Rogue Valley Chapter 156 News

Newsletter of Rogue Valley Veterans for Peace Chapter 156

Visit our website at: http://rv-vfp156.org

Volume 1, Issue 6                                                                                                       Sept. 6, 2011

Join us tomorrow night (Wednesday, Sept. 7) for the first VFP 156 chapter meeting of the fall season

Hey, fellow VFP members, don’t forget that we resume our regular first Wednesday chapter meetings tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. in the home of our recording secretary, Loree Arthur, at 737 NW Kinney St., Grants Pass.  From downtown, go west up A Street and turn right on Kinney at the Hull & Hull Mortuary.  Loree’s house is on the right just past the funeral home.  We have lots of news to catch up on and plans to make for the coming year. There’ll be tea, coffee & other drinks & light eats.

By the way, Loree is our Member of the Month and the subject of our Newsletter Profile for this month, so keep scrolling down to read all about Loree.  She’s the first associate member that we’ve profiled and no one is more deserving than Loree.

Dan Guy, Jim Woods and Allen Hallmark will report on happenings at the Veterans for Peace National Convention last month in Portland

S. Brian Willson speaks at the VFP Convention

Yes, three of us attended the national convention in early August in Portland.  Come to our chapter meeting Wednesday evening and hear all about it.

Write a postcard to Bradley Manning and keep his spirits high!

“We know Bradley is very appreciative of postcards he receives from supporters,” writes VFP 156 associate member Linda Smith.  “JD (Dixon) and I send him postcards every couple of weeks, and in case you'd be interested but don't have his new Leavenworth address, it's:

Bradley Manning 89289

830 Sabalu Road

Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027

Linda continues: “His morale and spirits have greatly improved since being moved, and he has three roommates to talk with. He's still not been found guilty of anything, but at least he's no longer tortured. His lawyer credits all our actions on Bradley's behalf for his transfer to Leavenworth.”

More information about Bradley Manning and other war resisters who need our help can be found at:  http://couragetoresist.org/

Member of the Month and Newsletter Profile:  Loree Arthur

1.   Where were you born and raised?  Did you have a parent or close relative or friend of your family who served in the military? 

My father was conscripted for WWI, sold his belongings to get ready to go, then found out it was a mistake (he was already over 25). My husband Bernie Brock was a CIC (counter intelligence corps) officer in Korea (after they trained him in Japanese at Fort Holabird, in Baltimore = super spooks?).

2.   As a youth and young adult what were your feelings about the military and war?  Did your views change as your grew older?

As a Burbank kindergartner during WWII being fingerprinted, wearing a dog tag, and listening for attacking planes during blackouts were very scary.  As “junior commandoes” we patriotically wore our uniforms and pulled our wagons around the block collecting glass and metal “for the war.”  And every Friday we took our pennies/dimes to the corner piano store to buy savings stamps.  We lived near the totally camouflaged Lockheed plant, and I still can hear the sound of the dive bomber that crashed into the roof of a house near us.

(I was not aware of how deeply that fear had implanted until 20 years later when I was teaching at Maine Township East High School in Park Ridge, Illinois -- when Hillary Rodham (later Clinton) was there.  One day tornado sirens went off and my students showed me how to go down five flights of stairs to our assigned spot in the basement.  After 4,600 students sat down on the basement floor in the dark, there was a whistle and total silence followed.

Suddenly, I was gripped by the only panic attack I have ever experienced, and I was a scared 5-year-old little girl again.)

We moved to Oregon in 1944 and started building our own house the next year.  We bought some of our lumber/windows and all our kitchen/bath fixtures from the dismantling of Camp White .  I was at Camp White with my father on a clear sunny day when a large round white cloud appeared on the western horizon and gradually moved toward us.  I was sure it was the atomic bomb cloud reaching Oregon , and he could not dissuade me.  I recall at that time being firmly committed that atomic bombs should never be used again to harm kids or countries. 

Growing up in postwar/isolated Grants Pass , my only awareness of the military was when about 20 of my classmates joined up after graduation so they would be able to attend college later and have more choices than becoming loggers.

I was teaching at University of Minnesota in the late 1960’s when students gathered at the student union and marched up the mall to the administration building.  That Minnesota rebellion was diffused when President Malcolm Moos (Eisenhower’s speechwriter for the military-industrial warning) threw open the doors and served everyone coffee while they sat down and talked.  But the student movement impelled me to become a DFL (Democratic Farmer Labor) precinct captain, and we successfully organized campus neighborhood caucuses to elect DFL candidates for the first time since 1916.  The subsequent 1968 Chicago riots cemented my anti-war and anti-military-corporate-profit attitude.

3.   What is your educational and occupational background?

I graduated from Grants Pass High School and San Jose State University for BA and MA.  I also majored in architecture at University of Minnesota , but didn’t finish before we moved to Michigan .

I taught high school English in California and Illinois and technical writing at U of Minnesota., then 2 years as Montessori school administrator.

At age 40, when no desirable teaching jobs were available in Michigan , I went to Control Data Institute and became a COBOL computer programmer. As a trainee at Maccabees Insurance I completed the IIA insurance courses, then worked as an analyst in technology systems R&D for 20 years at AAA Michigan.

4.   When did you move to Grants Pass? 

I grew up here from 1944-1954, then returned here after I retired in 2001.

5.   What work or volunteer positions do you hold at present?  What other groups besides VFP are you a member of?  When did you begin opening your home for group meetings?

My primary activity is Urban Area Planning Commission and its liaison to Urban Growth Boundary Expansion Steering Committee.  I’m on the board of the Christian Science church and the DiscoveryBound youth group.  I still work twice a year for the Master Gardener’s Winter Seminar and Spring Garden Fair.  I work on several projects for AAUW American Association of University Women, and eat lunch with Red Hats and GP class of 54.

This year I am daily involved with activities for my granddaughter Brooke and the Josephine County Foster Parents Association.  A Course in Miracle discussion group meets at my house every Thursday (and has for the past 10 years), and the Democratic Central Committee on 2nd Tuesday of each month.  My homes (here and in Michigan) have always been actively used for school, church, community, and fundraiser group activities.  I don’t have cash to contribute to causes I care about, but I can contribute free meeting space and some effort.

6.   When & where did you first get interested in working for peace?

1945 and 1967 –see above

7.   Why did you decide to join Veterans for Peace?

I first learned about VFP from my best friend Hal Anthony, and decided that this was the type of peace group I would like to support, and I wanted to help Hal get the first group chartered here.

8.   Describe your experiences as a member of VFP RV Chapter 156.  What do you like about our chapter?  Which activities have you found interesting?

I like the peace-oriented focus of VFP and its members.  I am interested in hearing and learning about the varied experiences of the regular members.  I also like to bring Brooke to the parades or stands so she can begin to grasp the idea of publicly advocating positive ideals and having others acknowledge her for doing so.

9.   Do you have any ideas or goals that your think the chapter should consider to further the cause of peace or improve our chapter's standing in the community?

I wish I knew how to promote peace in Josephine County !  Or any other progressive ideas!

10.        Are there any changes in the way we conduct our meetings or our communications with members that you would advocate for?

I like having the newsletter- I think it will be most helpful.  Although I cannot volunteer for this, it probably would be a good idea for someone regularly to visit with members (phone/email/in person) who belong to VFP but do not attend meetings to keep them involved.  Hal spent hours every day on the phone and I think it helped with keeping non-participants at least still signed up and maybe sometimes showing up when their visible presence would be nice to have.

11.       How do you think VFP 156 could recruit more associate members?

I don’t have any good plans --  but I still would like to have current “business cards” to keep in my car or purse or front hall, so when I happen upon a vet I can easily invite them to join us.  I guess most associates would come by way of a regular member’s participating.

-end-

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