1^st Regiment Illinois Light Artillery

De Gress’ Battery

September / October 2006

Next Meeting

November 10, 2006

7:30 PM

White Court, Buffalo Grove

The next scheduled meeting will be on November 10^th at the Home of Commander Brown. Please mark your calendars.

Elections

At the November 10^th meeting the battery will be holding elections for all the offices for the year 2007. You must be a member of volunteer status to hold office and to vote. A ballot will be presented prior to the meeting. If for some reason you can not attend, please send a proxy to Commander Bob or John Matuszek. Also at this meeting we will be voting on the proposed By-law change stated above.

The following is a list of the offices that must be filled. The name in bold is the present person that holds that office. Italic names are those that have stated they will run for that office.

Commander:                        Bob Brown

John V Matuszek

Secretary/Adjutant:            John V Matuszek

Bob Brown

RSO                                        Wayne Blatherwick

Asst. RSO                              Matt Koch

Paymaster                             Dick Koch

Quartermaster                      John Thatcher

Historian                               John V Matuszek

By-Law Changes reminder

The Board of Directors got together to address the situation of the number of members to make up an official meeting. Presently it is stated that an official meeting be made up of 50%+1 of the membership. Due to the fact that there are several members who live over 50 miles away from the normal meeting places, it has been getting harder to get the numbers for an official meeting.

An official notification has been sent via regular mail 30 days prior to the vote as stated in the by-laws. Please contact John Matuszek if you did not receive that notice.

Dues Due

Did you have fun this year as member of the Battery? Looking forward to 2007? Well, sad to say, you will need to look into your wallet or checkbook. Nothing this fun comes free. To belong to the Battery only, a fee of $10 will need to be paid. If you wish to participate in any N-SSA related events, you will have to dig a little deeper. There is a $50 national membership fee and a $10 Western Regional fee. So a total of $70 will be due to cover all three. Please note that you do not have to join the N-SSA to compete in the long-range match. Checks should be made out to Battery H and submitted to the paymaster. A dead line will be announced and statements will be mailed out.

114^th Nationals Report

The area around Winchester at this time of year is normally on the verge of showing off its fall colors. The apples are ripe and the air seems as refreshing as going four for four on the pigeon board. When you think about it, the average distance that a battery member travels to and from Fort Shenandoah is about 1300 miles and yet if you ask those that traveled that distance, they will say it was worth the trip.

                Seven members of the battery worked their way across several states to participate in this final shoot of the year. Individuals started on Wednesday and the rain on Thursday. It seemed a low pressure system had set up itself off the Virginian coast and pumped wave after wave of moisture inland obscuring the sun and the full moon until late Saturday night. The rain dampened the Revolver team event were the Battery came in 12 out of 15 in their class. One must give credit to the members for showing up on the firing line for many decided not to show due to the rain.

                The rain continued through Friday as it rained on the Mortar team event. After taking a 1^st and then a 2^nd place metal at the last two Nationals, spirits were high especially since both mortars were on the firing line. After 40 minutes of manipulations only one team took home a metal, the mortar team of Dick, Wayne, Bob, and Stan. They came in 9^th out of 49. The defending 2005 champs came in at 17^th. They are now looking forward to the 115^th National.

                The rain continued to dampen the Smoothbore Team Match. Again the Battery had a slow start and ended up 7^th out of 10 in their class. The only bright spot was that the Battery had the fastest time on the hanging bird event of all the teams. Each member of the team only got two rounds off. No one missed, a perfect event.

                Saturday the rain continued to fall. The morning was damp, cold, and damp. Many people had problems due to this double dampness. Caps failed to ignite the carbines and when it was all over, again the Battery was on the lower end of their class standings.

                The clouds finally broke late Saturday night. Sunday was just that, sunny. It was an odd feeling and what many would call perfect shooting weather. The Battery had seven members and was able to pick up an extra shooter from the 46^th Illinois. Again the curse of the slow start showed its ugly head. Four birds were left on the board. The Battery then fought back. The next four events were finished quickly. The battery ended up 9^th out of 78 teams. This was one of the better showings in a long time. It seemed that if one shooter got cold another shooter became hot. A special kudos goes to Frank who hasn’t shot since last year and to the newest member of the Battery, Stan. Both shot extremely well.

                Now the Battery will have to wait until the late winter. The first skirmish for 2007 is being planned for the month of February.

Note: Rumor has it the Battery will be asked to help run a National in the year 2008. Once it is confirmed, it was suggested that we try for the last task we had last time, which was latrine duty. The Battery has the experience and it did a very good job.

Cannon on the Disable List

As you know the battery decided not to participate in the 2006 annual Long Range Match in Graying Michigan, sponsored by Loomis Battery. The main reason is that many felt it would be a waste of time and money. For over 25 years the cannon has been stored outside exposed to the elements and several bird nests. The Battery has tried changes to the projectile and powder charge with no improvement in the accuracy. After some discussion at the August meeting, a motion was made and passed to purchase a new liner. This liner will be bought from Kenny Kirk from New York and delivered to Southbend. Once delivered, we will have to get several volunteers to transport the cannon barrel to the shop where it will be bored out and the new liner installed.

The Battery hopes to have this done over the winter so we can get the cannon back in time for any early parades or shows. They hope they can compete in the 2007 Long Range Match with the confidence that they can hit something more than the backstop. The cost of the new liner will be around $800 and an additional $50 for shipping. The cost to remove the old liner and install the new one will be around $1700.

The price may seem high but the alternative is to buy a brand new tube that would cost about $5000 to $6000 or to scrap the idea of firing the cannon. Neither of these options is believed to be feasible at this time. These actions may also stretch the limit of the treasury               

A motion will need to be made to officially approve the installing of the new liner. At this time Commander Brown hopes to have the final figures.

2006 Events

The following is a list of  events scheduled for 2006.

Oct 27 –29      Halloween Skirmish at Fort Shenandoah

Nov 10                        General membership meeting and Battery elections

Recruitment Opportunities

The Battery is always looking for new members. It is proud to have welcomed Stan into the Battery even if he is over 700 miles away, suffering in the rolling hills East of the Shenandoah Valley. Yet we need more members in this state of Illinois. The recruitment officer is looking for 2 to 3 people would be willing to represent the Battery at the Kane County Gun show December 10th. John Matuszek is willing to purchase a table but presently is unable to attend the show himself. Please check your calendars and let John know if you are willing to go. Yes you can take a brake and look at the other wares being offered up for sale. 

Man Found for the Web Page

Stan Jezior has stepped forward and accepted the role of the Battery’s Website Master. Digital pictures of the Battery at rest or in action are still being accepted. Please check what you have and send them to Commander Brown. Pictures should have members in full uniforms and try to avoid sunglasses and other non-period items unless safety related. Articles and tid-bits are welcome also. 

Western Region Commander’s Meeting and Elections

The commanders of the Western Region gathered after the National team membership meeting to elect a regional commander. It was a race between Tom Shed and Tom Arliskias. Both candidates had good qualities and weaknesses. When the final vote was taken, the 8 teams of the region was split down the middle. A tie of 4 votes had been cast. According to the Regional By-laws a tie vote is broken by the Present Regional Commander. This was Tom Shed.

The other offices were ran for unopposed. Jim Lineckie will continue as the Western Regional Secretary/Adjutant. Guy Brandes will be the Paymaster and our own John Thatcher will continue as the Inspector General until he can find someone that will take over.

  Please note that the following is a tentative schedule and is subject to change.

Feb         17-18                     Springfield                             114^th

April       28-29 Sandyford                             46^th

May       16-20                     Spring Nationals

June 23-24                     Sandyford Battery H

July                                         Long-Range Grayling Match

Aug 18-19                     Springfield                             114^th

Sept 15-16                     Bristol                                    6^th

Oct          03-07                     Fall Nationals

These are all N-SSA shoots with the exception of the Graying shoot. No friendship skirmishes were discussed. There was some talk about the Western Region subsidizing some of the range fees. This was voted down but several other matters were voted in to help with keeping costs down. There is no longer mandatory team event classification. Also ribbons can be given out instead of medals. This will help save anywhere from $50 to $100. It was also confirmed that the Sandyford range fee would once again be $400 instead of the $500 charged in 2006.

 Ghost Tour

Harper’s Ferry is a wonderful place to visit. Anyone who ever walked the streets and climbed the paths going up the mountains or along the rivers always leave with the feeling that they would like to retire there. It is always peaceful and serene. Yet there are those that are said to have retired there until judgment day. These spirits were the main focus of a tour taken in the late evening. Two members of the Battery paid the low price of $5 each and jointed a group lead by a lady who has taken over narrating the tour from her grandmother who became unable to continue. The narrator pointed out several buildings that held spirits or have held spirits. She discussed the some of the towns more interesting history and folklore. The town held a different feeling in the dark. It added to the appreciation and mystique of the town. Give yourself about 75 minutes to drive there from the range. Maybe not a must, but it definitely was not a bust. 

Dinning with Boris Eatanofski

                A good meal is always welcome, especially when you are cold tired and hungry. Three newer places were tried.

                The First was the BBQ chain Red, Hot and Blues. They are famous for their four types of BBQ sauces that can be served on tender beef ribs, or pork shoulder or pulled pork. The sweet sauce was tried and was acceptable. Large glasses of sweet tea were served. Yet it wasn’t anything special. The cost per meal averages around $20 per person.

                Anyone who has driven through down town Winchester has passed the Triangle diner. This important landmark serves up more than a blazer marking the place to turn. If you are looking for a simple but filling breakfast this may be the place for you. Eggs, meat, potatoes, and pancakes can be yours for around $5. Beware of the ice tea. Stick with water or coffee.

                For good home cooking, I suggest you have the New Member Stan make you some beef stew. After standing in the rain helping the junior shooters participate in the BB gun matches, it was what the doctor ordered.   The meat was tender and of good flavor. Add in homemade bread made by the women of Gainsboro, fresh miniature fruit pies, and some hot-buttered rum and you have a very satisfying meal. Then a relaxing sit by a warm and drying campfire and you have one of the reason people travel 12 hours in the car to get there. Thanks for the meal Stan.

                One quick note, Bob Evens in Breezewood has stopped serving their Strawberry Flavored sweet tea. They replaced it with a very good raspberry tea. Not as good but still enjoyable.