(Click here to go to our website) 

Call to Order – President Weldon Garrelts called the meeting to order and led in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Invocation – David Hunter Everpresent Lord, we thank Thee for this food, these friends, and our freedom. We know that freedom isn’t free, and the price is paid in blood. On the Fourth of July, we declared it. May we never fail to defend it. Amen. Vittles – Chicken Teriyaki, wild rice, mixed vegetables, salad and toppings, rolls and butter, Triple Chocolate cake, tea and coffee.

Attendance – 20 members, 4 visitors. Guests – Larry (husband of Fonda Bowden);

Karen Barnes (guest of Dave Hunter);

Elizabeth and Michael Mitchaner (daughter and son-in-law of Rich King)

Birthdays – Ted Gonsiorowski (3rd); Rex Hess (8th). Lions Report –Lew Laymon is at Brook. If you are ill or know a fellow Lion that is under the weather, please call Pat Bryan at 586-4535.

Announcements – Weldon Garrelts announced that Birdies for Sight is still looking for volunteers. Herb Bail has reported that we collected 5,365 eyeglasses, 38 hearing aids and 4 cell phones.

Lottery – Charlie Osborne won the $9 lottery.

Byron Balbach won the lottery for vegetables from Marvin Gardens.

Jay Hoeflinger announced a project for the Center for Women in Transition to purchase mulch. We need 10 people to put down mulch and spray-wash the building at the end of July.

Program – Sam McGrew introduced our speaker, Joe Walwik, who spoke on The Civil War. He is Associate Professor of History at Parkland College and attended with his fiance, Kim Murphy. He is the author of two books, Rewarding Virtue (on Benjamin Franklin) and The Peekskill Riots. He was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the National University of Kyrgyzstan and taught at the American University in Cairo.

His talk was captivating, as he gave us insight into the turning point of the Civil War.

The following are comments and short quotes from his talk. “Losers really wrote the history of the Civil War… What do we call Americans who wage war against our country? “Traitor,” yet the Daughters of the Confederacy still celebrate.

Somehow, in our memory everyone had to become a ‘hero’. That is how our culture handled that war. “A very strange thing….We make heroes out of anybody who fought there.”

This is the 150th Anniversary of Confederate General George Pickett’s charge at Gettysburg.

Up to 10,000 Union and Confederate soldiers died at Gettysburg.

How is it that this becomes the turning point of the war? “Just people, some not so well trained…. Individuals making decisions.”

He told one story to illustrate - the 20th Maine, a Union Infantry Regiment, was on the left flank of the Union line, and that was all there was to hold the line on the Little Round Top hill.

20th Maine under Colonel Joshua Chamberlain

The regimental commander, Joshua Chamberlain, had 2 brothers with him. He sent one to the left and one to the right so that one enemy canon shot would not get all three.

As things start to fall apart, he spreads his men out, orders them to ‘fix bayonets’

and sends them charging down the hill.

This commits them to hand-to-hand fighting because they could no longer load their flintlocks.

Of course they won the battle. That is considered the war's turning point.

Joshua Chamberlain was a college professor, but his college would not grant him leave to fight in the Civil War, so he took leave to study in France but went to fight instead.

He ended up as a General, later as President of Bowdoin College and then Governor of Maine.

Joe said, “It comes down to little things, which can add up to big things.” That’s the message of Independence Day.

Bob Tuchel’s great grandfather was a Union soldier and Bob visited with him when he was 9 years old. On Saturday, Bob Tuchel will be married 71 years.

Dave Hunter’s great grandfather, Benjamin Franklin Blaisdell, pictured at right, played the pfife in a regimental band…

On the Union side, of course.

Rich King distributed Membership bills to all Lions present.

Some were a little apprehensive.

Tail Twister – Omer Benn read His philosophy: “You don’t stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing.”

Then he asked Marvin Paulsen to carry the bucket.

He fined Charlie Osborne for having won the lottery;

Byron Balbach for his winning bid on the vegetables;

Sam McGrew for something about a birthday.

Charlie Osborne bragged about his 8 year old nephew, on a 138 yard hole, having his ball land within four inches of the cup on his second shot. Nearly had a hole in one;

Frank paid for bragging that he’s riding in the Parade tomorrow;

(He’s a Republican)

and Omer Benn paid for bragging about his own golfing.

Coming up

Jul 10 – Business meeting – Awards, Know Your Lion

Greeter: Shaunessy RiceJul 17 – David Shaul on the history of WDWS

Click here osborne@bankchampaign.com to email Charlie Osborne and let him know what you would like to see in a Lions Club program some time.

Thank you for watching

Editor

Rex Hess

Publisher

David Hunter

To email Dave with your comments, click here → hunter4000@comcast.net

To go to the our website, click here → http://www.champaignlions.org/