Charm of the Carolines

100th Anniversary of the Deciding Vote

After years of arguments for and against suffrage, the 19th Amendment was passed by Congress in July 1919. However, 36 states were needed for ratification, and my beloved home state of Tennessee was the last and deciding vote.

On August 18, 1920 Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment — making it law that the right to vote could not be based on sex.

Harry Burn cast the tie-breaking vote by acting on advice from his dear mother, Phoebe. He originally wore the red rose of the anti-suffragists on his lapel as he cast his vote. His one vote made the difference, the vote was 49-47.

With his mother's letter in his pocket and on his mind when he cast the decisive vote, Harry was only 22. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Harry Burn and even more to his Mom. 

Elvis' Birthday

Born today, 1935: Tennessee's own Elvis Presley, one of the most celebrated and influential musicians of the 20th century, who sold over 600 million records worldwide. Forever loved. Forever missed. 

How do you plan to celebrate?

Frogmore Plantation

Today the historic preservation community and I are brokenhearted for Lynette Tanner and the Natchez, Mississippi, community after hearing about a fire destroying her 204-year-old Ferriday, Louisiana home, Frogmore Plantation.

I've only visited this site once, but was blown away by the example of a complete plantation community it was with home, cotton gin, church house, slave quarters, cotton fields and such. As painful as our southern history has been, it's also real. Frogmore Plantation stood to educate current and future generations about the lives of past generations, because the way I see it, we only have 2 choices.... learn from the past and create a better future or rewrite it and learn nothing.

 

Lynette researched and published a book Chained to the Land,  recounting Louisiana slave narratives that I found fascinating and recommend everyone should read; personal accounts of former enslaved people regarding their experiences while enslaved. It will truly open your eyes to seeing a sample of the diversified and wide-ranging personal experiences told from people who were there and lived it and how different their accounts are from whatever stereotype you may embrace.

Sending hugs and healing thoughts to all my friends and acquaintances in the Natchez community, especially the Tanner family, for their loss.

 

Photo Credit: Sabrina Robertson/The Natchez Democrat via AP

Happy Father's Day!!

So blessed to have been born to the Best Dad in the world, a stellar example of wisdom, maturity, compassion, and living a Christ-centered life. My only regret is that I didn't know his father better or grandfather at all, yet have two wonderful, dutiful brothers at my side who have inherited the Jones genes of high moral character, abiding faith, and servant's heart.

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful men in my life!!

D-Day 75th Anniversary

On June 6, 1944, more than 150,000 troops from the US, Canada, and Britain, stormed 50 miles of the channel beaches of northern France in a heroic and epic mission to save the world from Nazi control. Try to imagine 6,939 ships and landing vessels, 2,395 aircraft, and 867 gliders converging on a relatively small swath of French seaside in order to invade Nazi-occupied western Europe. 

 

A mission of this scale was necessary because Germany had entrenched a 2,400 mile line of bunkers along France's coast, including four million land mines along Normandy's beaches. Additionally, the infantrymen landing at the beaches were met with persistent machine gun fire. Losses were staggering with nearly 4500 men killed during the invasion and more than 225,000 killed or wounded during the Battle for Normandy which lasted until August. 

But they were successful. In less than a year, Germany surrenders unconditionally. 

Each year I visit my friend Christy who lives in Carrabelle, Florida, near St. George Island. At this location in the early 1940s, was the US Amphibious training site named Camp Gordon Johnston. I couldn't help but be emotionally moved when first visiting the WWII museum there a couple of years ago and even more to be given authentic dog tags found on the beach from a young soldier stationed at the camp. They belonged to Henry Buck, 20909406, T43-4, A, P.  

This type of dog tag was issued between July 1943 and March 1944. It was found on Carrabelle Beach where D-Day invasion training took place. His name is Henry Buck. His army serial number came next, then his tetanus immunization , tetanus toxoid, blood type.  The P stands for Protestant. 

But I didn't stop there. After a little digging discovered his name was Henry W. Buck from Napa, California, Solano County, and he was born in 1920 in Missouri. Henry enlisted March 3, 1941, in the National Guard Infantry as a Private.  Even with the amazing width and depth of knowledge available on the world wide web, I found little else. 

On the 75th Anniversary of "Operation Overlord" (as the mission was named), I would like to observe a quiet moment of prayer, gratitude and appreciation for Henry Buck and all the men and women who fought for the Allies in World War II, and those that served in the War Effort at home and abroad, and the families who kept the country operating and the home fires burning here on the homefront.

Thank you for your service, your sacrifice, and your heroism. May we never, never, never forget.