THE SENIOR MEN'S CLUB OF NEW CANAAN
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of November 15, 2002
President Bob Witt opened the business meeting at 10:00 on a cool morning of hazy sunshine, with 172 members present. The count now is: 518 in; 7 invited; 16 waiting with varying degrees of patience. New member Bob Spence was welcomed enthusiastically, as was guest Art Howes, who unfortunately didn't clear the waiting list until two weeks before moving out of town. Nick Fellner read a touching poem, "The important thing about Veterans .." by South School Students.
Membership Concerns and Announcements: Bob Barker has died. Roger Phillips is on home leave from Hospice. Werner Meyer will be immobilized for several weeks after being hit by an SUV. Frank Perron remains in Waveny, but both Marv Newman is here with his new hip. Bob Moylan advised that the previously distributed instructions having to do with selfcare of a heart attack should be ignored. Another example that much of what glitters on the net is in truth fool's gold. Dick Bond noted some outstanding NCHS teams this fall. Dan Rowland then repeated the request of HS principal Tony Pavia for a list of SMC veterans; signups followed. And Charley Morris gave us another teaser for the Christmas lunch, on December 6th, at $35. NEXT WEEK WE MEET IN THE SANCTUARY OF THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Activities: Two stalwarts will bowl today. Racquetball has gone undercover. Bridge as usual,
and a lesson again next week, 9:00 in the First Presbyterian Common Room. Paddle continues to draw record enrollment, with room for more. The 4F's are still on for Nino's on the 22nd.
Couth: Ron Seger reviewed the successful West Point experience and reminded us that the Newport bus will leave at 7:30. December 5th. A second bus has been added for the Philarmonic expedition January 30th. Beyond this, there is MOMA in February and Mama Mia in March. Ron also regaled the group with a reading of the best and worst travel travel experiences in various categories.
Resident Humorist: John Berg's Norwegian buddies Oley and Lena reappeared, misunderstanding the nature of divorce support payments as well as the exact meaning of "divine right" as applied to topless sunbathing.
Speaker: VP Bob Shafter introduced David Petrie, formerly a patent counsel at Xerox and, since retirement, a researcher into events of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Mr. Petrie condensed a presentation on "Geography and the Civil War", building on five key words or phrases. They were: Heat, the oppressive climate of coastal regions of the southern states, and a significant factor in the importation and use of slaves. By contrast, the free farmers of the more moderate upland regions of the south tended to share neither need nor enthusiasm for slavery .Rivers, the Shenadoah, Potomac, and Ohio, all of which were major arteries determining military strategy. Jedediah Hotchkiss, Stone-wall Jackson's mapmaker , whose uncanny sense of terrain enabled Jackson to beat a much larger Union force at Chancelorsville, and to find the single route
through the Wilderness at the battle of that name. 25 Acre Killing Fields, referring to a restricted area at Antietam which claimed 24,000 soldiers in a day, and to Andersonville, a notorious prison which claimed as many as 100 of its 25,000 inmates per day.
Finally, David discussed his great grandfather, Frederic Gangnagle, wounded and later taken prisoner while a volunteer with the 107th Pennsylvania regiment. This vignette neatly personalized and focused the geographical concepts earlier expounded.
Peter Schurman - Assistant Secretary