Noon luncheon meetings are held on the first two Tuesdays of each month, at Charlie Brown's Steakhouse in Chatham Township. Breakfast meetings are held at 8:00 AM on the last two or three Tuesdays of each month. Breakfast meetings are held at Charlie Brown’s Steakhouse in Chatham Township. Guests are always welcomed to attend our Tuesday meetings. COME JOIN US

Thursday

September 27 Kiwanis Meeting Program: Dick Plambeck presented "Touring National Parks with Grandkids"

This past summer, Dick Plambeck and his wife Barbara took two grandchildren on a 20-day grand tour of Western USA National Parks. Photo shows the travelers posing in front of Jenny Lake in the Grand Tetons.

Dick gave a very interesting talk, illustrated with still  photos and a video. He also passed around two very nice photo books (one with 82 pages and over 380 photos) of the trip. He uses Shutterfly to produce the books.

The kids worked on National Park Junior Ranger projects at stops along the way and earned many badges during the trip.

The group flew to Rapid City, SD where they rented a Ford Taurus which they drove in a circular route, visiting many scenic places in South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado. He used two National Geographics books to research and plan the trip - one on the national parks, the other on highways and byways.

 This map shows the route taken during the trip.


This photo of Mount Rushmore was taken at night from the balcony of their lodge, using a telescopic lens.


This is a photo of the Devils Tower in Wyoming. It is the core of an old volcano. People do climb it.

Buffalo traffic jam in Lamar Valley of Yellowstone National Park.


Photo of Old Faithful Geyser erupting. Dick also showed a video of the action.


Zion National Park was discovered by Mormons, who gave religious names to the features. These peaks are named the “Three Patriarchs” – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.


Photo of Hoodoos in Bryce National Park taken from Sunrise Point at sunrise.


Dick took a lot of flower pictures and he put these into a beautiful collage, showing the variety of plants seen during the trip. Most in the collage were from Colorado.


Burro in rear view mirror at Custer State Park in South Dakota. One of the kids was scratching its nose.

The members enjoyed the presentation and Dick was awarded one of the complementary Kiwanis Club ball point pens.

Kiwanis September 27 Meeting Announcements

President Dick Plambeck announced that Mal is recovering at home – he welcomes visitors. Last week’s Installation Dinner was very nice - the entertainment was wonderful, absolutely fantastic.  Karen Shippey reported that Stu is placing an order for nuts so that some should be available for the Pasta Dinner at CHS. Order forms are now on the website and have been emailed to members. Sharon Johnson passed around the Pasta Dinner brochure. Let her know if you need copies to post around town. Nancy said tickets are in hands of club members. Members should be sure to pick up their new Kiwanis directories. Karen Swartz reported on last Wednesday’s CHS Key Club meeting – student attendance was huge. Jon Capizzi, the advisor while Kiera is on leave, did an excellent job – students signed up for membership and service projects.  Mary Anne Maloney reported on the MHS Key Club meeting where a presentation was made on the ELIMINATE project. Bob Stannard reported that the Drew Circle K club is becoming very well organized – in a recent competition for collecting cans of food, Drew was the winner at 60 cans. Next Tuesday, 10/4/11 will be the first Kiwanis meeting of the new fiscal year.

Wednesday

September 20, 2011 Kiwanis Installation Dinner

President Dick Plambeck passes the gavel to incoming President Mary Anne Maloney at the September 20, 2011 Installation Dinner held at the Brooklake Country Club.

Newly elected Vice-President John Eyre was welcomed by his “Newspaper Recycling” friends who read a special tribute: “Ode to John”

Division 9 Lieutenant Governor Gordon Meth installs class of 2014 Directors Tom Mullin, Betty Anne Keat and Nancy Holt.

Mary Anne presented the Distinguished Member Award to Rich Behling.

Marc Litwack was recognized for his contributions as this year’s Governor of the New Jersey District. Chatham-Madison Kiwanis Club members are proud that the New Jersey leader is a member of our club.

Beautiful entertainment was provided by Lindsay Maron. The rising young star sang some melodies from Broadway musical hits.


Friday

September 13 Program: Alan Robertson presented “From Munich to Venice by bus”

Alan Robertson and Joan Frey took lots of photos on their June 2011 trip. A local photographer took this one of them enjoying coffee in Venice.
Alan showed a map he had made of the Tauck Tour route.

They arrived in Munich a day early and stayed in the Tauck-recommended Bayerischer hof hotel. Alan showed a photo of a very old monument to composer Orlande de Lassus newly decorated with Michael Jackson memorial candles, posters and photos. He and Joan enjoyed sausages with liters of beer in the HB Hofbrauhaus. The building looked historic, inside and out, and the band sounded great.
 Munich was rebuilt after almost total destruction during WWII. Much of the architecture stemmed from the time of the “Holy Roman Empire”. Alan showed a photo of a beautiful palace beside a reflecting lake. He also showed a photo of the Munich town hall (which contains a glockenspiel). The square in front of town hall was filled with people.

Next stop was Salzburg, where Mozart lived. Tourists enjoyed a musical mime performing on the street and visiting the apartment of Mozart. Alan noted that Mozart was not killed by Solieri, but died from primitive medical care, including excessive bleeding.

Next stop was Innsbruck, where Alan and Joan saw interesting Rococo architecture.  Alan showed a photo of the Maximilian-I cenotaph in Hofkirche (Court Church) and described its history. A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honor of someone whose remains are elsewhere.
The Dolomites were shown in a beautiful set of photos. A cable car took travelers to the snow-covered peaks.

Next they went to Bolzano, Italy where they stayed in a very nice hotel. After that, they went to Limone. The town is built into hills beside a beautiful lake.  The scenery depicted in the photos was very nice. The people of this area are known by their long lives (many over 100 years old) - the result of excellent genes.
Last stop was Venice. They stayed in the Danieli hotel, an excellent hotel which was once the residence of a wealthy leader of Venice. The city has many canals, cozy bars, and attractions around Saint Mark's Square. Good maps and street signs are not available and it easy to get lost in the city. However, weather was very nice so he and Joan had a great time.
Saint Mark's Square

Tuesday

Announcements: Kiwanis September 13 Meeting

Dick Plambeck announced that there will not be a Board meeting this month. He also reminded members to pay today for next Tuesday’s Installation Dinner at Brooklake Country Club, starting 6:00 PM. People can also pay at the door. The directory booklets are printed and in the hands of Treasurer Tom Mullin. He will pass  them out at the Installation Dinner. Pasta Dinner Tickets were handed out to all members in attendance today. Nancy Boucher will manage ticket sales this year. Work assignments will come out in a couple of weeks. An order form is being designed for Nut Sales. Betty Anne Keat announced that the Chatham Middle School Builders Club is meeting at 2:45 PM next Tuesday (9/20). CHS Key Club holds their first meeting of the year at 7:00 PM on 9/21 in the cafeteria. Nancy Boucher reminded everyone to buy Supermarket Certificates. She also announced that Parsippany Kiwanis will hold their first wine-tasting of the season at the Villa on Rt. 46 in Mountain Lakes on October 27. Income will benefit the ELIMINATE project.

Saturday

September 6 Program: Jim Malcomb, Madison historical writer, spoke on the Civil War

AD Dudderar introduced Jim Malcomb, who spoke on the Civil War, from the perspective of an enlisted man: The Civil War Journal of Private Heyward Emmell. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War.

Emmell was a 19-year-old clerk working at a store in Morristown when in 1861 he joined Company K of the 7th Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers. He kept a journal of his 3-year enlistment and fought in many of the major battles in eastern US. The 7th Regiment was organized and led by Colonel Joseph Warren Revere, resident of Fosterfields and grandson of Paul Revere. Emmell was lucky to be led by Revere who was a military man who knew the value of training.

There are 10 Companies in a Regiment, each led by a Captain. Captains were people with money who recruited 100 men. James M. Brown of Chatham was Captain of Company K.  Officers were recruited through the “old-boy” network. Enlisted men were recruited through advertising. Rallies were popular and effective ways to recruit. Women often inspired men to recruit. Posters and newspaper ads were used. Emmell did not say why he joined, but likely reasons are “to save the Union”, “to see the country”, “to find glory in combat” and peer pressure. Pay was $13 per month, a significant motivator at a time when the economy wasn’t very good.

Soldiers spent 60 percent of their time in camp, much of this in the winter. 35 percent was spent on maneuvers – getting ready for battle. 5 percent was spent in battle. Men stayed in tents. They walked, went in boats or on the railroad.

There were hijinks. The war was 4 million men spending 4 years going camping and using guns. Jim gave some examples of tricks played on other regiments.

In battle, troops fired their rifles by rank and Jim described how this can result in almost continuous shooting. There was much smoke and noise. Each soldier carried 40-60 paper cartridges. In a typical battle with 2000 soldiers on each side, there could be 240,000 shots fired. The artillery barrage at Gettysburg was the loudest noise heard in North American until the Atomic Bomb was tested in Alamogordo. Other noises were the bullets hitting objects, cries of wounded and the rebel yells. Smell was terrible.

In the Civil War, 620,000 men died, two thirds due to disease. In 1860, they did not accept the theory that germs caused sickness. Dysentery killed 150,000 men. Typhoid fever killed 100,000 men and many died of pneumonia. Lice were so common they were called “soldier bugs”.

By the end of 1864, it became clear that the South would lose. The first two years, there were plenty of volunteers. In 1863 the draft began. In 1864, some soldiers had fought for three years. By 1863, the nobility of the war was lost. By 1864, the humanity was lost.  Sheridan’s Shenandoah Valley campaign and Sherman’s march through the South are examples of inhumanity. Soldiers used bones of the dead for souvenirs and as firewood for cooking.

The Civil War ended in April 1865. In October 1864 when their 3-year enlistment ran out, the 7th Regiment returned to New Jersey. Emmell did not reenlist and stayed in Morristown. He went to work in the Post Office and started his own picture framing business. He was successful, owned property, and was active in the “Grand Army of the Republic” (an organization similar to American Legion). Emmell was also a volunteer fireman.

Heyward Emmell has a Facebook page - Friend him. A website is under development and will be linked through the Madison Historical Society. Jim handed out business cards for Emmell. The publisher (FDU Press) has set a high price for Emmell’s journal. It is available at Amazon where there is a short preview. Jim will sell copies at his cost.

The members of the audience applauded enthusiastically for this interesting, illustrated, entertaining presentation.

Announcements: Kiwanis September 6 Meeting

A sign-up sheet was passed around for the Installation Dinner. The printed member directories should be available for distribution at the dinner. Stu Shippey reported on plans for Nut Sales at supermarkets: Nov. 12 Stop & Shop – Madison, Nov. 13 Kings - Florham Park, Nov. 19 Shop-Rite - Chatham, Nov. 20 Kings – Chatham. Karen Swartz announced that the first CHS Key Club meeting will be 7:00 pm September 21 in the cafeteria. Bob Stannard announced that Drew Circle K has a very aggressive program going. 52 students have signed up. Gary Arnesen announced that October 20 Pasta Dinner tickets will be distributed to members at next week’s meeting.

August 30 Speaker: Leslie Greenberg, Director of Community Relations, Juniper Village at Chatham

Karen Swartz introduced Leslie Greenberg, Director of Community Relations, Juniper Village at Chatham. Leslie gave a presentation about the Adult Independent/Assisted Living facility.

Just this week she visited many Adult Day Care Centers. Those facilities encourage people to live in their homes as they grow older.

Juniper has many residents who are independent. Why do they give up their homes and move to Juniper? Some have lost their mate. Mobility is declining for others.

Juniper has been chosen the number one assisted living facility in New Jersey for the past 3 years. A board of doctors from Blue Cross Blue Shield assessed the clinical services at Juniper. NJ Business Association assessed the rest of the facility. The facility is “green”; for example, the van is fueled by natural gas. The facility is very attractive and a broad range of activities are offered to residents. For example, there is a trip to the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center every year. There are many clubs.

Juniper is always full so there is a good revenue stream which funds the extensive activities. Juniper’s purpose is to help residents enjoy every bit of their remaining life. There is no lease for apartments. Residents pay rent, and also pay for additional services as needed. It is as if you are living at home and have access to all the services you need.

There is a medical center in the facility with skilled staff. Every kind of service is there when you need it. Her advice is to pick where you are going to live while you can. If you wait too long, your children will have to make the choice for you.

Funding does not come from Medicare. Some residents can be funded by Medicaid, but they must first go through 3 years of private pay. Private pay cost is $5,000 per month and up, depending on services required. There are VA benefits that are available to military veterans (and spouses). Juniper can help applicants explore this option which could pay a significant fraction of the cost. Long Term Health Insurance can also pay a portion of the cost.

Apartments are studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom (without kitchens). An excellent restaurant is on premises.

People interested in learning more should visit Juniper Village and discuss the offerings and benefits available. Click here to go to the Juniper Village website. Click here to go to the Juniper Village Blog.


Dick Plambeck thanked Leslie Greenberg for the interesting presentation and gave her a Kiwanis pen.

Announcements: Kiwanis August 30 Meeting

Dick Plambeck reminded members about the Installation Dinner September 20. Rich Behling reported that the membership directory for next year is being printed. Tom Mullin reported that the Library of the Chathams sent a thank-you note for the Summer Reading Club picnic.