Wordless Wednesday

Marking History

I have been waiting for 28 months...finally, today, "my" historical marker was unveiled and dedicated.

Back in early 2015, The Colonel (who chairs the Historical Advisory Committee (HAC) for the county) told me of a new historical marker that was being proposed. It would mark the WWII military history of our local airport.

The Colonel said the HAC was looking for a sponsor for the marker. The marker would cost $2,200.

At the time, I was a trustee for my deceased father's foundation. As a trustee, one of my duties was to make grants to non-profit organizations. I chose to have the foundation sponsor the marker.

Now that a sponsor was found and the marker paid for, The Colonel informed me that the verbiage for the marker had to be written. He handed me a thick stack of paper and each piece of paper was filled with military facts about the airport's historical past.

"Will you write the verbiage for the airport marker?"

"Sure. I have never done this before. What does it entail?"

"Read through all of these pages and distill the information to no more than 1,235 characters".

"Okaaaaayyyy".

With my "marching orders" in hand, I began to read through the stack and to distill the facts.

I worked on the verbiage for a couple of days. The Colonel liked what I wrote. He took it to the next meeting of the HAC board for its approval. They accepted it and signed off on it in May of 2015.

Next step...my writing to be cast in metal for an historical marker at the airport.

The marker was ordered and delivered to the county. It was slated to be dedicated in July of 2015 (four months was the usual time span for approval to dedication of a marker).

28 months later...November 2017...The dedication of "my" marker...

(Yam designed the dedication program)

It was a beautiful morning at the airport and a nice crowd showed up for the dedication. My Favorite-In-Laws were there too.

The high school NJROTC Color Guard posted the colors, the crowd recited the Pledge of Allegiance and then we watched as two old "Warbirds" perform a fly-over before the dedication began.

The Colonel gave the welcome and introduction at the podium.

He was followed by Commissioner Deutsch who spoke about the Historical Marker Program, Mr. Andrews of the Airport Authority who spoke about the roles of the airport, Dr. Carlson a history professor at Florida Gulf Coast University who spoke of the historical significance of the airport and finally Mr. Scott, Director of Community Services (Yam's big boss) who gave the closing comments before the unveiling of the marker.

Usually the sponsor of a marker is listed in the program and is mentioned during the dedication. I was not listed in the program but the Commissioner did introduce me and have me stand up. His introduction was odd though. He sits on the HAC with The Colonel, so they know and like one another, and his introduction went something like this:

"I want to thank The Colonel's wife, Bird, Bird please stand up. Thank you for being behind this marker and behind The Colonel. Thank you for allowing him to get out of the house and do the things he does for the county".

Odd and a bit awkward. His words made it sound like I am an iron-handed wife and controls when The Colonel can leave the house. Again, odd and a bit awkward.

The Colonel and I are both glad that "my" marker is finally dedicated.

 It has been a long time in coming. Some of the reasons for the 28-month delay are chalked up to Airport Authority issues and county employee issues.

I have written four more historical markers for the county. One about the railroad town of McCall, which no longer exists and one about the Hickory Bluff Mound, an ancient Indian mound along the water that no longer exists (The Colonel and I gifted money towards this marker and my DAR chapter is the sponsor) and one for the Hickory Bluff Cemetery, a pioneer cemetery of African Americans and the Lt. Carl A. Bailey Cemetery, an African American cemetery that is still used today.

I have no idea as to when these two markers (McCall and Hickory Bluff Mound)  will be dedicated. The park where the Hickory Bluff Mound marker is to be placed was damaged by Hurricane Irma in September. The marker cannot be placed until the damage has been repaired.

The Colonel and I always stop to read historical markers when we see them. We like to learn the history of the places. It makes us happy to know that we contribute to the historical markers in our county by funding and writing them. It makes us happy too to know that others will stop by these markers and learn about our local history and that these markers will still be here once The Colonel and I are history.

Below is the verbiage I wrote for the airport marker (notice the year on the marker):

Punta Gorda Army Airfield

World War II

In May 1942, the Army Air Corps chose this site for the Punta Gorda Army Airfield (PGAAF). Construction began that October at a projected cost of $700,000.

The Army Air Corps activated PGAAF on December 11, 1943 with a mission to train pilots for overseas duty. The first student pilots arrived in February 1944. Average class size was 30 students per squadron. This included the 490th Fighter Squadron and the 502nd Fighter-Bomber Squadron. Over 750 student pilots completed 15 weeks of training at the base. There were six training-related deaths. Pilots flew the Curtis P-40 Warhawk and the North American P-51 Mustang.

The Army Air Corps assigned 44 officers and 1,097 enlisted men as permanent staff. The base had 61 service buildings including hangars, repair shops, chapel, theater, mess hall, and classrooms. Personnel lived in 268 “hutments” consisting of wooden lower halves and canvas tops.

PGAAF contributed to the victory in World War II and was deactivated on September 1, 1945, one day before the surrender of Japan

.

Today the Punta Gorda Airport serves our community through both private and commercial aviation.

Charlotte County Board of County Commissioners, 2015

Halloween and History

Once again, Halloween has come and gone.

Throngs of people (costumed or not), with or without costumed kiddies in tow (or in strollers), shuffled along the streets of the historic section of our town and begged candy from people in decorated houses along the way.

Once again, The Colonel, Yam and I (costumed) joined the throngs.

On Halloween night, when I was a child, I would be too excited to want to eat supper. I just wanted to put on my costume and pound the pavement for candy. Mom said we could not Trick-or-Treat until we ate and until it was dark enough (usually around 6:30 or 7:00 p.m.).

This Halloween evening found me excited (mainly agitated) around supper time again. The Colonel and I had worked all day at the museum (10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.). We had made plans with Yam to have supper at her house (she got home from work around 4:45 p.m.), put on our costumes, walk next door to show our costumes to The Colonel's parents and have a couple of pictures taken before walking downtown. We wanted to be downtown around 6:30 p.m. so that there was still some light to be able to see the costumes and decorations.

Best laid plans...this is where the agitation came in...Before we left the museum, I called (on the museum's phone) an order for pizza to be delivered to Yam's house around 5:00 p.m. I told the girl on the other end of the line what address I wanted the pizza to be delivered (Yam's house of course). The girl said, "Oh, I will have to change the address of delivery because it is showing the address of the museum because you used its phone to make the call." I said okay, completed the order and hung up.

The Colonel and I closed the museum and headed to Yam's house. Yam let us in and we chatted while awaiting the 5:00 p.m. arrival of our pizza. No pizza delivery man showed up. The girl did say they would try to get the pizza there as close to 5:00 p.m. as possible. So, we waited some more.

As each minute ticked by I felt I was channeling my younger self; I wanted to hurry to get supper done so that I could get dressed and hit the streets. We gave the pizza delivery man a bit more time, thinking it was Halloween after all and maybe many others were ordering pizza for supper too.

Finally (5:20 p.m.) with my agitation meter fully pegged, I called the pizza place (trying to keep a civil tone).

"I ordered a pizza for a 5:00 p.m. delivery and it has not arrived yet." (Notice no exclamation point?)

"Oh, he has been to the house, knocked on the door and even has called the house but no one is answering."

"That is because you sent him to the wrong place. I told you it would be a different address from the phone number's." (Please God, do not let me loose it...I do not want the pizza man to spit on my pizza if it ever arrives).

I hear the girl on the phone talking to one of her associates. They figure it out. They call the pizza delivery man and he is at the door very shortly thereafter. He was full of apologies. I know it was not his fault.

The pizza is still warm and it is delicious.

I do not like when businesses only go by the phone number you call them on. They never listen to you. They only notice the phone number and what address is associated with it. Another case in point.

When Darling-Sister-In-Law passed away The Colonel called her television company (which happened to be the same one we use) to tell them that she had died and that he wanted her cable stopped. He had supplied them with her name, address and customer account number. Because he called from our home phone they disconnected our service instead. They never listened to what The Colonel said, just went by the phone number. We had quite a run around with the cable company as we tried to straighten them out. We got our service back, but they think we are new customers (we have been with this company for several years).

Back to pizza...

We ate our pizza (saving some to take over to my In-Laws when we went over later) and then began to put on our costumes.

Yam's costume was "practically perfect in every way". She dressed as Mary Poppins. She had virtually gotten everything from Goodwill.

The Colonel's costume was equally perfect. He had been purchasing items on line a few months prior to Halloween. He went as a Templar Knight.

Because I am in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), I have some some colonial costumes. I decided to go as Betsy Ross. I even made a representation of the colonial flag (I used Stitch Witch...sorry Betsy) and carried it with me in a basket.

We were all dressed up and definitely had someplace to go. We walked across the street, with pizza box in hand and rang my In-Laws' doorbell.

"Trick-or-Treat", I chimed.

They loved our costumes as we eagerly showed them off (once again, channeling my inner child) and had our pictures taken.

We took our leave and walked towards town, a mere two blocks away. It was around 6:30 p.m. and still light out. The Colonel said his vision was slightly impacted by his metal helmet's eye slits but he navigated the sidewalks and streets very well the entire evening as it grew darker.

As we walked around several people waved, called out to Mary Poppins or sang "A Spoonful of Sugar Makes the Medicine Go Down" as they passed by. Many people called out to the Knight saying, "It's only a flesh wound" or "What game are you from?" There were a few that knew he was a Templar Knight and not someone from a Monty Python movie or a video game. Several people snapped pictures of the Knight and Mary Poppins. I heard a couple of people say, "That was Betsy Ross" as they passed by. One man (an aged hippy) came up to us, gave us candy and strummed his chimes so I asked him who he thought I was. His vacant stare then prompted me to point out what was in my basket. Still a vacant stare.

"It's red, white and blue", I said.

"Oh, it's a flag?"

"Yes, and there are 13 stars on it..."

"Um, the colonial flag...oh, you're um Betsy Ross."

Finally, like pulling teeth. To be fair...he was an aged hippy and had probably partaken of much weed for the majority of his life and maybe even that evening. The long term effects just are not known. So much for legalizing recreational marijuana. Just say no!

Mary Poppins, the Knight and I decided we did not want to eat his candy.

A family of four came up to me and the mom asked her youngest girl who I was supposed to be. She knew I was someone from history and that I sewed the first American flag but she could not remember my name. Her older sister finally told her I was Betsy Ross. Another woman came up to us and wanted to take our picture with her kids. It was their first year Trick-or-Treating downtown. We obliged. She knew I was a historical figure named Betty Ross...close, I would cut her some slack. I was expecting more people (young and old) to know who I was portraying....maybe it is symptomatic of the lack of American History taught in our schools today or dare I say, maybe my costume wasn't as thought provoking as I thought it would be.

We stayed on a street corner and just people-watched for a while. It was fun to see the kids and adults in their costumes. A few people stopped and snapped pictures of Mary Poppins, the Knight or all three of us. The Colonel and Yam's costumes were a hit. I may have harbored a tiny bit of jealousy with the attention the were paid, but I was more proud of the great costume ideas and their perfect execution of them.

We finally called it a night around 8:30 p.m. and walked back to Yam's house. We de-costumed and had a little apple cider. The Colonel and I did not stay long, as Yam had to work the next day.

I have a whole year to come up with another costume for next year. I may forego any historical figures though.

Wordless Wednesday