Preparedness and American Red Cross Stories

These are to share insights in to response work and workers, from my own experience.

I have my arts business, and to continue some work for helping others, I may be too old to serve at "ground zero" but I still serve in backup and mostly donate my artwork now "to help the kidz behind me" in response activities and groups.

My upbringing included example from parents and siblings and cousins in compassionate response and my first official red cross work in 1967 at Ireland Army Hospital at Fort Knox Kentucky USA, with Medivac patients from Viet Nam: by Y2K. I'd served with many groups in a few states and in a few wars and on-site response to local natural disasters and Y2K preparedness, as had my siblings.

I was impressed, to put it mildly and want to share some brief stories of those scenarios to entertain and impress the reader I hope and inspire them to be Prepared and share the message with others.

Here follows random materials to assemble for this purpose:

"Peace is not made at the Council Tables, or by Treaties, but in the Hearts of Men" - Herbert Hoover “So many with most peaceful inclinations, are propelled, nevertheless, into Activism and actions a lot more aggressive than any they'd ever plan.” Elle Fagan

Mother would have said she never did any activism , just being a good American as she was taught, being alert to any act that would serve in perfecting the American Experience. NEVER once was it about disrupting the status-quo, - even when it did, as it must. I am proud of both sister and brother, but I may be the most activist. I loved patriotism and Nancy Drew - artist and mystery lover and redcrosslady by age 7.

The list - all called Activist in the Day - all successful and peaceful if controversial at moments.

First poem read in public at age ten was a compassionate healing effort at an unusually sad family funeral.

WANTING and winning a certain school for me.

Paying for Gas for my Hillman , Gwendolyn with riders -Teen drivers win.

Pioneer understudy girl on an all-male campus while in High School did it again.

Army Fort Knox Red Cross with Medivac work

Army Fort Knox - Smoke show installation demonstration to improved relations between civilians and military.

Connecticut’s Saint Vincent Hospital Birthing Room with our Daughter

Corporate in North Carolina RTP/Greenville - Pioneer crew with a thing called DayCare

Back to campus - pioneer married corporate move at the time - honors.

“The Greenville Daily Reflector” - first “yankee” Miss Circulation and friend of writers.

“Over the Back Fence” - my neighborhood newspaper

Communications for our Area School Redistricting Project, to achieve balance in social , economic and racial demographic.

Children’s Summer Olympics in our Neighborhood - team project

NCAA Swim meet timer.

Children’s Tennis lessons and Boy and Girl Scouts.

First Garden Club, first Bridge Club, first Couples Bridge Club. First Batman Birthday and Holly Hobby weekend.

First Latchkey Project - second banana and loving it under the first Director of the original daycare.

Title III Reading Tutorials for Disabled Students to win thru to Literacy for Special Students

Grief recovery classes for our children - a new idea and routine today.

Back in the Metropolitan area, roots, life in general was pioneering for a bit but not activist.

People were on the sidewalk for the first time since 1929, Nanny rescue at a celebrity agency;

ARC response work during the recession and ODS - Fort Sam Houston Texas and a dance with the realife Indiana Jones

Community Garden Fairfield

Shelter work

Y2K study materials collation and study updates with Red Cross.

My own disability ended on-site activism with risk to me.

Art events parts of “Rockville Renaissance”

Founding fan and participant of RGH hospital gallery - painting prizewinner

Breast Cancer Awareness Traveling Arts Exhibit for more than one year

Today I am thrilled to be aged up - and I offer my “Art With Heart” and enjoy success in manipulating my art to raise funds for “the kids behind me” in the good work.

…and two or three small things I want to do or help get done …but that’s another story.

HANOI, Vietnam - For the first time, Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange have filed a suit against the U.S. companies that produced the toxic defoliant used by American forces during the Vietnam War.

The lawsuit, filed by the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange
http://www.vnrc.org.vn/orange_fund/index.html on behalf of three people, was submitted to the U.S. Federal Court in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Jan. 30, said the group's vice president Nguyen Trong Nhan.

"We filed the suit to the federal court because it has handled many cases filed by former American soldiers in Vietnam before, so they are familiar with the matter," said Nhan, whose victims' group was launched last month.

Nhan said 10 companies are named in the suit, though he declined to specify them by name. Dow Chemical Co. and Monsanto were two of the primary producers of Agent Orange.

Between 1962 and 1971, U.S. planes sprayed an estimated 21 million gallons of defoliant, mostly Agent Orange, over Vietnamese forests where they believed Communist troops might be hiding.

Many American veterans and Vietnamese have long blamed Agent Orange, which contains the deadly component dioxin, for a variety of illnesses, including cancer, diabetes and spina bifida. The U.S. government claims there is no direct evidence linking dioxin with the illnesses.

However, about 10,000 Vietnam War veterans in the United States receive disability benefits related to Agent Orange exposure.

The three Vietnamese plaintiffs were Nguyen Van Quy, and two women, Nguyen Thi Phi Phi and Duong Quynh Hoa. All three had worked in areas sprayed with Agent Orange, Nhan said.

Phi suffered four miscarriages while Hoa has breast cancer and her blood tests show high levels of dioxin, Nhan said. Quy also has cancer, and has two children with birth defects.

Vietnam has said that the United States has a moral and spiritual responsibility to heal the wounds of war. However, Hanoi has never formally asked for compensation for the victims of Agent Orange.

In 2000, the Vietnamese government began paying monthly stipends to government workers, soldiers and civilians who helped fight for the Communist side in sprayed areas during the war.

The lawsuit, filed independent of the government, seeks compensation for the health problems caused by the toxic defoliant, said Nhan.

Vietnam has said an estimated 1 million people were affected by the defoliant during the war.

In 2002, Vietnam and the United States held their first ever joint scientific conference on Agent Orange and its effects since the war ended in 1975.

A new study released last year found that very high levels of dioxin continue to be found in food samples in Vietnam, decades after the wartime defoliant was sprayed over the country.
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
printable version
email article
HEADLINES
Bird Flu Death Toll Rises to 15
Baby Born With 2nd Head to Get Surgery
Policy Leads to More Minority Transplants
FDA Wants Easier-To-Read Warnings on Ads
FDA Deems Some Birth Control Patches Fake
Study: Night Hospital Din Pains Patients
Gene Could Lead to Heart-Healthy Foods
Vietnam's Agent Orange Victims File Suit
Boy, Girl Born From 12-Year-Old Embryos
Ky. Doctor Says Cloning Attempt Failed
Privacy Statement Terms of Service Contact Comcast � 2003 Comcast Cable Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

my note included in banner / link setup with ARC Washington DC 10-20-2004

site url: www.ellefagan.com

hi,
three generations response and lifetime ARC paid and volunteer have me at 57, and off onsite response, and focused into my lifetime arts career,
sharing the good of my experience with ARC.
Hillary Hollander of your permissions people has
instructed me to be sure to set up linking properly with you, and further ARC stories, preparedness helps and links to redcross.org will be found at
http://www.ellefagan.com/patriotsite/redcrosstories.html

I have enjoyed some windows to share preparedness and fundraising for ARC and so hope you will be pleased to complete on this requirement promptly.

I am happy to comply with whatever you require;
just let me know.....

In reading the Terms,etc....I must comment on this one: " you shall use only the Banner Link provided by Red Cross." if you view the link at the homepage head and the one at the response page, you will see that wherever I mentioned ARC, I made it a link to redcross.org, to make it easy for my readers to get into it......but this is in additon to your banners, otped at thispage, and posted once we are in agreement....so I thought I'd better bring up this point.
Ms. Hollander cleared the additional links, though, so I do not expect a problem.

Also, the aggreement says that it expires in a year: will someone from ARC contact me to renew, or is it entirely my responsibility to submit again?

elle fagan

===========terms and agreement from ARC site10-20-2004=========
BANNER LINKING AGREEMENT

IMPORTANT: THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS ARE AN AGREEMENT (≥AGREEMENT≤) BETWEEN THE AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS (≥Red Cross≤) AND YOU (≥you≤ or ≥your≤) FOR THE RIGHT TO USE A RED CROSS BANNER AS A LINK TO THE RED CROSS WEB SITE. BY CLICKING ON ≥YES≤ TO THE QUESTION ≥DO YOU AGREE WITH THE AGREEMENT?≤ AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BANNER WEB PAGE, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT (I) YOU HAVE READ THIS AGREEMENT, (II) YOU UNDERSTAND IT, AND (III) YOU AGREE TO COMPLY WITH AND BE BOUND BY THE AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ALL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, THE BUTTON INDICATING ≥NO≤ AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BANNER WEB PAGE MUST BE SELECTED, AND YOU MAY NOT COPY OR USE ANY RED CROSS BANNER NOR MAY YOU LINK TO THE RED CROSS WEB SITE.

1. Linking License. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Red Cross grants you a non-exclusive, limited, revocable and royalty-free license to include a banner that serves as a hypertext reference link (≥Banner Link≤) from your web site (≥Your Site≤) to the initial, top level display of the Red Cross web site at www.redcross.org (≥Red Cross Site≤), solely for the purpose of linking Your Site to the Red Cross Site. Red Cross shall provide to you the Banner Link, and you shall use only the Banner Link provided by Red Cross.

2. Limitations. You shall not:
1. Display or use the Banner Link in a manner that causes the Red Cross Site or any portion of the content on the Red Cross Site to display within a frame, be associated with any advertising or sponsorship not part of the Red Cross Site or otherwise incorporate Red Cross Site content into a third-party web site;
2. Alter, block or otherwise prevent display of any content on the Red Cross Site;
3. Link to the Red Cross Site through any web site other than Your Site; and/or
4. Link to the Red Cross Site if, to a reasonable person, Your Site contains content that is obscene, defamatory, harassing, grossly offensive or malicious.

3. Proprietary Rights. You acknowledge and agree that the Red Cross Site, including but not limited to all content, text, images, software, media and other materials therein, is proprietary to or licensed by Red Cross, protected under copyright and other intellectual property laws, and may not be reproduced, transmitted, displayed, published or distributed without the express prior written consent of Red Cross.

4. Use of Name and Emblem. Red Cross grants you a non-exclusive, limited, revocable license to use the Red Cross name and emblem (consisting of a Greek red cross) solely in connection with displaying the Banner Link in accordance with this Agreement.

5. Approval. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, you agree to obtain Red Cross' prior written approval of your placement of the Banner Link on Your Site. Red Cross agrees not to unreasonably withhold or delay such approval.

6. Liability and Indemnification. YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT NEITHER RED CROSS, INCLUDING ITS CHARTERED UNITS, NOR ITS GOVERNORS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS AND VOLUNTEERS SHALL BE LIABLE IN ANY WAY, TO ANY PERSON OR ENTITY, IN CONNECTION WITH THE BANNER LINK OR THIS AGREEMENT. You shall indemnify, defend and hold Red Cross harmless, including its chartered units, and its governors, directors, officers, employees, agents and volunteers from and against any and all suits, claims, demands, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating in any way to the Banner Link or this Agreement. This Section 6 shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement.

7. Term and Termination. This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect for one (1) year unless terminated in accordance with this Section 7. Upon expiration or termination of this Agreement, the license granted in this Agreement terminates immediately and automatically and you shall immediately: (a) discontinue or disable the Banner Link; (b) remove the Banner Link and Red Cross' name and emblem from Your Site; and (c) destroy any copies of data taken from the Red Cross Site in your possession, custody or control. Red Cross may, in its sole and absolute discretion, terminate this Agreement at any time for any reason or for no reason by giving you twenty-four (24) hours prior written notice. Any default in, or breach of, the terms or conditions of this Agreement by you will result in immediate termination of this Agreement.

8. No Assignment. You shall not assign, subcontract or in any way transfer this Agreement, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Red Cross.

9. Choice of Law and Venue. This Agreement shall be governed, interpreted and enforced in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, excluding its laws regarding conflicts of laws. The parties agree that any and all proceedings arising out of, relating to, or referencing this Agreement shall be brought in, and only in, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Both parties consent to and waive any objection to the jurisdiction and venue thereof.

10. Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement and understanding between you and the Red Cross with regard to the subject matter hereof and no amendment, modification or waiver of any of the terms or conditions herein shall be valid unless in a writing signed by both you and the Red Cross.

CLOSE WINDOW

====================success in submission page and note:=========
http://www.redcross.org/sys/feedback/bannersuccess.html

Search Through a List of Our Services.Home EnglishNewsServicesPress RoomFAQsJobsPublicationsMuseum

Thank you for your inquiry. A representative will contact you with further instructions concerning your request.

Thank you.
© Copyright 2001 The American National Red Cross. All Rights Reserved. CONTACT US | SITE DIRECTORY | PRIVACY POLICY

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Greater Hartford Chapter
209 Farmington Avenue
Farmington, CT 06032
ph 860-678-2700
fax 860-678-5461

State Emergency Officials and American Red Cross Announce Major Campaign to Prepare Connecticut for Disasters.

Connecticutπs disaster management experts from the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and many other public safety organizations, have joined the American Red Cross to announce a statewide initiative targeted toward making Connecticut the most prepared state in the union. This campaign, entitled Prepare Connecticut, urges individuals and families to do four simple, but critical steps to prepare for imminent disasters: Build a Kit; Make a Plan; Get Trained; Give Blood.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
# Prepare Connecticut

# Step 1: Build a Kit

# Step 2: Make a Plan

# Step 3: Get Trained

# Step 4: Give Blood

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Step 1: Build a Kit

Every household needs a disaster supplies kit. A wide variety of pre-packaged disaster supplies kits are available at the Greater Hartford Chapter, or you can make one yourself. More information is available at www.PrepareForLife.org.

The most important rule of thumb is to build a kit with enough supplies for everyone in the family for at least 72 hours. Below are the top 15 items that the American Red Cross recommends as part of any disaster supplies kit:

# Battery operated radio with extra batteries
# Flashlight with extra batteries and/or glow sticks
# First Aid kit with reference guide
# Map of local area (in case evacuation to shelters is necessary)
# Three day supply of nonperishable, high-protein, high-calorie food that family members enjoy: energy bars, canned tuna, peanut butter, etc.
# One gallon of water per person, per day for three days
# Manual can opener
# Crescent wrench for utility shut off
# Extra cash and coins
# Blankets, extra clothing, sturdy shoes and gloves
# Food and water for pets
# Emergency contact list
# Duct tape and plastic sheeting or large plastic garbage bags
# Copy of American Red Cross ≥Before Disaster Strikes≤ booklets
# Remember to also include important items, such as a three day supply of prescription medication, copies of important documents (marriage certificates, insurance policies, birth certificates, passports) and comfort items, such as toys or books.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Step 2: Make a Plan

In the event of an emergency, the more you have planned ahead of time, the calmer you and your family will be. Take the time to talk about potential disasters, establish emergency contacts, train in evacuating your home and determine two common meeting places. The following five steps will help you in preparing for emergencies and disasters.

# TALK

Discuss with your family about the disasters that could happen in Connecticut. Review ≥Before Disaster Strikes≤ brochure available through the Greater Hartford Chapter and downloadable at www.greaterhartfordredcross.org.

# TRAIN

Establish predetermined meeting places away from your home which will help you avoid confusion and save time in case an area is evacuated. List family meeting places outside the home and outside the neighborhood on your emergency contact list.

You may want to talk with friends and families about potentially staying with them should a disaster occur. Be sure to include pets in these plans, since pets are not permitted in shelters and some hotels wonπt accept them.

# TAKE STOCK

Take stock of supplies you may already have on hand that would be helpful in a disaster. Involve the entire family in collecting food, water and emergency tools.

# TELL

Develop a list of important contacts and phone numbers and tell everyone in your household where it is kept. This includes out-of-state contacts, schools, work sites, doctors, neighbors, insurance agent, utilities and more.

Partner together with an out-of-town family member or contact. Agree to call or email to check on each other should a disaster occur. Make sure that every household member has the contact information for that person, as well as each others'. Leave numbers at your children's schools and update your personnel file at the office. Make copies of the list for all family members, post on refrigerator, store with emergency supplies and carry in your car. Update all copies when information changes.

# TEST

Test your readiness at least once a year. Review your family disaster plan and go through supplies at least once. Commit to a day or weekend to update phone numbers, hold family fire and earthquake drills and check supplies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Step 3: Get Trained

Make sure that at least one family member is trained in First Aid and CPR. The American Red Cross' courses and training programs teach people how to save a life and to help neighbors who have been impacted by disaster. Last year alone, the Greater Hartford Chapter certified more than 30,000 students in standard First Aid/CPR.

Step three in the Prepare Connecticut campaign is to train and educate at least one family member. (For more information, please visit: www.PrepareForLife.org) This includes:

# Take a First Aid and CPR class.
# Learn how to use a fire extinguisher.
# Locate household utility valve shutoffs and know how and when to turn off gas, electricity and water.
# Learn how to access optional water sources within the house.
# Make sure more than one person in the house has this training.

Every household in Connecticut needs to have at least one individual who is trained in First Aid or CPR. Fees and schedules for classes vary. Contact the Greater Hartford Chapter for updated schedules and fees at (860) 678-4324.

Disaster preparedness related courses that the local Red Cross offers include:

CPR Courses
# Adult CPR
# Adult & Child CPR
# CPR & AED (Automated External Defibrillator)
# Community CPR
# Infant & Child CPR

First Aid
# First Aid Basics
# Community First Aid & Safety
# Standard First Aid
# First Aid ≠ Responding to Emergencies
# Emergency Response

Specialty Disaster Preparedness Related Courses
# Pet First Aid/CPR
# First Aid/CPR for Youth Educators
# Child Care Professionalπs CPR
# CPR for the Professional Rescuer

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Step 4: Give Blood

The American Red Cross provides nearly half of the nation's blood supply to patients in 3,000 hospitals nationwide, including blood for Connecticutπs 31 transfusing hospitals. Every 2 seconds, someone needs a blood transfusion. Step four in preparing for emergencies is to donate blood at your local Red Cross blood facility. Here are some facts about giving blood:

# In order to be eligible to donate blood, you must be 17 years of age or older, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in generally good health.

# Seventy percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood, but only about 5 percent do.

# A person can safely donate blood every 56 days ≠ as many as 6 times a year.

# Giving blood is completely safe. A new bag and needle are used for each donor, so you cannot contract any disease from giving blood.

# A single donation from an individual can be separated into different blood components and be used to help as many as three people.

# The Red Cross collects blood from volunteer donors only.

# The Red Cross charges hospitals a processing fee to cover the expenses of recruiting, collecting, testing, processing and distributing blood and blood products. This fee is directly related to costs. The blood itself is never charged for because it is a volunteerπs free gift.

Please call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE or visit www.bloodct.org to make an appointment to give the gift of life today.

HOME | STORE | CALENDAR | DONATE | CONTACT
© Copyright 2003, The American National Red Cross. All rights reserved.
© 2002 - Powered By the Website Management System version 3.1.3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Results for 06066
Your Red Cross Chapter

Greater Hartford Chapter

Address:†American Red Cross
Greater Hartford Chapter
209 Farmington Ave
Farmington, CT 06032-1911

E-mail: gilbertj@usa.redcross.org

Phone: 860-678-2700

Fax: 860-678-5461

Web site: http://greaterhartfordredcross.org/

You can also browse through a list of our chapters that have a Web site.

To search for volunteer opportunities in this area, visit http://redcross.volunteermatch.org. †
Your Blood Services Region

Connecticut Region

Address:†American Red Cross
Connecticut Region
209 Farmington Ave
Farmington, CT 06032

Phone: 860-678-2700

Web site: http://www.bloodct.org/
*
To donate blood or plasma, call 1-800-GIVELIFE
(1-800-448-3543).
*   For bone marrow donation, visit http://www.marrow.org.
*   To schedule a blood donation online, visit http://www.givelife.org.
*   For cord blood donation information, email CordBloodInfo@usa.redcross.org.
*   For tissue donation information, call 1-888-4TISSUE.
©Copyright The American National Red Cross. All Rights Reserved.††††††††CONTACT US †|††SITE DIRECTORY †|††PRIVACY POLICY

Netscape Network
<http://info.netscape.com/fwd/dshmaihop/http://home.netscape.com>

Subject:

Volunteering at Red Cross
Date:

Mon, 10 Feb 2003 9:23 EST
From:

Click here to send a message.<SilvermanN@usa.redcross.org>
<emailaction.adp?email=SilvermanN@usa.redcross.org&name=@@>
To:

Click here to send a message.<esfaganusa@netscape.net>
<emailaction.adp?email=esfaganusa@netscape.net&name=@@>

¨¥ Previous <msgview.adp?folder=SW5ib3g=&seq=13> | Next
<msgview.adp?folder=SW5ib3g=&seq=15> ¨™
View all headers <msgview.adp?folder=SW5ib3g=&uid=159120&headers=full>

Dear Elle,

Thank you for your offer of help. If another larger scale disaster were
to occur, we certainly would need all the help possible, especially to
answer the phones and deal with walk-ins. Your office experience at EOR
would be very helpful. Please give me a call at (860) 678-2793, or toll
free at 1-877-243-5727 ext. 2793, so we can talk about the best way to
communicate with one another and bring you in if something happens.

Thank you again,

Nancy Silverman

Manager, Volunteer Resources

American Red Cross, Greater Hartford Chapter

silvermann@usa.redcross.org <mailto:silvermann@usa.redcross.org>

(860) 678-2793

¨Ö Pledge to Prepare Connecticut

¨Ö Build a disaster supplies kit

¨Ö Make a family emergency plan.

¨Ö Get trained in first aid/CPR

¨Ö Give blood.

¨Ö More Info? Go to www.prepareforlife.org

¨¥ Previous <msgview.adp?folder=SW5ib3g=&seq=13> | Next
<msgview.adp?folder=SW5ib3g=&seq=15> ¨™

Get Mail <msglist.adp?folder=SW5ib3g=&start=1&fl=1&r=74308> Write
Mail <compose.adp> Address Book </rab.adp?launch=main> Reply
<compose.adp?cmd=reply&folder=SW5ib3g=&uid=159120> Reply All
<compose.adp?cmd=replyAll&folder=SW5ib3g=&uid=159120> Forward
<compose.adp?cmd=forward&folder=SW5ib3g=&uid=159120> Keep As New
<msgview.adp?folder=SW5ib3g=&seq=14&cmd=markunread&msguid=159120> Delete
<msgview.adp?folder=SW5ib3g=&seq=14&cmd=deletemsgs&msguid=159120>

Preferences <prefs.adp> | Help </help.adp?section=reading#reading> |
Sign Out <rlogout.adp>

2002. paula Brink ARC farmington greater hartford branch...678-2787...info re: fundraiser from my gallery...

November 12, 2002
ARTS IN AMERICA; Imparting the Vision Behind an Idiosyncratic Collection
By Ralph Blumenthal

Back in 1949, Barton Church, a young artist and war veteran, walked into the Barnes Foundation here to study art under its visionary and dogmatic founder, Dr. Albert C. Barnes.

He never left. Three years later, after Barnes had died in a car crash and the Korean War call-up had depleted the staff, Mr. Church, then painting days and working nights in a ball-bearing factory, was invited to join the faculty. Today, at 76, white-haired, gangly and ethereal, he's still at it, using the prize collection of jarringly juxtaposed Renoirs, CÈzannes, Matisses, Picassos, old masters, American moderns, medieval madonnas, African masks, Pennsylvania Dutch furniture and antique ironwork to teach the Barnes canon, specifically how to approach a work of art.

It was a method of simple observation, Barnes insisted. The work should be viewed purely for what it was, the interplay of its elements, and not for its documentary, social or historic aspects.

Mr. Church went once a week for his classes, finding that if he arrived early he could roam the galleries at will, somewhat like the 200 students who today attend classes once a week and return on the carefully restricted visiting days to wander and reinforce their lessons.

But now is a difficult time for Mr. Church and other purist devotees of the Barnes. After stormy years of infighting and neglect, the foundation, pleading insolvency, has joined elements of a Philadelphia establishment that Barnes loathed in a bid to override his last testament. They want to raise $150 million to move the collection to a more accessible site on the city's downtown museum mile. The change, if permitted by the courts, would also disenfranchise Lincoln University, the historically black institution 50 miles from Merion that Barnes, an admirer of African-American culture, picked as an independent entity (it is now state-supported) to effectively control the foundation's board.

Whether the classes could remain in Merion if the collection moved to Philadelphia, as Barnes officials originally suggested, now appears in doubt, as the Barnes teaching method indisputably requires close observations of the art.

Mr. Church is not saying what he thinks about all this. Rather, he spends his time enthusiastically introducing students and the occasional special visitor to the works as idiosyncratically arranged by Barnes himself, according to his aesthetic lights.

''You'd hear him holler, 'Chris! Chris!' '' said Mr. Church, recalling Barnes seated before a wall of paintings and calling for his handyman, Chris Naughton. ''He would pick up his hammer and nails and come running to rearrange a picture.''

And so, in one room, cheek by jowl, hang a Titian and a CÈzanne, among other cultural clashes. ''This is the kind of wall that drives museum curators bonkers,'' Mr. Church said with unabashed pride. But it was hardly arbitrary, he said: ''This is organized to teach about painting.'' Here, he said, Barnes was trying to draw attention, within the form of the entire work, to similar and contrasting painterly qualities, which he called color, light, line and space.

Elsewhere, a late Renoir hangs with French primitives, a skinned rabbit by Soutine with a Rubens and a folkish Horace Pippin, a D¸rer with a Chinese print, a Puvis de Chavannes near a Milton Avery, an erotic Egyptian bas-relief from 300 B.C. with a 14th-century Hispanic horse, a Bosch with a CÈzanne and a Bonnard over an American lowboy.

''How do we see if we're in a fog?'' Mr. Church went on. ''When the content starts to establish itself, then we see.''

The reference was to content not as story or illustration, he said, but as qualities, the artist seeing for others what they cannot see for themselves: the ''nice acidy bite'' of the grass in a park scene by William Glackens, Barnes's first tutor.

Mr. Church pointed to a Renoir, two girls under a tree. '' 'What are they saying? Tell us,' people ask,'' Mr. Church said. It is of no importance, he said. What is important is the striking orange in the painting.

In front of CÈzanne's landmark ''Bathers at Rest,'' he pointed to the heavily worked-over sky and clouds. ''It's an early one,'' he said. ''The paint is fought with. He hasn't figured it out yet.''

Other major works dominated nearby rooms -- CÈzanne's ''Card Players'' and ''Man and Skull'' and Picasso's ''Girl With Cigarette.'' ''In painting terms,'' Mr. Church said, ''it's one thunderbolt after another.''

To make the point, he recalled, Barnes himself once accompanied a talk on ''Card Players'' with a recording of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

In Room 17 hangs Mr. Church's favorite painting, and understandably so. It is his own creation, the stylized figure of a girl on a chair in pale tones of red, pink, blue, green and yellow.

''It was the last picture Doc bought,'' Mr. Church said. ''That was in May 1951, two months before his death. He asked me to come out and see it, if I approve. He had an Alfred Maurer frame cut down to fit.'' Barnes paid him $100, a good sum at the time. He hung the picture over a late Matisse and, for reasons that still elude Mr. Church, under a surgeon's amputation saw from the Civil War.

Barnes may have been trying to encourage a young artist, but his assessment still resonates unforgettably with Mr. Church: ''It knocks the hell out of the Matisse.''

history of the Pledge of Allegiance

Introduction

The history of the Pledge of Allegiance begins in 1892, when a form of the pledge first appeared in a publication. Click on the years below to learn of key events in the life of the pledge

1892

The pledge, written by socialist editor and clergyman Francis Bellamy, debuts September 8 in the juvenile periodical The Youth's Companion. He wants the words to reflect the views of his cousin, Edward Bellamy, author of "Looking Backward" and other socialist utopian novels. It reads: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible, with liberty and Justice for all."

Source: The Associated Press and Encyclopedia Britannica Inc.

1924

The words "the flag of the United States of America" are substituted for "my Flag." Fittingly, the change takes place on Flag Day.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica Inc.

1942

The government officially recognizes the Pledge of Allegiance.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica Inc.

1954

Worried that orations used by "godless communists" sound similar to the Pledge of Allegiance, religious leaders lobby lawmakers to insert the words "under God" into the pledge. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, fearing an atomic war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, joins the chorus to put God into the pledge. Congress does what he asks, and the revised pledge reads: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Source: The Associated Press and Encyclopedia Britannica Inc.

Pledge ban set for March 10 in nine states

Monday, March 3, 2003 Posted: 2:30 PM EST (1930 GMT)
Story Tools
Save a link to this article and return to it at www.savethis.comSave a link to this article and return to it at www.savethis.com Email a link to this articleEmail a link to this article
Printer-friendly version of this articlePrinter-friendly version of this article View a list of the most popular articles on our siteView a list of the most popular articles on our site
TIMELINE
Timeline: History of the Pledge
RELATED STORIES
Ä Decisive majority in U.S. support 'under God'
Ä Courts send differing message on church-state divide
Ä CNN Access: Litigant explains why he brought 'Pledge' lawsuit
Ä Opinions on the Pledge of Allegiance
Ä Senators call Pledge decision 'stupid'
RESOURCES
Ä Court's original ruling (FindLaw, PDF)external link
Ä Justice Dept.'s filing

SAN FRANCISCO, California (Reuters) -- A ruling by a U.S. appeals court could force millions of students to stop reciting the Pledge of Allegiance within days if the controversial decision is not overturned by a higher court, legal experts said Saturday.

Public schools with some 9.6 million students in nine states have until March 10 to stop reciting the pledge after the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals backed its prior ruling that the words "under God" in the pledge are a government endorsement of religion.

The nine states included in 9th Circuit are California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Alaska and Hawaii.

Red: Severe Condition
Severe risk of terrorist attacks. In addition to the previously outlined protective measures, the following steps may be taken:
*   Assigning emergency response personnel and pre-positioning specially trained teams
*   Monitoring, redirecting or constraining transportation systems
*   Closing public and government facilities
*   Increasing or redirecting personnel to address critical emergency needs
Source: Homeland Security

Orange: High Condition
High risk of terrorist attacks. In addition to the previously outlined protective measures, the following steps may be taken:
*   Coordinating necessary security efforts with armed forces or law enforcement agencies
*   Taking additional precaution at public events
*   Preparing to work at an alternate site or with a dispersed workforce, restricting access to essential personnel only
Source: Homeland Security

Yellow: Elevated Condition
Significant risk of terrorist attacks. In addition to the previously outlined protective measures, the following steps may be taken:
*   Increasing surveillance of critical locations
*   Coordinating emergency plans with nearby jurisdictions
*   Assessing further refinement of protective measures within the context of the current threat information
*   Implementing, as appropriate, contingency and emergency response plans
Source: Homeland Security

Blue: Guarded Condition
General risk of terrorist attack. In addition to the previously outlined protective measures, the following steps may be taken:
*   Checking communications with designated emergency response or command locations
*   Reviewing and updating emergency response procedures
*   Providing the public with necessary information
Source: Office of Homeland Security

Green: Low Condition
Low risk of terrorist attacks. The following protective measures may be applied:
*   Refining and exercising preplanned protective measures
*   Ensuring personnel receive training on homeland security advisory system, departmental, or agency-specific protective measures
*   Regularly assessing facilities for vulnerabilities and taking measures to reduce them
Source: Office of Homeland Security