The Fort Brooke Record

November 1999

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November Meeting

Tuesday, November 16, 1999
Buffet Dinner begins @ 6 PM
Meeting @ 7 PM

Program

Cmdr. John Adams

Treasurer, Florida Division SCV

Speaks

On a Vision for the SCV

@

Buddy Freddys

134 South Gornto Lake Rd.
Brandon, FL

(813) 661-6005

Editor’s Apology: Due to simply being out of town on business during the first half of October, I was not able to create the October Fort Brooke Record. To those who look with expectation to this literary work, my personal apologies. I do realise and appreciate the importance of this vital information link and am glad to be back. Expiration dates for all paid ad’s will be pushed forward for one month. Thanks to Adjutant Dwight Tetrick for stepping in and sending out the little postcards thereby keeping everyone in the know.

Program Article

It was but six years ago that the Florida Division was considering the prospect of a major in-house struggle over the issue of raising the dues from five dollars to six. The Florida Division had all of 1300 dollars in the bank and was corporately living from one due’s notice to the next. Not a pretty picture for an organisation that stands toe to toe with the politically correct in the defence of our heritage and its symbols.

That was the situation with the Florida Division until a new man named John W. Adams took the job of Florida Division Treasurer in June of 1994. Today the Florida Division is on solid financial ground with $30,000.00 in assets and with a cash flow that exceeds $40,000.00 per year. And the Division dues that you as a member pays is still at $5.00 per year. As they say, “The proof is in the pudding.” Not bad.

John Adams is a fellow with vision and he has the talents and ability to get things done. And that he does. Consider this, not only is Commander Adams the Florida Division Treasurer but he is also the Florida Division Webmaster, Circulation Manager of the Florida Blockade Runner, SCV National Webmaster, member of National SCV Technology Committee, Chairman National SCV Fund Raising & Merchandising Committee and administrator of the SCV’s Email Listserver.

As the editor and the person responsible to write this column, I asked John for a bio and a short summary of his SCV involvement and accomplishments. What I received was a single spaced two page outline, well ordered and concise, of this man’s SCV activities for the past five years. No self boasting – just simple facts.

From the bio section I learned that John is a Virginian, born in Charlottesville in 1956. He is married to Cathy, has a daughter Lindsay and lives in Altamonte Springs. He graduated from Valencia Community College and attended Nova University. He uses his talents in technology to make a living with AT&T where he works as a web design engineer.

His accomplishments and awards within and from the SCV and the MOS&B are almost too numerous to properly cover. It seems pretty obvious that John is well liked and respected all the way from his home camp (CSS Florida Camp 102) to the National Headquarters at Elm Springs. What is significant is that John Adams has been a friend of the Lesley Camp since day one. And today he is an announced candidate for Division Commander for 2000-2002.

His topic for the program concerns the vision he holds for the SCV...“Where the SCV is, where it’s going, and how YOU can become more involved. A discussion of the SCV’s newest programs, and how members at ANY LEVEL can participate.”

Put simply, if this camp is “On Fire” then the Florida Division is smoking. John Adams is part of the reason. Flags are going up across Florida and the Florida Division is solvent. Come and get excited about our Confederate future. See you on the 16th. at Buddy Freddys.

See you on Tuesday the 16th at Buddy Freddys!

Bus Happy!

Flags Across Florida

The Division effort titled Flags Across Florida is off to a great and wonderful start. The first site will be dedicated at 2 PM on Saturday, December 11, at a location on Hwy 27 north of Tallahassee and just south of the Georgia state line. This has been a very good and profitable fundraiser for the Division. The clear and definite message and import to anyone and everyone is that the will of the membership demands that more of these flags be raised. It is hoped that Interstate 75 near the Georgia line will be the next site location.

While the fight goes on across the South to keep flags flying, here in Florida we are putting up flags that can never be touched by the likes of our antagonizes. Remember that these flags will be LARGE and very HIGH. In this first site the flag will be 10 by 15 feet and 50 feet high. In this particular site on Hwy 27 the Governor’s mansion is quite near. Jeb Bush will certainly know about this addition in his neighborhood.

In lieu of the regular camp meeting this December we will charter two buses and will leave Tampa early on the morning of the 11th. for Tallahassee. After the dedication service and a Bar-B-Q dinner we will return that evening to Tampa.

Remember that the Flags Across Florida project originated with the Lesley Camp. Our Judge Advocate Dr. Roger Crane made the proposal to Division and from there we took off to the races. And of course, the Lesley Camp did the prototypes with the Brandon and the Bethlehem Cemetery sites.

By now you have received in the mail letter containing the registration form for this one day trip. It is important that you return the form just as soon as possible. Please do not hesitate.

Columbia, South Carolina

It appears that many folks from across the South will be converging on Columbia, South Carolina for a large Pro-Flag Rally to be held Saturday, January 8. This is the day before the SC legislature takes up the issue of the flag. We are planning to charter one coach from the Lesley Camp for the over night trip. We will leave on that Friday, spend the night in Columbia, then return to Tampa late Saturday night. The registration forms for this trip will be sent out during the very first of December. The charged cost of this trip will reflect the bus fare and the overnight lodging.

A Good Meeting

At the September meeting we began the new meeting season with a strong showing. We were filled to capacity with approximately 65 people signed in. As always, the meeting went very smoothly. Florida Division 1st Lt. Cmdr. Robbie Robertson gave us a report on the Florida bloodstained War time Battleflag restoration project. The Florida State Museum in Tallahassee houses and cares for these Southern heritage ensigns.

From his report we learned that there have certainly been a series of victories as the number of genuine Florida War flags that have been restored has steadily increased. But we also learned that there are 14 more that are in the collection that need to be restored at a cost that can approach $7,000.00 per flag. In the past the Florida Division has been matched by grant money for this project. In other words, for every dollar we of the Florida SCV put up there was given by the state another dollar for the restoration. The flags are restored one at a time. Unfortunately, the last time that we applied for this matching grant money we were turned down. This is a first.

After the meeting and program camp members voluntarily approached Cmdr. Robertson and in individual donations gave him a total of $160.00 for this Division project.

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Can It Get Any Better?

On Saturday, October 30 the Lesley Camp held the 26th Semi Annual Fishfry. This fall we returned to featuring fried mullet instead of freshwater catfish. Now there are two “camps” within our Camp. One that likes catfish and the other that prefers mullet.

Truly, this fishfry was a wonderful success. The estimation is that around 200 folks were in attendance. The food was, as always, just great. Cmdr. Hayward is just wonderful in opening his property so unselfishly to us all. The MC for the evening, Quartermaster Jake English always guarantees, through his tireless energy, that everything goes very smoothly. And it did.

And talk about good music… Southern Star Bluegrass did a jam-up professional job. Nothing but accolades were heard of their performance.

Guests included Florida Division 2nd Lt Cmdr. Dr. Robert Blackmon and Florida Division Treasurer John Adams. Several SCV camps were represented as were several UDC chapters. The Plant City Chapter, UDC, announced the Lee/Jackson Banquet (see article on page 4) and several presentations were made.

But the most momentous presentation was made to our very favourite lady and only Rebmaster of the Lesley Camp Webpage, Mrs. Lunelle Siegel. We were honoured to present to this fine lady a Certificate of Appreciation and a dozen long stemmed red roses. Just a little over one year ago Lunelle took over the site and quickly created a site which is unsurpassed. The December newsletter will contain a report written by Lunelle on the status and future of the Website

Camp Business

Division Reunion – 2000

The Lesley Camp has verbally notified The Florida Division that we are very interested in hosting the year 2000 Reunion here in Tampa. Quartermaster Jake English has determined the best rates available in facilities that will be suitable for the needs of this convention. This year’s convention, which was held in Pensacola, had over 100 attendees. Since we are in a central location within the state we would expect that somewhat more than 100 would attend. The projected reunion date will be in the last of May.

Compatriot English will make the official written proposal to the Division during the first week of December.

Quartermaster Jake English

On a Mission Trip

For the fourth time in two years Compatriot Jake English is in Transylvania, Romania on a Christian mission trip. He left on the 7th of November and will return on the 18th. This coming meeting on the 16th at Buddy Freddys will be the first Lesley Camp meeting that Jake has missed in a very long time. Compatriot Mike Herring will be filling in as MC that night.

Jake’s church, Idlewild Baptist, which has a partnership with several churches in Transylvania is sanctioning the trip. This foreign ministry is orchestrated by an entity called Global Partnership Ministries, which is an organization that brings together the haves and the have nots in the Christian world. Jake’s time on this trip will be well spent and budgeted targeting the medical needs of the people. He will be staying with several different families as he travels in the country. The goal is to materially and spiritually let these Christians in Romania know that they are not alone in the world.

A Winner…

The long awaited drawing for the replica 1861 Springfield blackpowder rifled musket was held at the fall fishfry on Saturday, October 30. The winner was Mr. Johnny Bridges of Plant City, Florida. Johnny is a 36 year old diesel mechanic in Plant City. He bought the winning ticket at the Pioneer Day celebration at the old Plant City High School in Plant City on May 29. Drawing the ticket was 2nd Lt. Cmdr Robert Blackmon of the Florida Division.

Thank you to the over 100 folks who returned their tickets that were mailed out to them in September. This was a very successful raffle. Remember that our raffle is the primary method that we have of soliciting operational funds for the camp. Our camp dues do not even cover the cost of this newsletter. Again, thanks for the wonderful response.

Memorial Project Update

On October 16 Cmdr. Hayward, Adjutant Tetrick and Compatriot Jim Harwell met with the executive board of the Mt. Enon Cemetery Association concerning the proposal of the Lesley Camp to erect a monument/flagpole at the cemetery. Cmdr. Hayward personally made the presentation and the initial reaction of our people to the meeting was positive. We are awaiting word from the association.

On Tuesday, November 2 Cmdr. Hayward and 1st Lt. Cmdr. Lambert with Mrs. Neil Brown (widow of the past chief of police for the City of Tampa, Compatriot Neil Brown) and her daughter Sharon Dragneff with her husband George drove to Linden, Florida( one hour north) to ascertain the a possibility of erecting a monument/flagpole adjacent to the cemetery where the chief is buried. The prospective ground is owned by Mrs. Brown and is on a very well traveled highway.

New Members

Lee-Jackson Banquet 2000

The ladies over in Plant City, specifically with the Plant City Chapter 1931, UDC, are planning to take us into the new year in grand style. It is a virtual tradition within Confederate communities across the South to properly celebrate during the month of January the dual birthdays of our Southern “bigger than life” heroes, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. The Plant City ladies are striving to incorporate this wonderful tradition into the Tampa Bay area.

This will be a very formal evening with antebellum ball gowns, Confederate gray uniforms, black tuxedoes, and evening gowns. It isn’t everyday that we have an excuse to dress up in the attire of such elegance but this will be such an occasion.

The food is right out of the pages of the Southern Heritage UDC cookbook. The menu will be a buffet of Southern entrees-Roast Pork Loin with Pecan dressing or Cornish Hen with Pecan Dressing, Green Bean Almondine, Candied Yams with Peaches, Seven Layer Salad, Confederate Cornbread or Rolls and finished with Robert E. Lee Cake. Special Guests will include Robert E. Lee (Marion Lambert) and “Stonewall” Jackson (Jim Armitage). None other than our Lesley Camp Quartermaster Jake English will be the Master of Ceremonies.

This event will begin at 6:30 PM on the evening of Saturday, January 22, 2000 at a very fine establishment called Roman’s Country Elegance located at the intersection of SR 39 and CR 640.

The really wonderful news is that the tickets are very affordable – 20 dollars per person or 35 dollars per couple. For information and to purchase your tickets contact Martha Sue Skinner at (813) 752-7630 or with E-Mail at . Martha Sue’s mailing address is 3611 J. L. Redman Pkwy, Plant City, Florida 33567.

CAMP ARTIST FEATURED IN BLOCKADE RUNNER

Follow this link to read about Mike Betune's work for the Cause by the Florida Division newsletter (reprinted in hard copy of the Fort Brooke Record).

Click Here

Chaplains Column

 ....will return soon...

Naomi Winbush Passes Away

At 1 AM on the Sunday morning of September 26 Naomi Winbush, the wife of Compatriot Nelson Winbush of the Jacob Summerlin Camp 1516, passed away after a long bout with cancer. Commander Bob Young of the Florida Division issued this statement:

The Florida Division Sons of Confederate Veterans is in mourning over the passing of Naomi Winbush, beloved wife of Compatriot Nelson Winbush.

Naomi crossed over the river to rest under the shade of the tress today at 1:00AM. May God Bless and keep her and bring comfort to Nelson in this time of his grief.

-Robert A. Young
Commander Florida Division

Compatriot Malone Passes

The Reverend Dr. Alton Hodge Malone, 90, went to be with our Lord on September 12. The funeral service was held on Tuesday, September 14 at Hopewell Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Waylon Carlisle officiating. Burial followed in Hopewell Memorial Gardens.

Reverend Malone was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1909 and moved to Plant City in 1921. He married Leona Cox in 1932 and they have one son, Alton H. Malone, Jr. Rev. Malone, a printer by trade, and a minister since 1939 was ordained by Bethany Baptist Church. He was a charter member of Florida Bible Theological College. He was also a graduate of International Typographical School of Printing, Carson Newman College, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Sussex College earning Masters and Doctorate degrees. Rev. Malone pastored churches in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Georgia. He taught at Union Baptist Theological Seminary, Mississippi Junior College, and the Off Campus School of New Orleans Theological Seminary in Georgia. From 1964-1974 he was Supervisor of Printing at the Georgia Baptist Convention.

Rev. Malone was also an accomplished writer and author of several books, God’s Eternal Power, Mending the Ragged Edges, Poems of Love, Are Men created Equal?, and The Legend of the Malones, a Family History.

Along with his membership in the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Lesley Camp, Rev. Malone was a member of the Puritan, the Lions Club, and was a Mason since 1939.

Although very aged and not greatly mobile, Rev. Malone was seen at several meetings. One meeting he came for the express purpose of taking the Oath to the Sons of Confederate Veterans. He was a friend of our recent chaplain, Rev. Ken Simpson. Rev. Malone, we remember you and you are missed.

Camp Store

The inventory of the camp store continues to change. Please pay close attention to what is available. If you desire an item that is not apparent, Mike Herring will be the man to contact in order to procure those things and items that have a Southern Heritage flavour. Contact him at home (681-6922) or just come to the meetings and you will have an opportunity to see displayed what is available.

Some items currently available are as follows:

Special - HERITAGE REPORT - Special

The Northern

Pro-Slavery Amendment

by League of the South President, Dr. Michael Hill

The Confederate flag has been demonized for its link with Negro slavery. This is the main reason why even Southerners with Confederate ancestors are often anti-flag. For generations, Northern textbooks and other materials have depicted the War for Southern Independence as one in which righteous Yankees shed their blood to free the slaves from evil Southerners. But historical reality is not so cut-and-dried.
Few authors and commentators on the war have dared present one basic fact that overthrows the myth of Yankee beneficence toward the slaves. On 2 March 1861, the 36th U. S. Congress (minus, of course, the seven seceded states of the Deep South) passed by a two-thirds majority a proposed amendment to the Constitution. Had it been ratified by the requisite number of states before the war intervened and signed by President Lincoln (who looked favourably on it as a way to lure the Southern states back into the Union), the proposed 13th Amendment would have prohibited the U. S. government from ever abolishing or interfering with slavery in any state.

The proposed 13th Amendment reads: "No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will authorize or give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere, within any State, with the domestic institutions thereof, including that of persons held to labor or service by the laws of said State."
Note well that this amendment was designed to be unrepealable (i.e. "No amendment shall be made . . . .") This gives the lie to claims that a righteous North went to war in 1861 to free the slaves. Moreover, it undermines the claim that the South seceded to preserve the institution of slavery. If that had been the South's goal, then what better guarantee did it need than an unrepealable amendment to the Constitution to protect slavery as it then existed?

Arguments against the flying of the Confederate flag in the Southern states (particularly in South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama) lose their validity in light of the proposed 13th Amendment. The fact that the War for Southern Independence was not fought over slavery will indeed be a bitter pill to swallow for those who demonize the South and her honourable symbols. But truth is truth. What the South fought for was simply the right to govern its own affairs free from an intrusive central government in Washington, DC. That fight, thank God, is still on.

If you would like to see the Confederate battleflag flying once again over the state capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, please contribute to our legal efforts. In November, Southern patriots will file suit in Montgomery County to get the flag back up., and we think we have a good chance of winning. To help this effort, please make a generous donation today to the Confederate Heritage Fund, P. O. Box 771, Andalusia, AL 36420. With your help, we can prevail.

Editor's Note:

For all of you ex-military gentlemen, the FBR includes the following letter for your consideration. Certainly the services have changed over the past 20 or 30 years just as our society. We all know that. And certainly it is a true shame that a Southern man in the military service of this country can not honour and pay respect to the likes of Lee and Jackson and the blood red banner under which they fought for four long years. This letter is presented with the hope that this soldier in the service of his country will not be ignored by those who have served before.

I am stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina at an Army Post named in honour of Confederate General Braxton Bragg. Last year, myself and two co-workers were investigated for extremism because we are proud Southerners. I describe us as "proud" because we aren't ashamed of our heritage and we don't hide from it like so many in the military have to these days. You could say we were singled out to be made an "example of" what happens to Southerners that don't comply with the new Policy. The Policy is, "NO CONFEDERATE STUFF!" I refuse to remove my Confederate battle flag license plate from my vehicle even though I've been subjected to unrelenting harassment and an exhaustive 3 month long extremist investigation. I was harassed again just last week by two Command Sergeant Majors in my chain-of-command. I've already come to grips with the fact that I'll never see another promotion as well as other "behind closed doors" discrimination based on my stubbornness to comply. I know my First Amendment Rights, but most soldiers don't and are scared. I have enough rank and time in service to understand the system. What bothers me the most is the countless number of young soldiers who have to swallow their heritage in order to keep from being harassed and targeted within the military. Fort Bragg, unlike most other posts, relies heavily on public affairs and public relations.

The only way to get these people to stop this ethnic cleansing is to put some public pressure on them. If ... Southern organizations would be willing to sponsor and encourage a letter writing campaign, I believe this harassment would not only stop, but they may even begin allowing Southern military members to honour their ancestors and pay tribute to our past. Please help the Southern soldiers of today!

If you decide this is a worthy cause, letters should be addressed to:

Commander
XVIII Airborne Corp & Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg, North Carolina 28310

Your faithful and obedient servant,

Mike Blackburn

1st South Carolina Rangers

P.S. Don't use my name. I already have more heat on me than my family can handle.