Flag Day is June 14th

 

This is the site from the USD 1812 National public website that I thought might be interesting to our members.   We all have so many questions about Flag etiquette, and with Flag Day right upon us, I thought it might be a good time to discuss them.

Please visit it.

President Suzanne Palmer

https://www.legion.org/advocacy/flag-advocacy/flag-code

Commissioner Charles Gause No 433 Chapter of US Daughters of 1812 Congratulated New Officers for the 2026-2028 Term of Office.

 Photo: The new officers were sworn in on June 6, 2026, at the 1812 meeting. The new President is Suzanne Palmer; Vice President, Susan Woodard; Chaplain, Linda Lashley, who will serve another term; Secretary, Kathleen Benedict; Registrar, Rebecca Chipman; Historian, Phyllis Wilson; and Librarian, Joan Hall. Missing from the photo is Treasurer Cindy Sellers, who will also serve another term.

                                     

    

Treasurer - Cindy Sellers

 Three Vietnam Veterans Were Recognized at the June Meeting

At the 6 June 2026 meeting of the Commissioner Charles Gause Chapter, we recognized three Vietnam Veterans.  Caron Myers was awarded the Vietnam Veteran Lapel pin and certificate in honor of her father, Billy Gene Wright-Spikes’ service in the US Army from 8 Sep 1955-30 Jul 1958. 

As the only living relative, Caron also received a certificate in recognition of her cousin, James Laurence Howell (Larry), who was lost in hostile enemy action on 5 March 1970.  Larry was 22 years of age.  He is honored on the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Washington, D.C.  

The Chapter awarded a Vietnam Veteran Lapel pin and certificate to Thomas Henderson Jackson, who served in the US Army from 3 January 1967 through 2 January 1973 when he transferred to the US Army Reserves.  Thomas Henderson was wounded in action in Vietnam and was awarded the Purple Heart and Vietnam Service Medal with two Bronze Service Stars, among other service badges and awards.  Thomas Henderson Jackson is the cousin of Caron Myers.  

The Commissioner Charles Gause Chapter has been a Commemorative Partner with the U.S. Vietnam War Commemoration since November 2023 and has awarded certificates and lapel pins to Chapter members since then.  Although the work of the Commemoration ended in late 2025 (it was established in 2012), Commemorative Partners are encouraged to continue to recognize Vietnam veterans and their families with lapel pins while supplies remain in their inventory.

James Lawrence Howell

Billy Gene Spikes US Army. 1955-1958

                                     Thomas Henderson Jackson

On June 6 2026, the Daughters of 1812 Charles Gause Chapter viewed a video about Fort Niagara and the British takeover on December 19,1813. The British quickly took Fort Niagara. Two days later, the British, along with Indian allies, marched south, burning cabins along the Tonawanda Creek on the way to burn the village of Buffalo. Lydia and Captain Robert Simson were a part of this terrorizing march. Saving their cabin and manning the Tonawanda Guard house.

Thank you, Suzanne Palmer and Martha Blacher, for the information to put on this post.

The State Port Pilot Published an Article on How to Purchase Paving Stones...

 

 

Thursday, May 14, 2026 The Brunswick Beacon

Jane Johnson presents Bob McLeod and Catherine Fort with a $2,000 check to purchase a paver from the Lord Craven Colonial Dames chapter.

 The Daughters of 1812 paver at the Cape Fear Scottish Immigration Memorial at Brunswick Town/ Fort Anderson.

                             

The memorial cairn serves as a lasting tribute to the resilience and contributions of the Scottish emigrants who came to Brunswick Town on the Cape Fear in the 18th century.

Memorial Day

Cape Fear Scottish Immigration Memorial Dedication held at Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson in Winabow

Photos from the February 7, 2026 Commissioner Charles Gause No 433 Daughters of 1812 Meeting

 Keith Chipman was our guest speaker for the February 7, 2026 meeting of our 1812 organization. Keith is the husband of our Vice-President, Rebecca Chipman. Keith is a blacksmith as a hobby. Essential blacksmith tools include a forge for heating metal, an anvil for shaping, and a variety of hammers (such as cross-peen or ball-peen) for forging. Other crucial tools include tongs for holding hot metal, a post vise for securing work, and cutting tools such as chisels and punches. 

After watching several episodes of "Forged in Fire" Keith and Reecca decided to ry their hand at forging tools themselves. Keith has worked in the Machine Tool Trade his entire career. Shaping metal, heat treating and producing tools using a variety of machine tools was familar tohoim. Using fire an anvil and hammer toshape metal into tools was new. Keith and Rebecca started by forging a couple of knives thenmoved on to produce seveal decorative items used around thehouse such as canmadle stick holders, wall sconces, decorative mirror and a chandelier to name a few.

Typical clothing worn by a blacksmith includes eye protection, heavy cotton clothing (no polyester), a leather apron, and leather shoes or boots to protect them fromthe sparks that fly while forging metal.

Some of the tools used in a blacksmith shop. Shown is an anvil, a couple of hammers, tongs, and hardy hole accessories. 

Describing a three-pound hammer made in the forge. One end is flat, and the other was rounded off to move more metal while forging. 

The flat end is shown on the right, and the round end is on the left.

Describing a pair of tongs made in the forge out of 5/8" diameter wrought iron. Blacksmiths use a variety of tools made to hold many shapes and sizes of metal. This pair is very useful for holding small-diameter round and square stock in the V-shaped tips forged into the ends of the tong.

Description of using a pair of tongs to hold a knife by its tang in preparation for heat treatment. 

Cutoff tools are one of the many "Hardy Hole" accessories Blacksmiths use in the forge.

Another "Hardy Hole" accessory. This one is used to neck down or reduce the cross-section of a candlestick holder. Repeated heating, rotating the part, and hammering are necessary to form the shape of a candlestick holder.

                   Candlestick holder assembled to the base.

The left hand shows an integral tag on a knife similar to the one on Rebecca's dagger in my right hand.

Describing a knife with a full tang. This one has two wooden scales on opposite sides of the knife held together with rivets to form the knife handle.

At the registration table, committee chairs have placed baskets and containers for members to contribute to their committees. In the front right side is the Wreaths Across America program, where members can donate any amount to purchase wreaths for Wreaths Across America, which will be on Saturday, December 19, 2026, at Wilmington National Cemetery. Each wreath is $17. You can also go to the Wreaths Across America tab on this blog and order a wreath by credit card or by calling the main number. Check this out. Also, you can give Cindy Sellers, our treasurer, a check made out to Daughters of 1812 and order wreaths that way. Tickets are available for purchase at the end of the meeting.The voices given away are 3 gardening books, an 1812 logo mousepad, a pin, an 1812 logo bag and a Valentine surprise basket. 

Our new officers for 2026-2028 were selected at the 1812 meeting on February 7, 2026. The new president will be Suzanne Palmer; the Vice President will be Susan Woodard; the Secretary will be Kathleen Benedict; and the Treasurer, Cindy Sellers, will serve another term. Registrar will be Rebecca Chipman; Chaplain will be Linda Lashley, who will serve another term in office; Historian will be Phyllis Wilson; and Librarian will be Joan Hall. The new officers will be sworn in at the June 2026 meeting.

The voices given away are 3 gardening books, an 1812 logo mousepad, a pin, an 1812 logo bag, and a Valentine surprise basket. 

Thank you so much to our guest speaker, Keith Chipman, for taking the time to add captions to the photos below from his presentation.