Greg Brooking's Lecture

 Anderson House - Home of the Society of the Cincinnati and the American Revolution Institute

On Tuesday, November 12, 2024, we were guests of Greg Brooking at the Anderson House to hear him speak about his new book, 

Recently George was informed by the Historical Society of South Carolina that he was not the only historian working on a book about Henry Laurens.  Greg is already working on the same topic George has been working on for over 5 years.  I thought it would spur George to get on with the writing and finish his book because he has done so much work already.  Much to my surprise George was relieved.  He is convienced that Henry has been overlooked for too long (my suggested book title -  The Forgotten Founding Father - and while reslishing doing research, he angonizes over writing.  So he decided to just hand over all of his research to Greg.  What a lucky guy!  Turns out he's also a really nice guy and we were thrilled to get to meet him after weeks of them exchanging emails.

We look forward to welcoming Greg back to the area this summer.  He will be a scholar in residence at the Mount Vernon Library and staying in the dorm next to the library.

Here ae two images I took before the event began:

High up on the wall near the portrait of George Washington was a pair of Buddhas.  This is 1 of them.

The stunning ceiling

To read more about the Home see my post of 2023 - September.

HONORING JOHN PHILIP SOUSA ON HIS 170th BIRTHDAY

 

I woke this morning hearing that Donald Trump had won the election.  My reaction was total despair and I heard from many friends and family suffering through a similar reaction.  

I tried to follow my morning routine - a few lessons on Duolingo, the news paper (skipped sections A&B, a 1^st) hot compress on my eyes for 2 minutes, 10 minutes of meditation (even harder than usual), and a yoga routine.  By then I was feeling calm and grateful that George and I had registered to attend the Historic Congressional Cemetery’s annual service honoring John Philip Sousa.  This was the anniversary of his 170^th birthday.

The audience gathered near the Sousa family site.

Please note - it is NOVEMBER 6^th and everyone is dressed for summer.  The temperature was 80 degrees!

Jackie Spainhour, President of the Historic Congressional Cemetery Foundation gave the welcoming remarks and a special welcome to members of the Sousa family in attendance.   She then gave an explanation of the role of the owner, Christ Church , Navy Yard, and the Foundation, created by the Parish.

AJ Arlikoff, Director of Events, HCC, explained the important role played by volunteers.  There are docents who lead tours on various topics - LGBTQ+ Women, Civil War, etc. (some are available to the public, others are for private groups upon request), gardeners who “adopt” plots, actors who portray some of the residents (the term used at the Cemetery - one day I’ll be 1), bee keepers, the death doula, etc.  He then presented various awards. 

The theme of AJ’s comments was the importance of continuity.  That resonated with me because of my fear of the lose of our democracy.  Only time will tell if it will continue.  

Next the actor who portrays John Phillip Sousa, Ronald D.Anzalone, presented the history of the famous musician who had grown up in walking distance of the cemetery and his father who had been stationed in the Navy Yard as a member of the Marine Marching Band.  

It was great seeing all the students in attendance.  I think there may be a future member of the Marine Marching Band in attendance.  See the flag.

After the speeches, the Marine Marching Band arrived via the walkway that runs by the side of the Sousa Family plot and played a 30 minute concert.  It was sort of the “Best of Sousa.”

To hear some of the music go to this link.

Captain Darrin Y. Lin thanked the Cemetery for allowing the band to honor their most famous member and someone who did so much to make the band important  in the annuals of Marine history.

I couldn't help but consider the importance of immigrants to this nation.  Captain Lin's family is from Taiwan and the Marine photographer's family is from Viet Nam.

In keeping with the theme of continuity, we learned that there is a member of the band who played with a member of the band who played with a member of the band who played with a member of the band WHO PLAYED WITH SOUSA.  (Bet you thought that string of "who played" was a typo. )

To read previous posts about the cemetery see 2020 - October, 2021 - January, and 2023 - October.