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Stories
FOR THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 30th, 2017
."And if I could tell you one thing, it would be: You are never as broken as you think you are. Sure you have a couple of scars, and a couple of bad memories, but then again, all great heros do."
For Club Meeting, October 26, 2017
Doug Balkman, Cynthia Bentley, Del Brown, Frederick Case, Randy Cook, Pam Cook, Charles Johnson, Moe Johnson, Rob Martin, Lon Shell, Charles Walts, Kelli Whigham, Ted Breihan, Beverly Crumley, Andrew Gary, Garry White, Francis Mendez, John Polk, Glen Rydl, McBride Wilson (20)
Guests: Courtney Taylor brought herself; Francis Breihan, brought by Ted Breihan, Jenna Marshall, brought by Del Brown.
"Here is the list of Greeters for the month of NOVEMBER 2017
If you are scheduled to be Greeter for a particular Thursday, try to arrive at Grins by about 11:30am, put on the special Greeter's badge and then greet each and every member and visitors as they come in.
............November 1...........Gary Strunk
............November 9...........Kelli Whigham
............November 16.........Garry White
............NO MEETING........THANKSGIVING
............November 30..........Rhonda White
"BIRTHDAYS DURING THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER 2017
November 4th.......Ted Breihan
November 21........Steve Furney
November 16........Doug Balkman
Those who have Anniversaries in the Month of November
November 21...........Charles & Linda Johnson
November 22...........Gary & Nancy Strunk
Kiwanian of the Month of October 2017.......Kelli Whigham
President Doug Balkman very proudly is presenting KELLI WHIGHAM last Thursday, October 26th with a certificate awarding her Kiwanis of the Month for October, 2017. Kelli and her committee spent many hours on putting together another very successful October Dash 5K race that occurred on October 21. It took a great deal of planning, assigning different people to do specific tasks for this race to be successful, and Kelli was the backbone behind this year's race. Congratulations to Kelli for putting your splendid talents to work once again. She also got a special T-Shirt to go with the certificate.
Yes indeed! Lon Shell was the winner in last week's Big Bucks. He said that he has never won before. What do you think? Congratulations Lon!
The Program from last Thursday
We had a tremendous program last week. Cynthia Bentley had arranged to have three Kyle School officials come meet with our club about the schools in Kyle with a double thought in mind to explore the possibility of establishing a new Kiwanis Club in Kyle, our nearest northern neighbor. Alejando Gongorio, Assistant Superintendent for Kyle Elementary schools came with Kim Hilsenbeck and Yarda Leftet, all connected with the Kyle School system. Each one of them gave very thorough information regarding the city of Kyle and especially the many schools and grade levels Kyle has. These three persons were extremely excited about that possibility and we will be proceeding toward that goal.
Camp McBride Wilson Clean Up and Club Picnic!
Just a reminder of our Camp Clean-up/Picnic set for Saturday, November 4. beginning at 10am for the cleanup, followed by a BBQ picnic starting at 12:00 noon. For the last two weeks now, a sheet has been passed around seeing who all is going to be there. Come to club meeting this Thursday and sign up if you haven't already. We would like a good crowd
Our Program for this coming Thursday.....K-Kids!!!
Isn't this really what our club is all about? Kids, Kids, Kids. Pam Cook is bringing several kids from DeZavala Elementary School to share what's going on in the K-Kids Club. Remember the little slogan on the home page of this bulletin...."Every Child is a Story Yet Untold!" Isn't that the truth. Kids look to us adults for love, guidance, education, togetherness, sympathy, energy and everything else that we adults can do to help kids grow up into responsible adults. Let's have a good crowd for this Thursday!
San Marcos Kiwanis Board Notes
Our Kiwanis Board of Directors met on October 26, 2017, at 5:00pm in CTMC Conference Room.
Those present were: Pres. Doug Balkman; Secretary, Glen Rydl; Treasurer, Charles Johnson; Pres. Elect. Kelli Whigham; Cynthia Bentley, Bd. Mbr; Gary Nelson, Bd Mbr; Del Brown; Bulletin Editor (non voting); Randy Cook, Visitor; Pam Cook, Visitor.
Following the Secretary's Report was read and approved; The Treasurer proposed the Budget for 2017-2018. It was moved and seconded & approved.
The business portion of the meeting was as follows: 1. Discussion was encouraged regarding seeking to sponsor a new Kiwanis Club in Kyle, TX. 2. Cynthia Bentley spoke about a program called 'Stars For Our Troops. It was moved that our club give $100.00 from our budget to this project. 3. Discussion about the Food Bank's Annual Thanksgiving Baskets/Pantry. It was discussed that our members begin to bring in canned goods beginning with this Thursday until November 16th, when Del Brown will have the program and will invite a representative from the Food Bank (in Turkey costume) to speak to our club, and collect the canned goods. 4. Randy & Pam spoke briefly about the K-Kids, Terrific Kids and Builder's Club and their activities. 5. Doug discussed a new approach to the Veteran's Day Parade and the Kid's Bike Brigade. 6. The Club Cookout at Camp McBride Wilson on November 4th was discussed and seems to be going smoothly. 7. Other subjects that were looked at, but no action was taken....Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner, Trick or Treat for UNICEF. and a new club activity presented by Doug Balkman, called 'Orienteering". Doug handed out brochures for the Board to read over. No action was taken.
Week October 27th to November 2, 2017
October 27, 1787 - -The first of 85 Federalist Papers appeared in print in a New York City newspaper. The essays argued for the adoption of the new U.S. Constitution. They were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay.
October 28, 1636 - - Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher learning in America was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was named after John Harvard, a Puritan who donated his library and half of his estate. Distinguished alumni include; Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Henry James, and NAACP founder W.E.B. Du Bois.
October 29, 1929 - - The stock market crashed as over 16 million shares were dumped amid tumbling prices. The Great Depression followed in America, lasting until the outbreak of World War II.
October 30, 1938 - - The War of the Worlds radio broadcast panicked millions of Americans. Actor Orson Wells and the Mercury Players dramatized the story by H.G. Wells depicting a Martian invasion of New Jersey. Their script utilized simulated radio news bulletins which many listeners thought were real.
October 31st, 1517 - - Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenburg's palace church, denouncing the selling of papal indulgences and questioning various ecclesiastical. This marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation in Germany.
November 1, 1848 - - The first medical school for women opened in Boston. The Boston Female medical School was founded by Samuel Gregory with just 12 students. In 1874, the school merged with the Boston University School of Medicine, becoming one of the first co-ed medical schools.
November 2, 1962 - - During the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy announced on TV, "the Soviet bases in Cuba are being dismantled, their missiles and related equipment being crated, and the fixed installations at these sites are being destroyed."
Another Ramp Was Built
On October 24, members of the warehouse ramp team bui8lt a ramp for Amelia Delcueto and heer husband. Mrs Delcueto is having to use a walker and her husband is 90% blind. So this ramp was much needed for their mobility. Mr. Delcueto is also a VietNam veteran. Also all three of the ramp team members are veterans also. Veterans helping veterans.
The ramp was 20 feet and building it took 3 hours to construct due to some custom work that was needed. Those who built the ramp were Bill Stich (Army), John Harrison (Air Force) and leader, Gary Nelson (Army).
Have You Ever Wondered About Something, and couldn't find the answer? Well! Let's Try a Few Questions and See Where We Go!
"Why do Traffic Signals Use Red, Yellow, and Green Lights? Why is the Red Light on Top, Green Light on the Bottom, and Yellow Light in Between?"
Traffic signals actually predate the existence of the automobile. One was installed outside of British Parliament in 1808. This signal had two semaphore arms, like a railroad signal, that acted as a physical impediment to oncoming traffic.
The English device was designed to control the flow of pedestrians, and some feature was needed to make it functional at night. The easiest solution was to adapt the system used for railroad signals ---red and green gas lamps would signify when one could proceed (green) or had to stop (red). This British prototype wasn't a rousing success ----it blew up shortly after its introduction, killing a London policeman.
There is a lively controversy over where the first modern traffic signal designed to control automobile traffic was in use. Although Salt Lake City and St. Paul lay claim to the crown, the green-red signal installed On Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1914 is generally credited with being the first.
Although the traffic signal's colors might haven arbitrarily lifted from the railroad's, there is an important safety reason for the consistency of the configuration today. As recently as the 1950's, many traffic signals. especially in busy urban intersections, were displayed horizontally rather than vertically. The current vertical design with red on top was adopted in order to aid color-blind individuals who might be confused by different layouts. It is also mentioned that the red in traffic signals has some orange in it and the green has some blue in order to make it even easier for the color blind to distinguish them.
America the Beautiful..."VIRGINIA"
"America the Beautiful".........VIRGINIA
1.....Jamestown, the first of the original 13 colonies was founded for the purpose of silk cultivation. Silk to be traded with the Court of King James. After blight fungus destroyed the mulberry trees (silkworm food), sericulturist planted tobacco as a cash crop!
2.....Virginia is known as "the birthplace of a nation"!
3.....Eight United States Presidents were born in Virginia: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson!
4.....The first peanuts grown in the United States were grown in Virginia!
5.....The State flower is not really a flower, but the blossom of the dogwood tree, which is also the state tree!
6.....Union Passenger Railway was the first successful electric street railway transit agency. It was formed in 1888 at Richmond!
7.....About 1/2 of all the people in the United States live within a 500 mile radius of the Capital of Virginia!
8.....Over 1/2 of the battles fought in the civil war were fought in Virginia. Over 2,200 of the 4,000 battles!
9.....The tomb of the Unknown Soldier is in Arlington National Cemetery!
10....The Pentagon building in Arlington is the largest office building in the world!
11....The first Thanksgiving in North America was held in Virginia in 1619!
"Difficult Landing"
The airline has a policy that required the first officer to stand at the door while the passengers exited, smile and give them a - 'Thanks for flying XYZ airline'.
An airline pilot on this particular flight hammered his plane into the runway really hard. In light of his bad landing, he had difficulty looking the passengers in the eye, all the time he thought that a passenger would a smart comment. However, it seemed that all the passengers were too shell shocked to say anything.
Finally, everyone had gotten off except this little old lady walking with a cane. She said, 'Sonny, mind if I ask you a question?' 'Why no Ma'am,' said the pilot, 'What is it'? the little old lady said, 'Did we land or were we shot down?'"
"To Cut the mustard!"
"To accomplish, be able to, or succeed with; to meet expectations; to play, as music, expertly. To get at the origin of this altogether American expression we have to go back to the beginning of the century when "to be the proper mustard" was a slang phrase meaning to be the genuine article, possibly because some so-dallied 'mustard' of that period would not pass today's pure food requirements. From that, immediately, came 'All to the mustard,' that is, all one could ask for, fine and dandy, 'copasetic,' as the late Bill Robinson would say. Then hotly, as early as 1907, came our present phrase. O. Henry used it in Heart of the West in that year: 'I looked around and found a proposition that exactly cut the mustard.' It's just a slang expression, bearing no connection to the use of the verb 'cut' in the sense of to reduce the strength of."
"America the Beautiful"....Mt Vernon, Virginia"
Mount Vernon was the plantation home of George Washington, the first President of the United States, and his wife Martha Dandrige Custis Washington. The estate is situated on the banks of the Potamic River in Fairfax County, Virginia, near Alexandria, across from Prince George's County, Maryland.
The Washington family had owned land in the area since the time of Washington's great grandfather in 1674. In 1739 they embarked on an expansion of the estate that continued under George Washington, who came into possession of the estate in 1754, but did not become its sole owner until 1761.
The mansion is built of wood in a loose Palladian style, and was constructed by George Washington in stages between 1758 and 1778.
It occupies the site of an earlier, smaller house built by George Washington's father, Augustine, sometime between 1726 and 1735. It remained Washington's country home for the rest of his life.
The current property consists of 500 acres. The gardens and grounds contain English boxwoods, taken from cuttings sent by Major General Henry Lee III, a Governor of Virginia and the father of Robert E. Lee. which were planted in 1786 by George Washington and now crowd the entry path. A carriage road skirts a grassy bowling green to approach the mansion entrance. To each side of the green is a garden, contained by a red brick wall.
Programs coming up the rest of this month!
Even though we list the upcoming programs on the home page, here's an extra invitation to know what's coming up the rest of the month!
November 2, 2017.....Pam Cook brings several K-Kids from DeZavala Elementary School
November 9, 2017......Lon Shell will bring the program, Power Point on Tractors & Restoring them
November 16, 2017....Del Brown brings the program.....Food Bank for Thanksgiving
November 23, 2017....No Program Scheduled...Thanksgiving week
November 30, 2017....Gary Nelson will bring the program
Note from the Editor: If you can get me information on what your program is at least 2 weeks prior to your program date, this will allow me time to research with pictures and information about your program. Thanks
"Idaho's first potato grower was not a farmer. He was Henry Harmon Spalding, a Presbyterian missionary. In 1836, Spalding developed a 15 acre potato plot to help the Nez Perce Indians learn to grow food. The first spuds failed, but the second year was 'mashing.''
2017
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first spuds failed, but the second year was 'mashing.''