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Austin Blair Camp No. 7.
 Our Year ~ 2009.

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February

The Cake for Lincoln's 200th birthday

Members and guests at the meeting.
To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday, at our regular meeting held February 9th, the members of Camp 7, the Auxilliary with Department of Michigan Officers, along with members of the Lansing - Sunfield Curtenius Guard Camp No. 17 shared a cake.


Above & below - members and guests enjoy the
after meeting get together.





March

Members of Tent #59 are initiated.


Members line up to sign the new Charter.

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Officers and Members of Annie Etheridge Tent #59.

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On March 28th the Daughters of Union Veteran's of the Civil War opened a new Tent in Lansing. The event was held at the Turner Dodge House.

This event was attended by numerous other DUVCW Tents as well as George W. Anderson Camp No. 58 (DeWitt), Colegrove-Woodruff Camp No. 22 (Marshall), Henry Wallace Camp No. 160 (Corunna), Lansing-Sunfield Curtenius Guard, Camp No. 17, and Austin Blair Camp No 7. Members from these last two Camps provided the Color Guard for the Ceremony.

After the ceremony a tea and a tour of the house was given.
Tent Officers are sworn in.


Some of the members of the SUVCW with National President Judy Patton and Past National Presidents of the DUVCW.





April

The Special Tribute and the Loving Cup.


Above and below, members and guest enjoying the anniversary get together before the meeting.

On the 13th of April at our regular meeting, members of the Camp, the Auxilliary, and guests were treated to pizza and cake in honor of Austin Blair Camp No. 7 95th anniversary. A Special Tribute was presented to the Camp by Commander Griggs from 64th District Representative Martin Griffin and the Governor. Also Brother Lowe brought in a Loving Cup that was;

"Awarded to Austin Blair Camp No 7 for Meritorious Services
Park F Yengline
Commander in Chief
Son's Union Veterans
of the Civil War
Rochester
Aug - 1934 Encampment'
The cake for our anniversary.


Above, members of the Auxilliary and guest.
Below, more members of the Camp.

Above Ron and Liz sightseeing at the State Capital.


Above-June and Liz Lloyd of the Auxiliary placed the wreath at the Tomb for Camp 7.

Below-Members of the Camp after the ceremony.
Camp 7 members at Lincoln's Tomb

On the 17th of the month members of the Camp and the Auxilliary made the trip to Springfield IL for the
53rd Ceremony at Lincoln's Tomb,
which was held on the 18th.

We had much better weather this year then we did during our last visit to Springfield. Although it did sprinkle a little bit it was nothing that dampened the spirit of those in attendance. The wreath from Austin Blair Camp No. (1)7 (there was a small typo in the program) was placed at the Tomb by June Lloyd and her granddaughter Liz of the Auxilliary. Taps for the ceremony was played by our Camp's very own Mark Heath.

After the ceremony all the members of the Camp attended the luncheon and were entertained by President and Mary Lincoln. During that evening some members went on the Springfield Ghost Walk and heard stories of legion and lore as well as many interesting facts of the Lincolns and their time in Springfield.

On the way home Sunday part of the group took a side trip to New Salem, where Abraham Lincoln first lived when he moved to Illinois. They said that if you have not made that trip and are in the neighborhood, it is a "must see".
Members of Camp 7 visit the Lincoln Museum.


Above-Mark Heath of Austin Blair plays Taps for the ceremony.

Below-The members of the Camp visit the Lincoln Home.



May

President Lincoln (Fred Priebe)
Monday May 18th found us the guest of George W. Anderson Camp No. 58
in DeWitt for
"Abraham Lincoln
An Evening of Reflection"
Camp 7 members with President Lincoln

Soldiers Plot Mt Hope Cemetery
On Saturday the 23rd,members of the Camp made the trip to Lansing to assist members of Camp 17 in their Memorial Day Ceremonies taking place that day.
Little Arlington Evergreen Cemetery

Camp members in front of the Church.
On Sunday the 24th, members of the Camp and Ladies Auxilliary, were in Brooklyn attending church services at the Brooklyn Presbyterian Church where General Logan's General Order No. 11, creating Decoration Day was read.

After the service we stopped by Jefferson Cemetery where we assisted in placing flags at the grave
sites of veterans
Mike Maillard placing a flag at a grave.

Color Guard in Concord.
Memorial Day 2009 found our members once again marching in parades in the cities of Jackson and Concord.
June Lloyd places flowers at the Civil War monument in Concord.

Members of the Honor Guard and the Auxilliary.
On the 30th, members of the Camp and Auxiliary conducted a re-dedication of headstones placed in Jefferson Cemetery last September. There were about 100 people at the dedication. Many were decendants of the soldiers whose headstones had been replaced. (Formerly known as Decoration Day, the day set aside to honor the nation's war dead was originally observed May 30. A federal law passed in 1967 officially changed the name to Memorial Day, and the next year Congress moved the observance to the last Monday in May to create a three-day weekend.)
Members of the Auxilliary who attended.



June

Brenda Walthers placing soil from Massachusetts at the gravesite.


Rexine at the gravesite after placing a florial arrangement.
June found members of the Camp and the Auxiliary going to different parts of the State to attend functions or to take part in ceremonies that other orginazations were putting on.

On the 13th, Auxilliary members Brenda Walters and Rexine Cockroff attended a headstone dedication hosted by the National Society United States Daughters of 1812 and the General Benjamin Pritchard Camp No. 20 SUVCW for Curtis Brigham, a veteran of the War of 1812 who is an ancestor of Brenda. Curtis served as a private in the Massachusetts Regiment of Minute Men, in Capt. Tisdall's Company. During the ceremony Brenda placed a handfull of dirt from Schutesbury, Mass (where Curtis was from prior to coming to Michigan) at the gravesite. Rexine placed some flowers in tribute.
Headstone of Curtis Brigham.

Members of the Camp frying up their breakfast and drying out by the fire.
The weekend of the 20th found Camp members once again getting their feet, along with just about everything else wet at the Civil War Muster in Marshall.


Above and below, members relaxing before the start of the days activities.

Bob Hoffman and Howard Lloyd answer visitors' questions.


Members relaxing in between visitors.
The last weekend of the month found Camp members traveling in different directions. Some members set up an encampment at the Waterloo Farm Museum Blacksmith, Soldiers and Log Cabin Weekend, while others set up displays at the Dam Festival in Eaton Rapids. Orginally we were to set up at the G.A.R. Park in Eaton Rapids, but due to storm damage we were not able to do so.
Above and Below. Damage left from the storm. Those are not bushes in the background but are fallen trees.








August

Auxiliary members were set up for visitors to sign quilt squares and cards for troops stationed over seas.

Members of the Auxiliary showing children what school was like in the 1800's.

August promised to be a busy month right from the very first day when the Camp and the Auxiliary set up at the Concord Civil War Days; A Tribute to Veterans, at the Paddock Hubbard House in Concord. Both a Union and Confederate camp were set up for visitors to view and ask questions about. The Auxiliary set up a fly tent as well and had visitors sign quilt squares and cards to be sent to troops over seas. Also, members of the Auxiliary, with the assistance of children from the crowd, put on a skit about what it would have been like to attend school at the time of the Civil War.

One of the highlights of the day (at least for us) was the " Battle of Paddock Landing " fought by Camp members. Although there were numerous causalities on both sides everyone recovered well enough to fire one last volley and make a bayonet charge toward the crowd.

Camp 7 Color Guard place flags from different periods in American's history at the beginning of the show.

Confederate and Union troops battle at Paddock Landing.

The front of one of the canes and one of the certificates given to the four who received them.

The 12th found members from the Camp and the Auxiliary once again out and about. This night we provided the Color Guard for a ceremony put on by the South Central Wood Carvers for their "  Lean on Me Program"  in which canes are carved for veterans who need them. Each cane presented supported an eagles head and was detailed with the veterans name, rank, and service record.


Veteran who received the canes are congratulated and thanked for their service.

Members of the Camp admiring one of the canes that had been present this evening.

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Members of the Camp setting up Camp Hawker.

Members of the Auxiliary serving guests during the tea.

Union troops during " drills ".
The Cascades Civil War Muster ran for three days this year in celebration of it's 25th year. Members of Camp Blair once again sat up an encampment on top of the hill by the bandstand. "  Camp Hawker  " started off being more like Fort Henry at the time Grant attacked, but being on top of the hill allowed it to dry out during the day Saturday and Sunday. Other members of the Camp set up inside the bandstand and answered questions and gave out information about ancentors who fought for the Union.

Members of the Auxiliary set up a tea and spent that time answering questions and talking about female ancestors who fought for the Union. They also had a power point presentation set up to show what they and the Camp do.

One of the highlights of Saturday was Brother Harold Becker. Brother Becker is a " True Son ", (meaning that his father fought as one of Father Abraham's boys) he is one of fewer than 25 men who can say that. He is 91 years young, his father was 70 at the time he was born.

Members of the Camp working with the public search for their ancestors.

Brother Harold Becker, a " True Son ".

Union troops attack during the Battle of Antietam, fought again Saturday at the Muster.





September

The Camp had a fly set up for display.


Union "dead" after the skirmish at
Shoeless Bend.


Members of various Camps set up for the headstone dedication.

As we head into the Fall we did not slow down. On the weekend of the 12th and 13th members of the Camp and Auxiliary, were at Thompkins Center for the Annual Freedom Festival there. While there the skirmish at Shoeless Bend
was fought.

Also on the 12th the George W. Anderson Camp No. 58 held a headstone dedication for Corporal Harmon W. Paddelford of Company A, 20th Michigan Infantry in Lansing. Members of Camp 7 along with members of the Curtenius Guard Camp 17 and Camp 7 were in attendance to help them with this dedication.

Corporal Harmon W Paddelford's headstone after the dedication.

On the 26th members of the Camp were at Hanover for their Fesitival there.

Members of the Camp discuss the days events.

The Union were not the only ones taking "hits" during the skirmish.


Members of Camp 7 at the dedication.







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