Libertas et Patria

WWW.SAR.ORG

E PLURIBUS UNUM INSTITUTED JULY 4, 1876

Vernon Clyde Harp, Jr, MD, born June 21, 1919 in Spokane WA, and passed

away on October 12, 2011 in San Francisco, CA at the age of 92 years. Beloved

husband of the late Florence "Tookie" Grimm Harp from 1944 to 1977 and

Mary Margaret Casey Harp from 1978 to 2010. Much loved father of Florianne

(Stuart) Gordon, Lorinda (Skip) Clemens and Adrienne (Graham) Pitman and

loving grandfather of Nicole and Christie Clemens. With his family at age 10,

Vernon moved to Los Angeles, where he attended George Washington High

School and UCLA. In 1943, Vernon, began his medical training, attending Cal

Berkeley, SF General Hospital and UCSF, before serving his internship at SF

General Hospital. During this time he served two years in the Army in Field and

General Hospitals in the Philippines. After the war, Vernon completed his resi-

dency training in cardiology at UCSF and Tulane before establishing his private

practice at 490 Post, 450 Sutter, and then 4141 Geary Blvd. During this time,

Vernon taught medicine at UCSF as an Associate Clinical Professor. In 1954,

Vernon joined the San Francisco Heart Association where he served as President

in 1957. As President, he established the Cardiac Work Classification Unit,

which helped patients return to work after treatment for heart problems. A

skilled trumpeter, Vernon started playing at the age of 6 and began performing in high school marching bands. He

was a member of UCLA and UCSF marching bands and over 30 years in the Bohemian Club band. Not only did

he play, Vernon became an avid collector of historic brass horns when a friend gave him a flugelhorn that had

been buried in a German village, hidden to avoid being melted down for munitions during World War II. Over the

years, Vernon has collected and restored over 50 horns, which can all be played. Along with the San Francisco

Heart Association , Vernon was a member of numerous organizations and societies including Sons of American

Revolution, California Historical Society, Bohemian Club, Olympic Club and The Shriners.

Vernon was a member of the SFSAR, Past President and Chaplain amongst his many officers in the local chapter

and a member in long standing. He was always the first to donate to special chapter activities and was a principal

in establishing relocation of the George Washington statue to George Washington HS and the July 4, 1876 memo-

rial plaque project amongst his many contributions to the SFSAR. For those who knew him he will be sorely

missed, for those who never met him they should know this chapter in great part owes its existence to his selfless

dedication of the preservation of the first SAR chapter to form in NSSAR. A private memorial service was held.

Donations may be made to American Heart Association, 100 Montgomery St. Suite 1650, San Francisco, CA

94104.

NOVEMBER 2011 NEWS FROM THE FOUNDING CHAPTER OF THE SAR

Come one, come all! First drink FREE for new attendees !

Next SFSAR lunch meeting –

12 noon, Thurs., November 17 at Sinbad’s, Pier 2

Compatriot Vernon Harp Passes at Age 92

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NEXT MEETING:

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH (DUE TO THANKSGIVING, THE 3RD THURSDAY INSTEAD OF THE USUAL 4TH )

SPEAKER: STEVE SCHMIDT

HISTORY TEACHER SF’S LOWELL HIGH SCHOOL

(DESCRIBING HIS EXPERIENCES AT FREEDOMS FOUNDATION VALLEY FORGE SPONSORED BY

THE CASSAR, SFSAR AND THE ROTARY CLUB

Saturday, December 17, Christmas with La Puerta de Oro Chapter of the DAR

The La Puerta de Oro DAR invites all SFSAR Members and guests to its Christmas luncheon at noon on

Saturday, December 17, at the Presidio Golf Club.

Please reserve a place by contacting Regent McCausland by email: (cathylaird@sbcglobal.net),

phone (415-587-7933) or mail (30 Pinehurst Way, San Francisco CA 94127-2736).

Wednesday, December 7, Christmas with the Presidio Chapter of the DAR

The Christmas Party will be held Wednesday, December 7th, from 6-9 p.m. at the Argonaut Hotel, San Francisco.

Ticket prices will be $75/person. We will offer the opportunity for members and guests to sponsor all or part of a

serviceman's ticket price. There will be a silent auction during the cocktail hour to raise money for DAR Project

Patriot and our wounded servicemen and women overseas. The DAR planning committee would like a list of SAR

potential attendees so they can mail them formal invitations.

Please send your invitation request to Compatriot Kimball by email (cbkjaksf@pacbell.net), phone (415-

931-993) or mail (2460 Francisco Street, San Francisco CA 04123-1815).

Members to Vote for Four Elected Offices at upcoming November Meeting

After last November’s Chapter election, four elected offices were still vacant. As prescribed by the by-

laws, the President Bothwell filled these vacancies with 1-year appointments: 1st VP: Herb Dedo; 2nd

VP: Fred Bothwell; Genealogist: Larry Wynne; Chancellor: Mike Phelps. At the November meeting, the

Membership will vote for nominees to fill the remaining year of the 2010-2012 term. Any Member who

has an interest in any of these offices: please contact the Chairman of the Nominations Committee, Mars-

ton Watson by email (mwatson@royalancestry.org), phone (510-234-1776) or mail (48 Southwind Cir-

cle, Richmond, CA 94804-7404).

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WWII MIA Buried in Golden Gate National Cemetery

SAR and DAR Members attended the burial service for WWII MIA PFC Edward O'Toole, Company

D, 333rd Infantry Division, who was listed as missing in action in Süggerath in the Würm Valley in

western Germany on November 20, 1944. The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command recently iden-

tified some remains recovered from the area as those of PFC O’Toole. He was buried in the Golden

Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno CA, with full military honors on July 15th in the same grave as

his veteran brother. PFC O’Toole apparently had no surviving family members and Cemetery Direc-

tor Kathy McCall called on members of patriotic groups to serve in their stead and bid farewell to

this long-lost WWII warrior as he was finally laid to rest.

* * * *

Reminder: Please pay 2012 Dues by November 30, 2011 Deadline

All Regular Members: your fellow compatriots hope that you will maintain your uninterrupted mem-

bership in the Sons of the American Revolution by sending your 2012 dues payment of $70.00 to the

Chapter Treasurer by November 30, 2012. This covers the $20.00 Chapter dues, $20.00 California

Society dues and $30.00 National Society dues. Please write your check payable to the “San Francis-

co Chapter CASSAR” and mail it to Treasurer Tim Boddy, 174 Crescent Avenue, Sausalito CA

94965-2339.

SF History Teacher to Speak on Valley Forge Experience

Steve Schmidt, history teacher at San Francisco’s Lowell High School, received one of two CASSAR

awards that will pay his tuition and expenses for a summer graduate course presented by Freedoms

Foundation of Valley Forge. Steve chose the American “Revolution South” workshop that featured

field studies and tours of Alamance, Cowpens and Kings Mountain Battlefields, Guilford Court

House, Monticello, Jamestown, Green Springs, The University of Virginia, Colonial Williamsburg,

Yorktown, and Mount Vernon. At each of these sites, prominent historians provided vivid insight, in-

terpretation and perspective to the people and events that shaped American history. When Steve

learned that he had won the prestigious award, he exclaimed, “I am THRILLED about being the recip-

ient of the CASSAR FFVF Scholarship! This is going to be an amazing summer!” This graduate

course added to Steve's already impressive resume. He grew up on a cattle ranch in the Bitterwater

Valley of southern San Benito County, received a B.A. from U.C. Berkeley with an emphasis (cont’d)

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(from previous page) in U.S. History and an M.A. in Education from California

State University San Francisco. Steve remarked that “Bitterwater to Berke-

ley was the culture shock of a lifetime.” He has taught in California public

schools for 20 years, the last 17 years in San Francisco and the last 13 years

at Lowell High School. He spends his summers working or studying:

Princeton (2002), Yale (2003-2006), the NEH (2009-2010), working with

orphans in Mexico (2007), attending a seminar on the American Civil

Rights Movement at Cambridge University in England (2008), earning an

ESL Credential at UC Santa Cruz (1994) and teaching summer school

(1991-1993 & 1995-1999).

REGISTRAR REPORT

Grant R. Noah

To date we have three applications approved:

David Allen - regular application was approved on October 17, 2011.

Jeff Harrison - regular application was approved October 11, 2011.

Grant Noah - supplemental application was approved on September 16, 2011.

(from previous page)

Pending Applications:

Robert Nelson application was received by National on August 1, 2011. Wes Harrigan and Cole Har-

rigan applications were received by National on August 17, 2011.

New update from National: As of October 10, 2011 we now have a Registrar Manuel. The intent of

the Manual is to help Registrars understand their responsibilities and to understand the elements of a

successful application by discussing in general terms policies adopted by the NSSAR and by provid-

ing examples both of best practices and common pitfalls.

The “Fast Track” Applications”: Presently it requires over four months for an application to be ap-

proved. “Fast Track” will cut down that time substantially. If the initial review determines that the

application meets the criteria for “Fast Track” that application is given priority to one of the staff.

“Fast Track” Requirements: An Already Established Proven Line that needs only the applicant’s birth

record and maybe that of his parent or grandparent to connect to an SAR application that has already

been proved. The “30-Minute” Application can be solidly proven in no more than 30 minutes because

the documents presented are very sound and prove each generational connection without question.

“Grandfathered” Applications based on older SAR or DAR applications which are considered inade-

quate but meet the criteria set forth for “grandfathering”. The SAR shall extend to applicants who are

related to members of the DAR the same courtesy that we extend to applicants who are related to

members of the SAR.

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October SFSAR Meeting Honors

Martha Whittaker & Vernon Harp

Mary Mettler Speaks on DAR’s New Genealogy Book

Martha Whittaker Mary Mettler DAR book

At the October meeting, the SFSAR joined with the two San Francisco DAR Chapters to present the

Martha Washington Medal to recently-retired Sutro Librarian Martha Whittaker and to honor Compat-

riot Vernon Harp, who recently passed away. Patty Pasco, sister of Compatriot Thomas Pasco, re-

marked, “I thought today's meeting was one of the best … enjoyable, informative, interactive, and

moving! We all know that DAR/SAR cooperation is very important to our ability to strengthen our

knowledge of our past and help define our future. The acknowledgments that were given to Martha

Whittaker and your beloved member's passing were very touching. … Congratulations on a

very excellent meeting!”

The luncheon speaker, Mary Mettler of the La Puerta de Oro DAR described the pains and pleasures of

writing, assembling and publishing Portraits of Our Patriots: Stories of American Revolutionary War

Ancestors. Eight Chapter Members contributed to this 246-page hardcover book, edited by Eileen Ker-

emitsis, designed by Bill Yenne and published by AGS Book Works. The objective of the authors was

to “…recount in as much detail as possible the events that the patriots and their families endured in the

years during and surrounding the American Revolution.” Each chapter includes a referenced genealog-

ical summary covering the patriot and his family.

2012 Proposed SFSAR Calendar

Jan. 26 Sinbad's, Feb. 22 Washington's Birthday at GWHS, Mar. 22 Sinbad's, Apr. 26 Sinbad's, May

28 Memorial Dat at The Presidio, June 27 - July 4 special events*, June 28 Sinbad's - joint meeting all

Bay Area SAR & DAR chapters, Sept. 27 Sinbad's, Oct. 25 Sinbad's, Nov. 22 Sinbad's, Dec. DAR

Christmas Party *We plan to participate in events sponsored by The Presidio of SF commemorating the Spanish Californians

who founded the Presidio (thus founded San Francisco) June 27, 1776, and recognizing that Spain gave mate-

rial aid (funds/materiel) to the American Revolution.

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The California Delegation at the 121th NSSAR Congress

1st row, l-r, Cindy Tam, Unknown, Patsy Everette, Un Hui Yi, Joy Javellana, Barbara

Magerkurth, Karen Carlson, Lisa Gregory, Sandy Jacobs, Conni Barker, Cynthia Nearman

2nd row, l-r, Bob Ebert, Don Gurley, Tony Bothwell, Unknown, Oliver Everette, Jim Fosdyck,

Steve Renouf, Larry Magerkurth, Jim Blauer, Jim Faulkinbury, Joe Dooley, Ed Butler

3rd row, l-r, Kent Gregory, Bob Bogardus, Gene Melvin, Stan De Long, John Dodd, Karl Jacobs,

Chuck Lampman, and Ron Barker, also in attendance were Tom Adams and his wife, Anne.