that we can succeed. President Owen suggested that we look at the DAR and the success they have had in increasing their membership. He mentioned encouraging the sons of DAR members to join the SAR, sharing the GASSAR Hornet’s Nest newsletter, merchandizing and promot- ing the SAR brand to the business community. He spoke briefly about the SAR National Congress indicating that the South Atlantic District swept the awards and Georgia was rec- ognized twenty five times at the award ceremony. He also noted that three GASSAR members were elected to national positions: Dr. Ed Rigel, Sr. South Atlantic Vice President General, Larry T. Guzy Treasurer General, and J. Michael Tomme, Sr. Secretary Gen- Welcome New Member Doug McNeil Piedmont President Bill Kabel administered the oath and inducted new member Doug McNeil at the July Chapter meeting. Doug was born and spent his youth in the Chicago area. In 1970 he joined the US Navy. He was assigned to the USS De Haven DD 727, a Fletcher class destroyer. He was a shop keeper 2nd Class and was the rear mount gun captain. He did one tour of Viet Nan in 1971. Doug later finished his college at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain Connecticut. He spent many years with the Pennzoil Company as Regional Manager. He later held Sales Manager positions with Acar, Inc and Robin Industries in the RV indus- try. Doug has been married to his wife Melanie for 38 years. They reside in East Cobb. They have a son, Michael and a daughter, Kimberly. He is an avid golfer and furniture refini- sher. Upcoming Events Chapter meeting Saturday September 19, 2015 Chapter meeting Saturday October 17, 2015 Roswell Recreation Center 830 Grimes Bridge Road Roswell Recreation Center 830 Grimes Bridge Road Roswell, Georgia Roswell, Georgia 8:00 am Breakfast 8:00 am Breakfast 8:30 am Meeting 8:30 am Meeting Guest Speaker: The Honorable T.