Central Iowa Chapter (S.A.R.) members,

Just a quick note of thanks to all who were able to attend the program at
the Iowa Historical Museum on Friday.  The celebration of the 201st birthday
of Abrahm Lincoln had many highlights. Among those were a wonderful Abraham
Lincoln performance by Mr. Dehaan of Orange City, Iowa.  He is in my humble
opinion among the best Lincoln presenters in the world. (see attached photo)

Our own Compatriot, Brig. General Steve Bogle presented a proclamation from
the Governor to the Iowa Rifles Color Guard unit. (see attached photo).

In addition to seeing and speaking with members of our own chapter, I had
the great pleasure of seeing members of the DAR, CAR, SUVCW, SVR, Mayflower
Society, Civil War Rountable and Des Moines Historical Society.

Members of the Central Iowa Color Guard had the pleasure of presenting
information on the American Revolutionary War and answering questions for
112 5th graders at Beaver Creek Elementary School in Johnston, Iowa. (see
attached photo).

Last of all since it is Valentine's Day I can't resist sending a bit of
history on the topic,

First American-Made Valentines Sold: February 14, 1849
ON THIS DAY...
...in 1849, the first American-made valentines were sold in Worcester.
They were designed and made by Esther Howland, the daughter of a local
stationer. After graduating from Mt. Holyoke College, she returned to
Worcester and began making valentines modeled on a fancy one she had
received from an English friend. Her brother took the samples on a sales
trip and came home with an astonishing $5,000 worth of orders. Howland began
by hiring her friends to assemble the valentines; within a few years, she
built her business into a $100,000 a year enterprise, a notable success for
any entrepreneur but a truly remarkable accomplishment for a
nineteenth-century woman.
Listen to this moment:
http://www.massmoments.org/audio/Feb141%2Em3u
Read more about this moment:
http://www.massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=52
Visit Mass Moments to search past moments:
http://www.massmoments.org

Keep doing great things large and small! Don't forget to share them with
your Iowa Patriot Editor Fran Keith and Webmaster Scott Rowley.

Respectfully,

Mike Rowley
Central Iowa Chapter Treasurer

To Compatriots of Iowa S.A.R.,

I received the below information from the spouse of our
www.iowasar.org webmaster
and also the mother of the youngest IASSAR member.  It sounds like a great
idea to me.  I am going to at least reduce the number to 1,703 soldiers
waiting.  If you would like to do likewise Amber's email is listed at the
bottom.

Thanks,

Mike Rowley
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"amber rowley"

Did you know?

Did you know there are currently 1,704 soldiers waiting with Soldier's
Angels to be adopted? 1,704 servicemen and women could really use some
support and encouragement and a word of thanks from those of us that are
state side. I'd like to take a moment to encourage your friends, family
members, co-workers, even children to get involved with SA. It only takes a
few minutes every week to jot off a note to a soldier, even if it's just a
postcard to ask how they are doing and to let them know you are thinking
about them. Care packages don't have to be huge, even just a few small
trinkets once or twice a month would be ok.

The post office now offers free shipping materials and flat rates for
military packages (I wish they'd done this when I was sending them to my
hubby!). This is a great activity for places like senior centers/nursing
homes, preschools, classrooms, and workplaces. Groups of people can adopt
one or more soldiers and everyone can pitch in with letters and care
packages. As long as I have been involved in SA, I have never seen the need
for adoption this large. It's imperative that we continue to encourage and
support these men and women who are sacrificing so much.

For those of you that all ready have soldiers, or are considering adopting
soldiers, here are a couple of fun care package themes for the next month:

Valentines day: A valentines card, chocolates (Now is the time to send them,
as it's still "winter" in the middle east), a bag of candy for them to hand
out to local children, magazines, paperback books, DVD's (Charlie Brown's
Valentine would be a good one), socks, scented body lotion or shower gel and
a loofah (for female soldiers), a bag of gourmet ground coffee...Whatever
you decide to ship, take some construction paper and cut out different sized
hearts and throw them in the box. Make sure to include a handwritten letter,
that's the best gift of all!

Mardi gras: Beads, creole seasoning, hot sauce, (if you can get your hands
on one or make one) a king cake, a homemade CD of Mardi Gras music or jazz,
chocolate coins, boxes of red beans and rice (or anything from Zatarains),
mardi gras masks...you get the idea. Make it fun, make it interesting!
Please, no pork products or alcohol. When packing your box, get a bag of
multi colored feathers (you can find them for less than $2.00 at any craft
store or walmart) and throw them in with the items you're sending, along
with a handwritten note :)
Please write to me if you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them
:) if you know someone who'd be interested in signing up for SA just have
them contact me and I'd be happy to get them started! One last note...It's
never too early to start thinking about the Iowa State Fair. I would like to
get a team of Angels together this year to walk in the parade with a banner
and maybe hand out flyers to the crowd. If this sounds like something you
would like to attend, please let me know. Entry numbers are limited, and go
fast! The date this year for the parade is August 11, 2010.

I am the only Team leader for Iowa right now, so if there are any questions
or they do want to sign up they can email me at my Soldier's Angels address
which is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   thanks so much!

Happy Angeling!

Amber Rowley
www.soldiersangels.org

Congratulations (finally) to Dr. Bovenmyer.

http://www.sar.org/sites/default/files/status-report/app_status_report-2010-01-07.pdf

The newest member (approved 1-7-2010) of the Iowa Society of the Sons of the
American Revolution.

Respectfully,

Mike Rowley
Central Iowa Chapter, IASSAR

COWLES LIBRARY is launching a multi-year initiative to promote the
importance of the democratic process as an instrument for managing the
challenges of the 21st century.

Citizens Arise! From the Founding of a Nation to the Crisis of the
Unionwill engage students, teachers and general public about the
importance of
global citizenship. Through exhibits, lectures and other special
programming, Cowles Library will promote historical awareness, responsible
discourse and dissent, and focused efforts toward sustaining democratic
institutions.
*

*January 21, 2010, 7 p.m.
Cowles Library Reading Room*
*RONALD RIETVELD* has been a professor of history at California State
University Fullerton since 1969. He holds an AB from Wheaton College, a BD
magna cum laude from Bethel Theological Seminary, and an AM and PhD from the
University of Illinois. He has been a student of Lincoln since the age of
14, when he discovered the last photograph of Lincoln in 1952 in the Nicolay
papers of the Illinois State Historical Library. From 1981 to 1984, he
served as an academic advisor to the White House speech-writing staff under
President Ronald Reagan. He continues to lecture and write extensively on
Lincoln and the American Civil War and is currently serving as a member of
the Historical Advisory and Content Team for the Abraham Lincoln
Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, IL. In addition, Rietveld is
also currently serving as an advisor to the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial
Commission, which established the 200th celebration of Lincoln's birthday in
2009.

*RSVP by Jan 18 to
** This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it *< This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >
* or 515-271-3994*
**
*