Kiwanis Club of Bethesda, Maryland

Kee-Notes

 Weekly Newsletter of the Kiwanis Club of Bethesda, Maryland

Serving the Community Since 1945

Meeting Date: June 12, 2008

President Liz Quinn opened our meeting with the Pledge, singing of My Country 'Tis of Thee and Bill Hague delivered the prayer.

Announcements:

President Liz Quinn presented a check for $6,500 to Rex Smith, Executive director of Hearts and Homes for Youth (see Rex and Pres. Liz, to left).  Rex related that our Bethesda Kiwanis Club has been a supporter of Hearts and Home for Youth for 40 plus years.

President Liz also presented a check for $8,000 to Suburban Hospital towards the Pediatric Clinic for Children. Our own Shira Oler accepted the check on behalf of Suburban and reminded us that one of   the first gifts to Suburban was an iron lung donated by the club in early 1950’s. 

Bob Quinn reminded us that our Golf Tournament is Friday,  September 12, 2008 at Bretton Woods and he passed out brochures and thanked Jeanne Smith and Shira Oler for their expertise in putting it together. Bob needs lots of help- especially publicizing and obtaining sponsors for tees and advertisers for the program and, of course, golfers. This is the major fundraiser for our club and we need everyone to pitch in.

Happy Dollars:

Bob Quinn HD for his trip to Costa Rica next week with 20 youth from Christ Church.  Dick Ruprecht  HD for golf brochure, HD for his trip next week with his kids, HD for Father’s Day this Sunday. Shira Oler HD glad to be back, HD for upcoming trip to Israel and also for a cruise through New England later in the summer.  Bob Gradle HD for soon to be a great grandfather. Scott Brewer HD glad to be back. Bill Hague HD for Bob Quinn’s trip next week with youth group-- keep him in your prayers!   Jim Aylor HD for goddaughter graduating from high school and will be attending Northwestern University.

Speaker:

Marc Leepson returned for his second appearance as guest speaker.  He is the author of  Flag: An American Biography (Thomas Dunne Books, 2005), the history of the Stars and Stripes from the beginnings to today.  He spoke about Flag Day and how Americans seem to place a special importance on our flag- much more so than citizens of other countries. He listed several unique facts that reveal the importance of the flag. First is the Pledge of Allegiance written in 1892. Second is the national anthem in which the flag is prominent in the lyrics. Third is the national song of the United States as proclaimed by Congress- which is Stars and Stripes Forever by John Phillip Sousa. Fourth is Flag Day proclaimed by Congress to be June 14^th.  Fifth is the Code of Care of the Flag.  This is not a law but a code of several pages detailing care of the flag. During the 1900’s various laws prohibiting displaying the flag on items were passed but in 1988 the Supreme Court declared these laws unconstitutional.

One common myth is that Betsy Ross produced the first American Flag. This was first proclaimed at a news conference by her grandson in 1897 and as proof he submitted affidavits by family members. Unfortunately there is no first-hand independent evidence that she produced the first flag.  Another interesting fact is that until 1861 the flag was not prominently displayed by most citizens. This changed overnight when the flag at Fort Sumter was surrendered to the Confederates. Almost immediately citizens began displaying the flag from houses and businesses.

A fascinating talk. Pat Tiede won the 50/50- only two dollars today

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Editor - GEORGE PATTERSON (301-652-7061
Website Editors - BEN SCHLESINGER (301-951-7266, bschles@bsaenergy.com), PAT TIEDE (301-493-6937), patriciatiede@comcast.net