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MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY PAMPHLETEER
SPRING 2012
The Pamphleteer
The Massachusetts Society
Stand Ready to Defend Your Constitution and Your Country
President’s Message
Opening to 2012 Annual Meeting
25 February 2012
Former President Battles, President Harris of the CAR, Jeanette Battles of our
Ladies’ Auxiliary, Representative Durant, Regents Whitworth and Watson,
members and guests, welcome! We are delighted to have with us at our 123rd
Annual Meeting. Thank you for coming. Some of you traveled long distances to be
here - we are humbled by your support.
As you know, the Massachusetts Society is committed to raising the appreciation of
our national heritage in our communities and in our schools. We want all citizens,
regardless of background, to understand the founding principles of our country. We
make this happen through our public events, our programs for students, and our partnerships with other societies.
We are here today to recognize the work we accomplished in 2011 towards this and to set our goals for 2012
We are honored today to have Professor Benjamin Carp with us. Professor Carp has worked for many years to
chronicle the sites and events of early America. He has dedicated his career to teaching the history and origins of
this county, and of early Massachusetts, at one of America’s outstanding universities. Prepare yourself to be
interested, excited and heartened.
Before we begin this afternoon’s events, I would like to summarize what we did last year as a way of framing what
will happen here this afternoon, and to show some of what we hope to do in 2012.
At the beginning of 2011, we made some major changes. We shuttered our offices in Marlborough to hold our board
meeting at the Museum of our National Heritage. This change provided us with a better facility with an organization
aligned with our interests. It also began a series of changes that allow us to decrease our expenses dramatically while
allowing us to offer more to our members. We also set some goals for our work in 2011: to engage our membership,
to improve our communication with them, to increase our branding, and to strengthen our ability to govern
ourselves. We made progress in all of these areas. We will continue these goals in 2012.
In the survey of our membership of last April, our members expressed what they wanted from our society now. They
wanted us to focus on activities in the chapters - particularly speakers on the early history of America and on
America’s families. They showed said that 30% of them needed to be affiliated with a chapter, and that some 55%
had yet to attend one of our events in the last year. All wanted to hear from us more.
So we did something to answer them. We re-launched our newsletter. It is large enough to allow a good description
of our activities but small enough for us to sustain. We rebuilt and rebranded our website with a better presentation
and range of media. We developed our relationship with New England Genealogy to support applicants as they
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MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY PAMPHLETEER
SPRING 2012
apply. We ran advertising campaigns to over 50,000 teachers, and 1,000 parents of scouts, to build awareness of our
programs for youth and educators. Overall, we had more of a presence with our members and with the public.
We also had several year-long projects with our chapters to raise the level of participation, such as a series of megameetings between the Board of Managers and the chapters locally. Each of these chapters featured an appealing
event. Each made significant effort to reach each member and involve them. And each saw results they had not seen
in recent times. Old Middlesex drew 34 members (1/3 of its membership) just to start. The Boston Chapter drew 65
(almost 3/4 of its full potential) – an amazing level of participation. Many new members came forward at these and
asked to be involved, and as a result, the boards of these two chapters re-developed with a new enthusiasm.
We were also fortunate to have signed an agreement with the New England Genealogy to be our archive. They took
our records of the last 122 years to store and make available electronically to its members and historians. It removed
the risk we have faced for the last century of losing the history of our organization through fire, theft, or mishap.
Also, on October 1st, the Trustees of the National Society voted to host the 2016 National Congress in Boston. This
achievement is the result of the work that many of us did with National Society over the last few years. It will allow
our members, and members of the New England District, to see and meet those that run the society nationally in a
way many of them have yet to experience. Please become involved and be a part of the planning for this event with
us.
While there is so much yet to do in all these areas, we saw some good results last year. Our website continues to be
the most viewed site among all state society websites. Our youth programs received far more applicants this year,
including an entire high-school Advanced Placement Class in American History from Western Massachusetts. We
truly reached our members locally in our mega-meetings and we plan to have more mega-meetings in 2012. We
enjoyed the enthusiasm of new members. While we have begun, we need much more work and involvement from all
of us to build our presence in the community.
This afternoon we will recognize many of those that help us along this way. We will induct new members into our
society. We will remember those that have fallen. We will award some who have work so hard for this organization
this year. And we will hear an outstanding speaker. I hope you will be inspired.
Please enjoy the afternoon. And please, enjoy your meal. Thank you again for being here.
Michael E. Fishbein
Boston Old Colony Awards Hero at Annual Meeting
By Walter Pizzi
Woburn, Massachusetts Police Officer Robert DeNapoli, at the time a sixteen year veteran
of The Woburn Police Department, was shot in the line of duty when he responded to an
armed robbery on September 6, 2011 at P. Musto & Sons Jewelers in Woburn,
Massachusetts. Officer DeNapoli was shot five times in the parking lot of a mall with
several businesses in addition to Musto Jewelers by one of the armed robbery suspects.
That suspect was shot and apprehended at the scene and two other suspects were
subsequently apprehended.
In appreciation of Officer Robert DeNapoli’s Public Service, The Boston Old Colony Chapter of The Massachusetts
Society of Sons of The American Revolution proudly presents The Law Enforcement Commendation Certificate and
Medal to Officer Robert DeNapoli.
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MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY PAMPHLETEER
SPRING 2012
2012 Knight's Essay Contest Winners
By Staff Writer
The winning essay, "Abigail Adams" was submitted by Victoria Babcock, a
Junior at Quaboag Regional Middle/High School. Currently at the top of the
class with a 4.28GPA, she has been awarded for her excellence in Advanced
Biology, US history, and computer applications. She is laden with AP and
Honors courses, including those for language, US history, and calculus.
In school, Victoria participates in Varsity Cross Country team, the Student
Council, the Environmental Club, and the Varsity Math Team. In the spring,
she will resume the Theater Program for the third straight year. Outside
school, she is one of two delegates for her school to the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Organization. which
support the Special Olympics, the Life is Good Festival, and other community services, When she graduates, her
dream is to attend Notre Dame to focus on Theater or Performing Arts while she pursue a major in language Arts or
mathematics and technology.
Our runner up for Knights Essay Contest, Emily Rock, also a Junior at Quaboag, thrilled us with her essay on
"Patrick Henry's Lasting Impact". Emily has received recognition for her town’s 35O Anniversary Essay Contest as
well as her academic achievement in science, English, computer applications, and U.S. history. She was nominated
for both the High School Scholars Organization and her school’s National Honors Society.
At Quaboag, Emily serves as the Junior Class Secretary and as a member of the Student Council. She is active as an
athlete in soccer, softball, track, and basketball and in Quaboag's Athletic Leadership Program. She donates time
outside school to the local sportsmen’s club to assist in derbies and to fund scholarships. She is a member of her
church’s group program and the Croop Walk to help the homeless and local hospitals. Currently, she is considering
a career as a radiologist.
Both winners have been invited to our Patriots Day Award Banquet in Concord on April 15th with their AP History
teacher Mr. Joseph Salvadore. Mr. Salvador submitted thirteen essays on behalf of his students - we were delighted.
Preparing for Congress 2016
By Don Oakes
The Massachusetts Society is working to provide a full and interesting account of our state's participation in the
American Revolution to provide a more meaningful experience for those who in a very few years will be attending
the National Congress in Boston. While many of us are familiar with the reasons and places of the cause of the
Revolution, most are unfamiliar with how the location appeared and how the daily lives of our ancestor were. We
are also striving to place Massachusetts in a context beyond Lexington and Concord. As a result, we are building a
timeline from shortly after 1600 to the signing of the constitution with the general geography, some of the routes and
locations significant to the cause, and other issues as needed to put the state's contributions in prospective with the
lives of the Psatriots buried in our cemeteries.
In on-going research projects within the Plymouth Blue Water Patriots Chapter, we have a beginning whose results
will emerge over time. When many politicians do not place the where, when or why’s of the revolution in context,
and schools are not teaching the revolution significantly, we will expose as much as we can to reverse the trend and
ensure our ancestors’ legacy. One surprising fact is that there had never before been a Plymouth Chapter of the
Massachusetts Society since it apparently was believed that nothing significant happened outside Concord,
Lexington and Boston.
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MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY PAMPHLETEER
SPRING 2012
The facts we uncovered are much different - All towns and regions contributed much to the cause. We hope that all
chapters will discover and present their legacies as part of a larger picture within the Commonwealth as we show
Massachusetts’s larger role throughout the Revolution.
Boston and Robert Treat Paine Chapters at Wreaths Across America
By Walter Pizzi
Members of The Boston Old
Colony Chapter, Robert Treat
Paine Chapter, and the Boy
Scouts attended The Wreaths
Across America ceremony at
Mary
Wales
Park
in
Holbrook, Massachusetts on
December 10, 2011 to
spectators.
Dwight Nelson, The Wreaths
America coordinator for The Town of Holbrook as well as The State of
Massachusetts, organized the ceremony in tribute of the soldiers who were killed
in wars past and present. The group who attended from The Robert Treat Paine Chapter included members of the
color guard. A proclamation was given by Jim Mitchell, President of The Boston Old Colony Chapter and then The
Boy Scouts, who attended the ceremony, placed wreaths in honor of our fallen heroes at the base of a soldier's
statue. Subsequently, one round was then fired off by a member of the color guard after which the ceremony at Mary
Wales Park concluded.
Ceremony for Eagle Scout Connor Kirkwood
By Wesley H. Wratchford
Connor Kirkwood of Shrewsbury, a member of Boy Scout Troop
158, was presented with the Eagle Scout Award at a ceremony held
at Shrewsbury High School on December 28. It is the highest
achievement award of the Boy Scouts of America. In order to
become an Eagle, a candidate must earn at least 21 merit badges and
successfully carry out a community service and leadership project
before his 18th birthday, as well as demonstrate the principles of the
Boy Scout Oath and Law.
Connor received letters of congratulation and personal well wishes
from many family and friends in attendance, including awards from
Shrewsbury Selectman Jim Kane, State Representative Matthew Beaton and The Marine Corps League.
Also presenting was Verne Thayer, President of the Henshaw Chapter – Massachusetts Society, Sons of the
American Revolution. Mr. Thayer recognized Connor's achievement by presenting him with the Sons of the
American Revolution's Certificate of Recognition award. This is a national award presented by and bearing the great
seal of the Massachusetts Society.
Connor’s mother and his father, Troop 158 Scoutmaster Ken Kirkwood, described Connor’s path to Eagle before
proudly presenting him with his pin. In a gesture of appreciation Connor then awarded a mentor pin to someone he
said had contributed greatly to his success - his older brother, and fellow Eagle, Griffin Kirkwood.
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MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY PAMPHLETEER
SPRING 2012
Troop158 consists of approximately 60 boys between 11 and 18 who are interested in camping and other
outdoor activities, personal achievement and learning leadership skills. Meetings are held at St. Mary’s
Catholic Church in Shrewsbury.
Mega-Meeting with Boston Old Colony A Tremendous Success
By James Mitchell
The January 14, 2012 mega meeting of The Board of Managers and Boston Old
Colony Chapter was a tremendous success! With over fifty members and
guests in attendance, MASSAR and the Boston Old Colony Chapter rang in the
New Year with style and substance. The style was the setting, Maggiano’s
restaurant in Boston. The location was terrific and the ambiance of Maggiano’s
was perfect for the meeting. So was the buffet brunch featuring an omelet
station in high demand. Within this was the Board of Manager’s meeting to
discuss the State’s 2012-2013 operating budget, proposed bylaw changes, the
annual meeting for 2012, proposed officers slate for 2012-2013, the J/ROTC
program, and awards and medals candidates for heroism and essay contests.
We also had several distinguished guests, such as Barry Hinckley, a candidate
running for the U.S. Senate for the State of Rhode Island and Compatriot David
Perkins, Vice President General, NSSAR, who addressed us all and wished MASSAR good luck in the year
ahead.
Our guest speaker was Mr. J.L. Bell, an acclaimed scholar on the American Revolution. His website at
http://Boston1775.net contains “history, analysis and unabashed gossip about the start of The American
Revolution in New England”. Mr. Bell exceeded expectations with an engaging presentation about “General
Washington’s Very First Spies”.
All in all, it was an exciting day and a great way to start the New Year for the Society and Boston Old Colony.
Boston Old Colony Chapter Sponsors Harlow Scholarship
By Daniel Kraft
In September, 2002, the Boston Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, established the Harlow Sanborn
Pond Massachusetts Society Children of the American Revolution Scholarship Fund. This scholarship aims to
provide financial assistance for the college education of a Massachusetts C.A.R. member, boy or girl, who is a
high school senior and is active in C.A.R. on the state or local level.
The late Harlow Sanborn Pond was an active member of the Old Colony Chapter, SAR, as well as of the
MASSAR Color Guard. As an adolescent, he was a C.A.R. member, and served as Massachusetts State
President in the 1930’s. His six grandchildren have been members of First Free School Society, and his
widow, Madeline, faithfully served Massachusetts C.A.R. as a senior leader until her death in June 2005.
The scholarship is funded annually by chapter monies specifically reserved for this purpose, and additional
donations are made by generous Boston Old Colony Chapter members. Please contact Chapter Vice President
Daniel Kraft at [email protected] for further information.
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MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY PAMPHLETEER
SPRING 2012
Korean War veteran's Massachusetts family gets lost medal
By Bridget Murphy, New York Times (18 February 2012)
Lexington, Mass. (AP) - Connie Hadley Bachman's phone rang recently, and a stranger started speaking about
something that's made the 84-year-old's heart ache for decades.
The caller spoke of Bachman's younger brother, an Air Force pilot who died in combat in North Korea in 1951.
This time, the Lexington woman's tears for him would be bittersweet.
The man on the phone was a military officer who wanted to return a Purple Heart medal that belonged to her
brother, 1st Lt. Thomas E. Hadley II.
Six decades after his death, Bachman would be getting back a symbol of her brother's service that she didn't even
know was missing.
A Pennsylvania family had had the medal since at least 1967, Vermont Army National Guard Capt. Zachariah Fike
told Bachman. No one knows how the medal migrated from the pilot's home state of Michigan to the Philadelphia
suburbs.
"It's a neat story," said Larry Moore, whose family had the medal. "I wish I had more pieces of the puzzle."
The 48-year-old police sergeant said he found the medal among belongings he inherited when his father died last
year. His father was a Marine Corps veteran who served in Korea.
"When I was a kid, I used to sneak up into his things and play with it," Moore said.
Moore's grandfather worked as a city sanitation supervisor in Upper Darby, Pa., and originally found the medal.
Moore, who lives and works in Lower Chichester, Pa., doesn't know whether his grandfather saved the medal from a
trash pile or got it another way.
But when Moore found the Purple Heart after his father's death, he knew he had to find its owner. The combat
decoration honors U.S. military members who suffer wounds or die in action.
This medal was missing its ribbon but had the pilot's name engraved on the back. With only that to go on, Moore
sent out several emails last February. He got no answers.
In December, he picked up the cause again by emailing The Military Order of the Purple Heart. The group
connected him with Fike, a Purple Heart recipient who has reunited four other families with lost Purple Hearts.
The 30-year-old Army captain researched military and ancestry records online before linking the late pilot to the
man's sister in Lexington. Then he made the call to Bachman.
"This is Captain Fike with the U.S. Army," he told her. "I've got some strange news for you that might catch you off
guard."
She was suspicious at first.
"I thought, 'What kind of scam is this?'" Bachman said. "So I started asking questions, and he answered them all."
After Fike won her over, the two talked more about the brother whose sacrifice for his country has been both a
source of pain and pride for his family.
Hadley was 22 when he died on a mission to bomb North Korean supply trains.
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MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY PAMPHLETEER
SPRING 2012
Fike said a combination of military, newspaper and family accounts show Hadley's plane crashed after he
intervened to save the life of another pilot who was under attack. The family expects to get Hadley's full service
records soon.
The military listed him as missing in action for years because no one could say whether Hadley ejected before his
jet crashed. Bachman said the family had to live with the thought that he might be dead or alive in an enemy prison.
But in 1956, the military recovered the pilot's remains and returned them to his family for burial.
The government awarded the pilot a Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroics, a letter the Air
Force sent the family shows. The letter also shows the pilot already had won another Purple Heart months before his
death for wounds suffered in action.
Bachman and her husband, Charlie, a retired inventor in software engineering, suspect it was the first Purple Heart
that ended up in Pennsylvania.
She remembers mailing some of her brother's
medals to Washington state in the 1980s to the
woman he married shortly before his deployment.
But Bachman said she never met her brother's
widow, whom she said now also is deceased.
Whatever happened, the family celebrated the
medal's return Saturday.
Fike joined dozens of the late pilot's family
members, veterans and other guests at a ceremony
inside the Bachmans' retirement community. The
Army officer presented the Purple Heart to the
Bachmans in a shadow box including replicas of
Hadley's other medals.
Bachman's husband said they were "delighted."
"It was a very nice turnout here," with at least 100 people in the audience, he said.
Moore, the man whose family had the medal, said he had been "wishing they'd find the actual Thomas E. Hadley"
but "I was glad they found his sister, and she can have it."
Bachman said the medal's return almost makes up for the time her brother was listed as missing in action.
"It's a finalization," she said. "... It's important that Thomas Hadley gets his recognition."
Patriots’ Day Weekend Celebration
Featuring Maureen Taylor and Our Youth Award Winners for 2012
Please celebrate the events and activities of Patriots Day Weekend with us in Concord, Massachusetts — the
birthplace of the Massachusetts Society and our Country — on Saturday through Monday, April 14th-16th. We have
been going to Concord on this occasion since 1889 to honor the start of our American Revolution. We return again
to the Colonial Inn to host our 122nd meeting.
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MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY PAMPHLETEER
SPRING 2012
The New England District will convene on Saturday morning Ap
April
ril 14th with a brunch from 9am to noon at the
Colonial Inn. Similarly, on Sunday morning, the Color Guard will hold its Annual Meeting from 9-11am
9
with
breakfast. All are welcome to join us to see what is ahead.
On Sunday, April 15th at 2pm, join us at ou
our Annual Luncheon and Awards Banquet
at the Inn to celebrate Patriots Day and to honor the youth that have won our Eagle
Scout Contest, Knight's Essay Contest, and Rambaugh Oration Contests for 2012.
We are delighted to have internationally known photo identification expert Maureen
Taylor as our speaker for the event. The author of a number of books and magazine
articles, Ms. Taylor offers a range of dynamic, interactive seminars on photographs,
genealogy, and history. Taylor has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, NBC’s
Today Show, ABC’s The View, and NPR. She travels extensively giving
presentations on photo identification, photo preservation, and family history. Her
dynamic, interactive seminars on photographs, genealogy, and history have received
outstanding reviews from the professional community. She will speak on the topic
"The Last Muster: Images of the Revolutionary War Generation".
Though out the weekend the National Park Service sponsors several public
observances. The reenactments include P
Paul
aul Revere's ride on Saturday, two battle demonstrations on Lexington
Green in Lexington and Minute Man National Historic Park on Sunday, and the magnificent parade on Monday
morning. The Color Guard will honor a patriot's grave at 8:30am then lead our mar
march
ch in the parade to the Old North
Bridge. This is a tradition of our society and one that is always popular with spectators.
You may make your reservation for Sunday's Luncheon and Award Banquet on line at http://www.massar.org
http://www.mas
or
through the form below.. Anyone interested in scheduling a consultation with Maureen Taylor on Sunday is welcome
to contact her through her website.
We look forward to seeing you!
Reservation Form
rd
MASSAR 122 Patriot’s Day Buffet
Colonial Inn, 48 Monument Square, Concord, MA
Sunday, April 15th, 2012 at 2pm
Your name: _____________________________________________________
Guest name: ____________________________________________________
Total attending @ $45 each
each:
Total enclosed
enclosed:
_________
_________
Payable to: “MASSAR”
Mail reservation and check to:
Massachusetts Society
Society, Post Office Box 17, Mendon, MA 01756-0017
01756
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MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY PAMPHLETEER
SPRING 2012
Chapter Officers
The Boston/Old Colony Chapter (Boston)
President: James M. Mitchell
Vice Presidents: Steven Hawko, Dan Kraft, Andrew Schell
Secretary / Registrar:Walter R Pizzi
Treasurer: James C. Lundy
•••
Cape Cod Chapter (Harwich)
President: Mark R. Pommrehn
Vice President: George A. Lewis
Secretary/Registrar: David W. Lambert
Treasurer: J. David Bowie
Color Guard Commander Henry M. Curtis II
Chaplin: Charles A. Wry
•••
The Henshaw Chapter (Worcester/Springfield)
President: Verne L. Thayer
Vice President / Treasurer: Steven G. Perkins
Secretary: Wesley H. Wratchford
Color Guard Commander Allan Van Wert
Membership: Williams J. Higgins
Genealogy: Richard C. Pierce
•••
The Old Essex Chapter (Marblehead)
President: Lee David Day
Vice President: William T, Ryerson
Secretary: Hank N. McCarl
Treasurer / Color Guard Commander: Richard K. Thorndike, III
Registrar: John T. Manning
Old Middlesex Chapter (Concord)
President: Richard F. Orluk
Vice President / Secretary: Jay E. Bailey
Treasurer: William T. Ryerson
Program Chairman: Joseph L. Andrews
Chaplin: Reverend Vincent E. Daily
•••
The Plymouth Chapter (Plymouth)
President/Secretary/CAR: William E. Battles III USMC
First Vice President: Michael E. Fishbein
Vice President: David A. Fairbanks, Charles W. Riegle
Secretary: David H. Conkling
Treasurer: Corwin A. Brown
Color Guard/Militia/Safety Officer: Steven L. Watts
Chaplain: Rev. Vincent M. Turner USAF
•••
Robert Treat Paine Chapter (Tauton)
President: Gerald R. Hazeldine
Vice President / Awards & Medals: James R. Klim
Secretary: Kenneth P. Doten
Treasurer: Peter Crone
Color Guard Commander: Stephan L.Watts
NSSAR Annual Congress, July 6-11, 2012
Please plan to attend the upcoming national convention of the National Congress in
beautiful Phoenix (Arizona) . We are sure that there will be plenty to do and see at this venue.
Information is and will be available in SAR Magazine, The Massachusetts Society Pamphleteer,
and on http://www.sar.org and http://www.massar.org.
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MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY PAMPHLETEER
SPRING 2012
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MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY PAMPHLETEER
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THE MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY
of the
SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
www.massar.org
Join the MASSAR Color Guard
We are looking for Patriots to form detachments at the Chapter level as well as for State
Functions. This rewarding endeavor brings you ever closer to your heritage with your Ancestor.
The Guard participate in Patriot Grave markings to insure the memory of our
forefathers; all state functions, and may appear at local schools in uniform to educate and
perpetuate our Heritage and instill in the youth of our country basic values of liberty, and serve
as a constant reminder of who we are and where we came from.
Our Color Guard has performed for the Queen of England, marched in Paris, and has
been featured in People’s magazine. We are invited annually to march in the Memorial Day
parade in Washington DC.
You can have a uniform made for you or we will provide the Major Uniform Coat. We
welcome CAR as well as SAR. No prior military experience is required.
Please join the MASSAR Color Guard!!
Name:
Chapter:
Address
Home Phone
Natl. #:
State#
Cell Phone:
Work Phone
Email address:
Describe your availability for parades, memorial events, ability to participate on weekdays and
holidays:
If you have an interest in the CG, or want to know more about what it takes to form a unit at
your Chapter level, please contact Commander Steven G Perkins, [email protected],
508.877.0073.
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