THE CATS MEOW Visit the CATS on the web at www.smartcats.net Email S*M*A*R*T HQ at rvsmarttrvl@att.net Visit National on the web at www.smartrving.net Officers Appointees President: Paul McMullen MEOW Editor: Mary Wisenburg Vice President: Al Miller Chaplain: Wayne Gunter Treasurer: Jim Dunn Coffee Meister: Vic Muron Secretary: Flo Dunn Sheriff: Jim Wisenburg Muster Master: Jim Wisenburg Deputy Sheriff: Sharon Bennett Immediate Past President: Les Hockman Storekeeper: Jim Dunn Photographer: Sam Bruce NE Regional Director: Vic Muron email: muronwvic@yahoo.com NE Regional Director: Donna Walthall email: walthald@rcn.com August 2010 FROM YOUR PREZ The August muster wound up being a whoppin’ success, thanks to all of you CATS, and especially our hosts, Jim & Mary Wisenburg. The number of campers was up, and the weather cooperated beautifully. You all bought wonderful treasures (only junk to those who can’t see the value to the veterans), which Vic, in his own inimitable fashion, auctioned off, bringing entertainment to all the bidders. Those of you who escaped this time, we will get you next year. Thanks to Elsie’s bookkeeping, we obtained several bucks for our veterans. And the generosity of you CATS as outstanding, especially when bidding to give a treasure to another CAT. The CATS moved to very strongly support the inclusion of all veterans for membership in SMART. If you haven’t voted on this issue yet, please refer to the last Traveler for a ballot and voting instructions. Although a motion was passed some time ago to cancel the October muster, many of the CATS wanted to go ahead with a muster, even though it may not be an official muster. In retrospect, it was also noted that nominations for 2011 were due in October, with voting in November, and installation in December. Because of this, and the fact that there was a large attendance at this muster, it was moved to hold an October muster. Sam Bruce, assisted by Gene Bennett, is hosting the muster on 1-3 October at Cozy Acres. Let us give them our support. I thank all of you who are going to National. I would like to attend it also, but I am going to Ohio for an annual meeting of my old National Guard Unit, and the 50 year reunion of my Medical School Class at Ohio State University. His is a once in a lifetime event, so wish me well. Again, thanks to all of you wonderful CATS for being such a great chapter. Paul PS: The Deputy Sheriff, Sharon Bennett, collected $.50 in fines from some unfortunate “felons”. A NOTE FROM THE TREASURER Please mail your dues to: SMART CAT 5116 Clear Lake Circle Virginia Beach, VA 23464 Make all checks payable to: SMART CAT MUSTER MASTER REPORT It was good to see so many fellow CATS at the muster, it doesn’t happen often enough. Mary and I had a good time but we really didn’t do anything except flip a few pancakes and pour some juice. In retrospect, we should have scheduled some event(s) other than the auction. I thought it would be too hot to play games outside, and it was, but we could have had a bingo game or something else to bring us together. Even though most of us feel like we know Williamsburg better than the back of our hands, there is bound to be something there that we could have done differently. We are truly sorry that it was so boring except for the weather: looks scary and sounded horrible! The rest of the musters for this year are spoken for but we have a long way to go for 2011. I’ll post the sign- ups in the next MEOW for 2011 but please be thinking of one you would like to do. A big Thank You to all who hosted a muster this year. Although we have been enjoying many delicious potlucks, Pat Stokke has stated that she will not be doing the same so please keep your attention on the MEOW for the November muster. Thanks, Jim 2010 SMART CATS SCHEDULE September - 8-12, 2010, National Muster, Centre County Grange Fairground, Centre Hall, Pennsylvania 16828. REFER TO THE JULY-AUGUST 2010 S*M*A*R*T TRAVELER FOR DETAILS AND REGISTRATION FORMS or contact Vic Muron, or Donna Walthall, their email addresses are listed on the first page. October – 1-3 (September 30th for early arrivals) at Cozy Acres, Powhatan, Virginia. For reservations call 804-598-2470; for info email cozyacres@aol.com or visit their web site @ www.cozyacres.com. Sam has reserved sites for the CATS so be sure to let them know and also to get the 20% discount (nice, huh?) Thursday arrivals will have an extended happy hour (4:30 – 6:30) with hot and cold finger foods. Attendees bring your favorite. Friday’s breakfast is at Sam’s site unless he changes it. Dinner for Friday, Gene willgrillin’ salmon or some other kind of fish. Saturday’s breakfast is inside the designated part of the new building. Evening meal is hot dogs and hamburgers. Sam will provide written muster details upon your arrival (Mary did not do a very good job of that last month). November - 5-6 (November 4th for early arrivals) at American Heritage. Again, tell the office when you will be arriving and let them know that you are with the SMART CATS. Please call your hosts, Pat and Ed Stokke, 703-590-3013, to let them know if you will be attending. Details on meal planning is not known at this time as Pat had stated that she would not be planning potluck dinners. December 3-4 (December 2nd early arrival), South Forty Campground, Petersburg, VA. Please call your hosts, Gloria and Paul McMullen, 804-733-8950, to let them know if you will be attending. There were no requests for name changes, phone number changes, email changes, address changes or corrections. If you didn’t notice, there were a few pictures of the CATS in the Traveler on page 9. More were sent but evidently they “squeezed” us in. Betty Hockman had knee replacement surgery on August 16th. I’m sure that Les is taking good care of her. Lamine family visitors, Jean Marie’s daughter Ann and granddaughter Kelsey Speakman. CELEBRATIONS! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE SEPTEMBER BABIES September 8th Jim Dunn September 18th Gloria McMullen September 24th Marcia Roberts ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS Bob and Phyllis Hipps September 5th Karin and Rodney Corwin September 8th Cathy and Wayne Gunter September 10th Otto and Jean Ripley September 14th Gloria and Paul McMullen September 20th LABOR DAY – DID YOU KNOW The History of Labor Day Labor Day: How it Came About; What it Means Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. Founder of Labor Day More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers. Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold." But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic. The First Labor Day The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883. In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country. Labor Day Legislation Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From them developed the movement to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories. A Nationwide Holiday The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take were outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement. The character of the Labor Day celebration has undergone a change in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change, however, is more a shift in emphasis and medium of expression. Labor Day addresses by leading union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics and government officials are given wide coverage in newspapers, radio, and television. The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker. Please be careful and drive safely to the National Rally or wherever you may be traveling on this holiday week-end. |
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