"There are two statements about human beings that are true: that all human beings are alike, and all are different. On those two facts all human wisdom is founded." ( Mark Van Doren)
John Polk has fought his Last Battle, and he will be missed!
Indeed, John Polk has fought his last battle with cancer, and he fought it to the last moment, in the same spirit that he did everything else , bravely, and courageously. John ended his final battle with cancer on Friday, January 31st 2020. John has battled cancer in a way that most of us can ever imagine. Everything that John did was for the benefit of others. His thoughts and actions were always to help someone else. He will be greatly missed by his family, his wife, his children, every member of our Kiwanis Club, the choir that he sang in, the churches he attended, his Emmaus Reunion Group, every task that he did, he did with perfection. Services for John will be this coming Thursday, February 6th at 2pm at San Marcos United Methodist Church. His interment will be held at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio at a later date. God Bless you John, for having known you.
Doug Balkman, Chester Banks, Del Brown, Frederick Case, Randy Cook, Pam Cook, Charles Johnson, John Roppolo, Lon Shell, Charles Walts, Kelli Whigham, Rhonda White, Ted Breihan, John Polk, Merwin Richards, Glen Rydl, Gary Strunk, Beverly Crumley, Andrew Gary, Garry White, Glen Rydl, Rhonda Young, Tim Tippetts (23)
Our Program for this coming Thursday, February 6th, 2020
John Roppolo will be bringing the program this coming Thursday, and his subject is one that he is well acquainted with: Special Olympics in Texas. Special Olympics Texas not only provides year-round sports training and competition, but also health and inclusion programs for individuals of all ages with intellectual disabilities. "In the largest study to date of people with intellectual disabilities and their families, researchers found that Special Olympics Texas leads the nation in the employment of athletes with intellectual disabilities in competitive environments. The study also showed that children, adolescents and adults with disabilities experience a significant improvement thought participating in Special Olympics.
On the 3rd Day of February, 2020, Mayor Jane Hughson met with 10 members of our Kiwanis Club to proclaim that on February 27, 2020 our San Marcos Kiwanis Club & Charity Auction will celebrate Kiwanis Club's 81st Annual Pancake Day here in San Marcos, TX.
It will be held as usual in the San Marcos Activity Center.
Those joining from our local Kiwanis Club all dressed out in their Kiwanis aprons were Top row: Dog Balkman, Randy Cook, Gary Nelson,Chester Banks, Ted Breihan, Charles Walts, Del Brown.
In the front row is Mayor Hughson, Rhonda White (President) . Veronique Hahn, and Pam Cook.
Every Kiwanis member has tickets at $5.00 per ticket. If you have not attended one of our Pancake Day and Charity Auction, you have a wonderful treat. You just may find 'exactly' what you have been looking for.
History Facts from January 31 to February 6th 2020
January 31, 1943 - - German troops surrendered at Stalingrad, marking the first big defeat of Hitler's armies in World War II. During the Battle of Stalingrad, 160,000 Germans were killed and 90,000 taken prisoner, including the commander, Friedrich von Paulus, the first German field marshal ever to surrender. The captured Germans were forced to march to Siberia, with few ever returning to Germany.
February 1, 2003 - - Sixteen minutes before it was scheduled to land, the Space Shuttle, Columbia broke apart in flight over west Texas. killing all seven crew members The accident may have resulted from damage caused during liftoff when a piece of insulating foam from the external fuel tank broke off, piercing a hole in the shuttle's left wing that allowed hot gases to penetrate the wing upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. This was the second space shuttle lost in flight. In January1986, Challenger exploded during liftoff.
February 2, 1848 - - The war between the U.S. and Mexico ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In exchange for $15 million, the US acquired the areas encompassing parts of all of present day California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Texas. The treaty was ratified kon March 10, 1848.
February 3, 1865 - - A four hour long peace conference occurred between President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens at Hampton Roads, Virginia. The meeting was unsuccessful as President Lincoln insisted there could be no armistice until the Confederates wanted an armistice first. The the Civil War continued.
February 4, , 1985 - - Twenty countries in the United Nations signed a document entitled 'Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
February 5, 1917 - - The new constitution of Mexico. allowing for sweeping social changes, was adopted.
February 6, 1933 - - The 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was adopted. It set the date for the Presidential Inauguration as January 20th, instead of the old date of March 4th. It also sets January 3rd as the official opening date of Congress.
"Wisconsin comes from the Menomonee Indian word meaning 'wild rushing channel' or river of a thousand islands. It was called variously Wiskonsan, Ouiconsin, and Misconsing by early settlers. but became Wisconsin on July 4, 1836.
"Calvin Coolidge was the 30th President of the United States and served from 1923 - 1929. He was Vice President under Warren Harding and became President when Harding died of heart problems.
Calvin Coolidge's boyhood friends called him 'Red' because his hair was bright red. He was also known as 'Silent Cal' because he preferred to keep his plans and politics to himself, having a philosophy that those things left unsaid would never harm him."
"Jot Em Down was named in the early 1930's by its townspeople, who were avid fans of 'Lum and Abner' one of the nation's favorit radio shows. Thety named their town after the show's commissary the Jot 'Em Down general store."
"Striking up a conversation with the attractive woman seated beside him on a coast to coast flight, a would-be Romeo asked. 'What kind of man attracts you?'' 'I've always been drawn to Native American men,' she replied. They're in harmony with nature.'
'I see,' said the man, nodding.
'But, then, I really go for Jewish men who put women on a pedestal, and I can rarely resist the way Southern gentlemen always treat their ladies with respect.'
'Please allow me to introduce myself,' said the man. 'My name is Tecumseh Goldstein, but all my friends call me Bubba.'"
"Any student of French knows that chauffeur means 'to warm up.' Why, do chauffeurs have that name? The first automobile drivers in France drove steam-propelled vehicles. Their job began with heating up the engine until enough steam was generated to propel the car. Thus, they were called chauffeurs, or 'warmers,"
"Why do we call the record of a meeting the minutes"
'minutesof a meeting have nothing to do with time. The word stems from the Latin minutus, or 'small'. Records of meetings have always been written in miniature, or shorthand, and transcribed later."
Just a bit of information about an event that took place last Sunday.....Groundhog Day!
"Groundhog Day, or 'Punxsutawney Phil, the meteorological groundhog, does not really come out on February 2 in order to check the weather as folklore could have us believe. Hunger and an interest in acquiring a mate are what really makes the groundhog come out of his burrow. If neither desire is sufficiently strong, the animal will stay in its burrow for more sleep.
The popular legend surrounding the groundhog, also called a woodchuck, developed in Europe with 16th century German farmers. However, in Germany the story originally was based on the badger and not the groundhog. But when German settlers arrived in Pennsylvania, there were no badgers, so the groundhog, being the closest animal in the area in appearance to the badger, was substituted in the story.
Groundhog Day, February 2, happens to be about the time groundhogs emerge from their burrows after winter in the vicinity of Punxsutawney. But, groundhogs begin to stir in the spring at different dates, depending on their geographic latitude and the climate of an area.
According to folklore, if the groundhog sees its shadow, it will be frightened and return to its den, indicating another six weeks of winter. Farmers would then know to delay their spring planting. However, records indicate that the groundhog is right only about 28% of the time."("Myth Information by J.Allen Varasdi)
E-Bulletin for February 6, 2020 
Family and Friends of John Polk, Ted & Francis Breihan, Gary Nelson & Sherry.
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Just a bit of information about an event that took place last Sunday.....Groundhog Day!