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A Publication of the Niles Noon Optimist Club Meetings every Tuesday at Noon at the Orchard Hills Country Club on Niles-Buchanan Rd. in Buchanan, MI ¨ Zone 19 Michigan Regional District |
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VOL. XXX, NO. 081103 ¨ ERIKA KIRTDOLL, PRESIDENT ¨ DIANE BASS, EDITOR ¨ P.O. BOX 63 NILES, MI 49120 ¨ AUGUST 11, 2003 |
DATELINE: Tuesday, August 11, 2003. President Erika Kirtdoll opened the meeting and gave the invocation before leading us in the pledge of allegiance.
INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: Jazmine Kyles introduced her guest Becky Bookout from Chemical Bank Shoreline. Sgt. At Arms Andrew Plym introduced his guest Nancy Kulesia from St. Joseph. Diane Bass introduced her guest Thomas Traverse who will also be our guest speaker today. Welcome All!
BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES: Dee Capron celebrated his birthday on August 5th. Happy belated Birthday Dee! Guest Nancy Kulesia celebrates her birthday today. Happy Birthday Nancy!
FIRST READING: President Kirtdoll conducted a First Reading for prospective new member Nancy Kulesia. Nancy is a resident of St. Joseph. She has a daughter and three grandchildren. She is a friend of Sgt. At Arms Andrew Plym. Her birthday happens to be today.
FIRST READING: President Kirtdoll also conducted a First Reading for prospective new member Tosca Rifenberg. Tosca is the daughter of Optimist Paul Rifenberg. She works as an advertising consultant at Leader Publications.
BRAGS: Dana Trowbridge bragged on his son 8-year old Colin Trowbridge who had worked with his dad on triathlons two years in a row and entered this past weekend’s Children’s Triathlon. Colin came in tied for 5th Place out of 76 kids for his first ever triathlon. He finished the course in 13 minutes and 11 seconds and received a trophy. Ata Boy Colin! Dana also bragged on how much of a pleasure it is to work on the timing races with Bob Rhynard and the rest of the crew. Jon Martin bragged that he and his wife Andie are expecting their first child! Congratulations Jon and Andie . . . We knew you could do it! Andie is four months along and we wish both of them the best. Past President Tom Majerek bragged that Niles Township made him remove the temporary sign in front of his business but that’s o.k. since everyone on 11th Street in the township will have to do the same. It will probably improve the visible aesthetics of the area. Tom said the only downer in the whole thing is that he had just repainted the sign and bought new letters for it. Tom also bragged on President Kirtdoll and Diane Bass who got together to bring forth revised bylaws for the Board of Directors. He said it had probably been 30 years since they were revised. Paul Crouch bragged that Bertrand Township now requires a permit for realtors to put their realty signs up. Diane Bass bragged on Craig Krassow’s daughter Jessica who was named Berrien County Fair Queen. Jessica had a beautiful picture in the newspaper. John Willis bragged on this past week’s Children’s Triathlon. He thanked the group of volunteers that showed up and a special thanks to the wives who came out to help (especially those who got a wake up call to come out). Much appreciation goes to Karen Rhynard, Donna Middleton and Lorraine Armitage. Thanks Ladies! John also bragged again on Lorraine who made this great zucchini bread the morning of the race. John was so busy he didn’t get a chance to have any during the race but Lorraine sent him home with the rest and that bread has been so delicious to have in the mornings. President Kirtdoll bragged that she is again coaching during the tennis season. She says this year she has 28 players. She also bragged on her Board of Directors who cheerfully held up during a two hour board meeting. President Kirtdoll thanks one and all.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Dennis Middleton reminded Optimists that this weekend the race timing volunteers will be handling the Three Rivers Triathlon. Volunteers will need to be there by 8 am. Take M-60 to Corey Lake Rd. and turn left. Then turn right at the corner where the pizza parlor is. From there the crowd will lead you to the finish line. Volunteers should be home by noon. John Armitage announced that September 16th is open for a guest speaker and all of October needs to be scheduled. Please contact him if you have a program. He also reminded the group that two weeks from today Berrien County Health Officials will be our guest speakers. They will be talking with us about a new pilot program whereby nurses will be helping low-income young girls learn how to take care of their children, etc. Please bring a friend to lunch that day to hear the program. Sgt. At Arms Andrew Plym announced that on August 26th it will be Red, White and Blue day. Please wear these three patriotic colors in celebration of Labor Day. President Kirtdoll announced that there would be no lunch meetings on September 2nd because of Labor Day festivities or on September 30th. On September 30th we will be holding our annual banquet right here at Orchard Hills. All Optimists should plan on attending. She also announced that we had received a "Thank You" card from Danielle Foster the winner of this year’s Oratorical Contest. Don’t forget the Optimist’s own Niles Triathlon on Saturday Labor Day Weekend. We will need people to help set up the course, etc. on Friday August 29th. All Niles Optimists are obligated to be in attendance for the race on Saturday, August 30th by 6:30 a.m. JOOI club members will be helping with the triathlon also.
50/50 RAFFLE DRAWING: Dana Trowbridge conducted the 50/50 raffle. Susan Armstrong took home the $11 pot! Congratulations Susan!
GUEST SPEAKER: Diane Bass introduced today’s guest speaker as Thomas Traverse. Tom is the superintendent for the Street Department with the City of Niles. Today he spoke to us about his functions serving as a Civil War Union Re-enactor. Tom told the group that the regiment he is based with is called the First Michigan Unit. This unit was originally one of the first regiments from west of the Aleghany to arrive in Washington D.C. during the Civil War. Their presence was so welcomed in the capital that Abraham Lincoln was quoted as saying upon their arrival, "Thank God for Michigan" They arrived on May 16, 1861. The regiment was initially assigned to General Huntsonville. They fought at Bull Run. In 90 days of service they lost only 6 men to sure death although 28 men were missing in action along with 5 officers and 33 men were wounded. This is considered an admirable loss in relation to the many battles they fought during the time period. The State of Michigan then organized the First Michigan Unit into a 3-year regiment and they marched off to fight in the 7 Day Campaign, a battle which actually lasted seven whole days. They eventually arrived in central Virginia to take part in what is known as the Second Bull Run. From there they fought in Fredericksburg and ended up at the battle of Appottomax. Of the 1,884 men that set out 130 of them were killed, 39 died from their wounds and many were lost in battle by the time the campaign was completed. Tom told us that on August 23rd and 24th that 1,500 to 2,000 re-enactors would be in Jackson, MI at Cascade Falls Park (Go to
http://www.civilwarmuster.org/) Excellent Site! In Cascade Falls Park the re-enactors will be recreating two battles: The Battle of Stone's River (Murfreesboro) and The Attack at Chickasaw Bluff. These Civil War regiments are infantry regiments and they walk everywhere they go. There was always at least one woman, a laundress, who was usually the wife of one of the soldiers. Tom said that about half of the First Michigan Unit were featured in the movie, "Gods and Generals". Next year they are told that all of the soldiers will get a chance to re-enact in the movie, "War and Remembrance" and that they can be paid up to $300 a day. Last year Tom traveled to Gettysburg to join with 16,000 re-enactors for the Battle of Gettysburg. He told us that many confederate re-enactors never come north of the Mason-Dixon line, but that Union re-enactors are always traveling south. Tom’s uniform shows him as a major in the Union Army. He explained his uniform and gear to the group and emphasized that all of the soldiers wore wool uniforms, regardless of the weather. He talked about how his Brogan Shoes were made to be worn on either foot so that they would wear evenly and last longer. The shoes actually had small horseshoes nailed to the heels to make them wear better. He said that the average infantryman slept on the ground, but since he was an officer he slept on a cot in a tent. Tom also explained that his maroon tassel around his waist designated him as an officer. If the tassel color was yellow that meant he was a Calvary Man and green tassels were reserved for doctors. The Niles Noon Optimists offer their heartfelt thanks to Tom Traverse for being our guest speaker today.
CLOSING CREED: Susan Armstrong led the group in reciting the Closing Creed at the end of the meeting.
If you’d like to see previous issues of the Optizette visit our site at
www.nilesoptimist.org or visit the international site at www.optimist.org. Don’t forget the Niles JOOI Club’s site is www.jooi.org .
THOUGHTS FOR TODAY:
"When things are going sweetly and peacefully, please pause for a moment, and then say out loud: "If this isn’t nice, what is?" Kurt Vonnegut, Writer
"Don’t waste too much of the time you have left. Make some piece of the world care." Robert B. Horton, Business Executive
"Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else’s." Mary Schmich, Columnist
TODAY IN HISTORY: August 13th
1923: Mustafa Kemal, later known as Atatürk ("Father Turk"), is elected the first president of the republic of Turkey.
1876: German composer Richard Wagner's four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen premieres in the new Bayreuth Festspielhaus, which Wagner had built for performances of the Ring cycle.
1942: Bambi, Walt Disney's fifth animated feature, opens at New York's Radio City Music Hall.
1624: French king Louis XIII makes Cardinal Richelieu his chief minister. Richelieu will firmly rule the country for the next 18 years, bringing it to military prominence in Europe.
1961: The East German government surrounds West Berlin with temporary fortifications during the night, stopping the flight of East Germans to the West. The barrier is soon replaced by the concrete Berlin Wall.
1521: A Spanish force under Hernán Cortés, aided by Tlaxcalan allies, completes its capture of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán (the site of present-day Mexico City), after an eight-week siege.
FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS: August 13th
Ben Hogan, golfer (1912)
Lucy Stone, feminist and abolitionist (1818)
Fidel Castro, Cuban president (1926)
Alfred Hitchcock, film director (1899)
Kathleen Battle, Opera singer (1948)
Salvador Luria, biologist (1912)
DAILY JOKE:
The Test
A lawyer, an engineer and a mathematician were called in for a test.
The engineer went in first and was asked, ''''What is 2+2?'''' The engineer thought awhile and finally answered, ''''4.''''
Then the mathematician was called in and was asked the same question. With little thought he replied, ''''4.0''''
Then the lawyer was called in, and was asked the same question. The lawyer answered even quicker than the mathematician, ''''What do you want it to be?''''
WHO AM I?
Born on this day in 1860, I was known as "Little Sure Shot."
WHO AM I ANSWER:
American markswoman Annie Oakley became the star attraction of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in the late 1800s. Oakley was reportedly able to hit the thin edge of a playing card at 30 paces.