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CLICK ABOVEDECEMBER 8, 2010

THE NATIONAL PARKS

PETRIFIED FORESTAMERICA’S FUN FOODS

HAMBURGER HISTORY

MARINESCARRY OUTSANTA’SMISSION

AMERICANPATRIOT

MARINES CARRYOUT SANTA’SMISSION

46COOPERSTOWNVILLAGE OF MUSEUMS

8IRVING BERLINTHE MAN WHO WROTE GOD BLESS AMERICA

THIS WEEKIN AMERICANHISTORY

QUOTE OFTHE WEEK

14 15

THE NATIONAL PARKSPETRIFIED FOREST

1210

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4 AMERICAN PATRIOT

For more than six decades, Toys for Tots has been the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’sway to bring a little happiness and hope to economically disadvantaged childrenduring each Christmas holiday season. Last year theMarine Corps fulfilled the holidayhopes and dreams of 7.4 million children in nearly 700 communities nationwide.The national charitable program collects and distributes toys, books and other giftsto create a positive memory for a lifetime, and to encourage children to becomecaring members of their community.

MARINES CARRY OUTSANTA’S MISSION

The Toys for Tots program was the brainchild, backin 1947, of Major Bill Hendricks, his wife Diane,and a group of Marine Reservists in Los Angeles.They collected and distributed 5,000 toys toneedy children after Diane had crafted a home-made doll and discovered there was no organizationthat gave such toys to needy child at Christmas.The initial project was so successful that the MarineCorps adopted Toys for Tots in 1948 and expandedit into a nationwide campaign. That year, Reserveunits across the nation conducted Toys for Totscampaigns wherever a Marine Reserve Centerwas located.

Hendricks, a Marine Reservist on weekends, wasalso a public relations specialist in civilian life atWarner Brothers Studio. This enabled him to recruitan array of Hollywood celebrities to support theprogram as well as to obtain marketing support,including a logo and poster from the Disney studio.Stars like Nat “King” Cole, Peggy Lee and VicDamone recorded a Toys for Tots musical theme in1956. Bob Hope, John Wayne, Doris Day, LorrieMorgan, Tim Allen, Kenny Rogers and Billy RayCyrus are but a few of the long list of celebrities whohave given their time and talent to promote Toysfor Tots. First Ladies Nancy Reagan and BarbaraBush have served as national spokespeople.

Starting in 1980, the Marines began to collectand distribute only new toys out of a concern forhealth issues and a desire to avoid creating a“hand me down” message to needy children. Thethinking then, as now, is that a shiny new toy isa better message of hope. In 1991, the Secretaryof Defense authorized the Marine Corps to recog-nize and work with a charity committed to support-ing Toys for Tots. Based on this approval, the MarineToys for Tots Foundation became operational.This helps supplement the Marine reservists efforts,professionalizes the marketing operations, and

allows individuals and corporate donors to take acharitable deduction on their income tax returns.In 1996, the Commander, Marine Forces Reserveexpanded Toys for Tots to cover all 50 states byauthorizing selected Marine Corps League Detach-ments and selected local community organiza-tions, to conduct toy collection and distributioncampaigns in their communities as part of theU. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program.In 1999, the Commander, Marine Forces Reservedelegated authority to the Toys for Tots Foundation,to approve and manage local campaigns con-ducted in communities without a Reserve Unit.

Over the years, the Marines have distributed morethan 400 million toys to more than 188 millionneedy children. This charitable endeavor hasmade the U. S. Marines the unchallenged leader inlooking after less fortunate children at Christmas.

LOCATE THE NEARESTCENTER TO DONATE TOYS

AMERICAN PATRIOT 5

6 AMERICAN PATRIOT

Nestled in New York's pastoral Otsego County and situated alongside a picturesquelake, the village of Cooperstown is an unspoiled gem of American small town living.Without a doubt, Cooperstown is best known as the proverbial birthplace of Baseballand the home to the sport’s iconic Hall of Fame. Lesser known are themyriad culturalinstitutions, historical sites, and four star accommodations. The village has retainedmuch of its character over the years, owing to the dedication of its two thousandcitizens in pursuit of its preservation. The town itself is a museum of sorts, boastingcarefully preserved Victorian homes, hotels, and public spaces.

COOPERSTOWNVILLAGE OF MUSEUMS

PICTURED ABOVE: STATUE OF JAMES FENIMORE COOPER

AMERICAN PATRIOT 7

SITES TO SEEThe Fenimore Art MuseumNamed for James Fenimore Cooper, writer and famous

son of Cooperstown (the town was named for his

father), the Fenimore Art Museum boasts a wide

range of American paintings, folk art, textiles, carv-

ings, and more. The Thaw Collection is one of the

America's most comprehensive and valued collections

of Native American art.

The Farmers' MuseumA pitch-perfect recreation of 19th century rural life.

The Farmer's museum exhibits over 23,000 artifacts

and dozens of buildings, many moved from area

farms. Visit the working blacksmith shop, creamery,

papermaking manufactury, and general store.

The Otesaga Resort HotelBuilt in 1909, The Otesaga has been called “the most

complete and luxurious summer hotel in America.”

It remains both a top luxury hotel and a memorial to

the grandeur of turn-of-the-century elegance.

Brewery OmmegangThe Cooperstown area was once home to the vast

majority of Hops production in the late 19th Century.

Brewery Ommegang carries on this tradition and is

a symbol of a food and beverage renaissance in the

area. The microbrewery makes acclaimed Belgian-

style beers. Tours twice daily.

Howe CavernsDiscovered by farmer Lester Howe in 1842, Howe

Caverns is a one hour drive. The Limestone caves are

200 feet below the surface, and feature underground

channels and rivers, passageways and rock formations.

Gondola-style boat rides on the underground Lake of

Venus are available.

TAKE A VIDEO TOUR OF THEBASEBALL HALL OF FAME

National BaseballHall of Fame and MuseumFrom the first-used baseball to Derek Jeter's bat,to Ebbetts Field seats, to a history of women'sbaseball, the Hall of Fame is the monument toour national pastime. Of particular interest isthe Gallery, which houses Bronze plaques withbiographies of all inductees.

Glimmerglass OperaThe Glimmerglass Opera has become a muchrespected institution in the musical world, per-forming new and lesser-known operas, usuallyin their original language. An international audi-ence is attracted to the unique combination ofrural ambiance and musical virtuosity

www.lawdepot.com

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IRVING BERLINTHE MAN WHO WROTEGOD BLESS AMERICA

8 AMERICAN PATRIOT

Born under the name Israel Isidore Baline in1888, his family immigrated to America to es-cape the violent pogroms in Russia. The familysettled in New York City, where he and his sevensiblings sold newspapers on the street to helpsupport themselves and their mother. Israel be-came a singing waiter and from there began towrite down songs that he made up. Americaniz-ing his name to Irving Berlin, he composed hisfirst big hit — “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” —in 1911 at the age of 23. From that point, he wasprolific and in demand. He wrote several famousmusicals including “Annie Get Your Gun” and“Call Me Madam.” His iconic tunes include“There's No Business Like Show Business,”“Easter Parade,” and “White Christmas.”

Along the way, Berlin indulged his love of countryas a major writer of patriotic songs from WorldWar I through World War 11. In World War 1,he wrote the musical Yip, Yip, Yaphank, whichwas produced by the men of Camp Upton. Inthis musical, the big hit song was “Oh, How IHate to Get Up in the Morning.” This musicalraised money for a service center at the camp.In 1938, he introduced “God Bless America,”sung by Kate Smith, which electrified the coun-try, galvanized the war effort, and became sopopular that many called for it — then andnow — to be named the national anthem. Thesong is a regular feature at most baseball stadi-

ums today, often during the seventh inningstretch. During World War II, Berlin wrote themusical “This is the Army,” which raised $10million for the Army Emergency Relief. It in-cluded such hits as “This is the Army, Mr. Jones”and I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen.”

Berlin was extensively honored for his work. In1942, he won the Academy Award for bestsong for his “White Christmas,” also winningthe Mabel Mercer Award in 1988. In 1955,President Eisenhower presented Berlin a goldmedal for recognition of his services in com-posing patriotic songs for the country. For thelast decade of his life, Berlin made few publicappearances. An exception was made, how-ever, on his 100th birthday at Carnegie Hall,which turned into a huge event. He died at age101 from natural causes.

LISTEN TO KATE SMITH SINGGOD BLESS AMERICA

Irving Berlin, one of America’s great songwriters, started out in poorrural town in Russia, moved to the U.S. at the age of five, and neverstopped appreciating the freedom and safety that his adopted countryprovided. It led him to write some of the most popular patriotic andholiday songs of his time, and any other time.

AMERICAN PATRIOT 9

10 AMERICAN PATRIOT

THE NATIONAL PARKS

PETRIFIED FOREST

AMERICAN PATRIOT 11

Consisting of two large areas connected by anorth–south corridor, the northern section fea-tures the famous Painted Desert (pictured left)while the southern area includes several majorconcentrations of petrified wood. Throw in severalNative American petroglyph sites, and you haveone of the most intriguing destinations in thevast parks system. The Petrified Forest area wasdesignated a National Monument in 1906 and it,combined with the Painted Desert, became afull-fledged National Park in 1962. The park-land covers 218,533 acres, much of which ishikable, giving visitors access to many surrealwilderness scenes.

The “forest” portion consists of the remains oftrees of the Late Triassic period, which occurred225 million years ago. These “stone trees” werekilled by natural processes, deeply buried in mudand sand that contained silica-rich volcanicash, and the logs became petrified as the min-eral, carried into the wood by groundwater, re-placed the wood cells. As the surroundingmaterial was eroded away over the centuries, thepetrified trees became exposed on the surface.Disturbingly, theft of petrified wood has remaineda problem despite protection. Even with a guardforce of Rangers, fences and warning signs,several tons of fossil wood is stolen every year.

The “painted desert” portion is a colorful fantasy-land of mesa, buttes and badlands. This area iscovered by the Chinle formation, a very soft layer

of earth consisting mainly of mud, sandstone, andvolcanic ash. The softness allows for fantasticerosion effects as well as colorful staining bymineralized water flows and mineral depositsover the eons. The rocks gain their colors fromimpurities and mixtures of elements, from darkblue coal to bright clays to red volcanic rocks.

Why is this park so popular and so important?Though petrified wood can be found aroundthe world, the Petrified Forest National Parkcontains some of the largest and best-preservedpetrified wood sites in the world. More impor-tantly, the combination of the Petrified Forestand the Painted Desert provides an extraordinar-ily diverse fossil record. Finally, the park is alsoknown for having thousands of prehistoric pet-roglyphs and pictographs, which are rock carv-ings and cave paintings left by ancientpeoples. Anthropological research has shownmany of the carvings to be solar calendars.Overall, it is a scenic wonderland.

FIND A NATIONAL PARK

The Petrified Forest National Park sits along Interstate 40 innorthwestern Arizona. Unique among the 58 national parks, itfeatures one of the world's largest, most intense, and mostcolorful concentrations of petrified wood.

12 AMERICAN PATRIOT

Here is the hamburger by the numbers:AMERICANS CONSUME 14 BILLION BURGERS A YEAR

EACH AMERICAN EATS AN AVERAGE OF 3 HAMBURGERS A WEEKHAMBURGERS ACCOUNT FOR NEARLY 60% OF ALL THE SANDWICHES EATEN

AMERICA’S FUN FOODS

HAMBURGER HISTORY

AMERICAN PATRIOT 13

How did it turn into theall-American sandwich?

THERE ARE THREE POPULAR THEORIES:

1. Hamburg NY: Two brothers, Frank and Charles

Menches, were selling sausage sandwiches at

the Erie County Fair. They had an overabundance

of ground beef shipped to them bymistake, grilled

the excess beef up into patties, added sugar and

coffee flavoring, and sold the sandwiches as

“hamburgers” in honor of the host town.

2. Athens TX: Fletcher Davis and his wife op-

erated a restaurant. They sold a sandwich of

seasoned ground beef, which was a very popular

lunch item. Some local businessmen chipped in

so that the couple could sell the local delicacy

at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. They suc-

cessfully sold their sandwich from a stand. In

2006, the Texas legislature designating Athens

as “Original Home of the Hamburger.”

3. New Haven CT: In 1895, Louis Lassen had a

sandwich shop called Louis’ Lunch. He cooked

beef patties in small vertical cast iron gas stoves

using steel wire broilers to hold the hamburgers

upright as they cooked. They were served on

toasted white bread. In 2000, when the U. S.

Library of Congress credited Louis' Lunch with

making America's first hamburger.

Whatever the truth of its origins, it is clear that

mass consumption of the fast food hamburger

started with White Castle in 1921. Selling a tiny

hamburger for 5 cents, White Castle inspired

dozens of imitators, most of whom failed. Among

the successes who pushed the burger forward

Wimpy Burger which lasted until 1978, Bob’s

Big Boy which featured double patties, and

myriad drive-ins which accelerated the concept

of fast food. The big breakthrough came in 1948

when the first McDonald's opened and then

was revolutionized by Ray Kroc, who joined the

team in 1954, put in franchise and preparation

procedures that rationalized the fast food busi-

ness, and created the McDonald’s empire. Today,

McDonalds has sold an average of 12 hamburg-

ers to every man, woman and child in the world.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT HOWTO BEST GRILL A HAMBURGER

The seemingly simple sandwich has become so ingrained in our society, thatit's impossible to think of American cuisine and culture without it. There's a lotof controversy when it comes to who served the first commercial hamburger.But there is no such controversy over the source of the name: in the German cityof Hamburg, people often cooked various scraps of meat and placed them on around bun or roll. When German immigrants arrived in America, they continuedthis custom and these sandwiches became known as “hamburgers.”

14 AMERICAN PATRIOT

QUOTE OFTHE WEEK

“Other lands have their vitalityin a few, a class, but we haveit in the bulk of our people. ”

— WALT WHITMANAAMMEERRIICCAANN PPOOEETT,, EESSSSAAYYIISSTT,, JJOOUURRNNAALLIISSTT,,

PPEERRHHAAPPSS BBEESSTT KKNNOOWWNN FFOORR TTHHIISS BBOOOOKK

OOFF PPOOEETTRRYY LLEEAAVVEESS OOFF GGRRAASSSS

AMERICAN PATRIOT 15

1863.Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address duringceremonies dedicating the battlefield in Pennsylvania as anational cemetery. Lincoln delivered his address in justunder two minutes. The crowd was unimpressed since longoratories were the style of the day, but Lincoln’s speech hascome to be considered one of the greatest expressions ofAmerican democracy.

THIS WEEK IN AMERICAN HISTORY

Pictured Above: Detail of Elihu Vedder's mural Government(1896), in the Library of Congress. The title figure bears a tablet inscribed with Lincoln's famous phrase.

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