and the country said , ‘ Hey , that has been 50 years . These guys never really got a good welcome home . Why don ’ t we welcome them home ?’ We are one of the sponsors of those kind of organizations . What do we do ? There ’ s the youth programs and working with veterans .”
For the SAR , history is the baseline for the organization . One of the many reasons that the SAR works with kids is because of the acceptance and curiosity they can offer . Both Connelley and Vaughn have been involved with reenactments their organization puts on and they have found that though adults may enjoy the display , it ’ s the kids that are more inquisitive . “ I ’ ve been to Williamson County , not as a re-enactor but part of the program ,” Connelley said as he gave an example . “ Kids will come up to you and ask you things . Adults kind of just stand there . That ’ s why the programs are more directed at kids , because they ask .”
So , by engaging that curiosity early the SAR can encourage a lifelong interest and even connections in families . To them , having kids interested in history keeps history alive . But they don ’ t just leave it at honoring veterans . Each meeting is typically dedicated to a certain topic that changes but has something of a general interest to the organization . They honor a police officer , a firefighter , and an EMT through the months of January , February and March , respectively . And this last month they participated in various ceremonies for Veteran ’ s Day .
Getting involved in the SAR generally takes a little bit of research before admittance is approved . “ Normally , someone comes to us that has the interest ,” Oliver said . “ In my case , I had three ancestors that I didn ’ t know about until I was 40 or 50 years old . In all honesty , I was more focused on my career and I didn ’ t much care . But , I ’ ve always had an interest in history . It ’ s something that a lot of people can start to track that down , they trace it down to someone who fought in the Revolutionary War , then all of a sudden that peaks the interest in that particular person . First of all , they will be reaching out when they first find out about the SAR just like anything else . They generally reach out to us . They come to us and we are joined by that sort of common history interest , specifically the interest in the Revolutionary War period . The connection of history brings a certain group of people together .”
“ We understand the tedious hours of going through page after page after page , line after line and you start to realize that you came from somewhere . You came from somewhere . It ’ s a part of you and all of a sudden it becomes important . We have meetings that bring in 20 to 30 . Sometimes a little more , sometimes a little less , and so you can understand that we don ’ t have a hundred at every meeting , that ’ s the way it is . It affects people differently but it is important , and I think that most of us can look back and say that it ’ s important for the youngsters to understand . It is more important today than it has ever been and maybe if they can look at grandpa and say ,
‘ What ?’ It ’ s our country ; it ’ s what started us . That is us ,” Connelley said . “ You hear people talk about it and you think , ‘ wait a minute , I found this over here and if my great , great , great-grandpa was there and so was his [ Oliver ’ s ], there is a fair chance that they knew each other .”
And with so many greats having crisscrossed all over Parker County , it ’ s no wonder the SAR are so important . The preservation of history is something that seems to connect us no matter how far apart the distance . At a more recent meeting it was asked how many people are related to someone who fought at a certain battle . “ So we had 20 or so guys put their hands up and a handful of them were in Fort Worth ,” Oliver said . “ And they can go back into their line five , six and seven generations that all fought at a particular battle . It ’ s this collective sharing , all connected in the Revolution .”
“ The thing we lose track of is the smallness of things in 1876 compared to today ,” Connelley said . “ Those men who started our country and where their descendants fanned out to is important . You find the same kind of paths and history connections in New Mexico , Oklahoma , Alabama , Iowa — people organized the same way . I always wonder , I always ask people : ‘ How did you get here ? Why in the world did you pick Weatherford to come and live ?’ And it ’ s interesting because everybody ’ s kind of got a different answer yet they ’ re all here .”
DECEMBER 2016 PARKER COUNTY TODAY
77
from somewhere. It’s a part of you and all of a sudden it
becomes important. We have meetings that bring in 20 to
30. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, and so
you can understand that we don’t have a hundred at every
meeting, that’s the way it is. It affects people differently
but it is important, and I think that most of us can look
back and say that it’s important for the youngsters to
understand. It is more important today than it has ever
been and maybe if they can look at grandpa and say,
PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
‘What?’ It’s our country; it’s what started us. That is us,”
Connelley said. “You hear people talk about it and you
think, ‘wait a minute, I found this over here and if my
great, great, great-grandpa was there and so was his
[Oliver’s], there is a fair chance that they knew each
other.”
And with so many greats having crisscrossed all over
Parker County, it’s no wonder the SAR are so important.
The preservation of history is something that seems to
connect us no matter how far apart the distance. At a
more recent meeting it was asked how many people are
related to someone who fought at a certain battle. “So
we had 20 or so guys put their hands up and a handful of
them were in Fort Worth,” Oliver said. “And they can go
back into their line five, six and seven generations that all
fought at a particular battle. It’s this collective sharing, all
connected in the Revolution.”
“The thing we lose track of is the smallness of things
in 1876 compared to today,” Connelley said. “Those men
who started our country and where their descendants
fanned out to is important. You find the same kind of
paths and history connections in New Mexico, Oklahoma,
Alabama, Iowa — people organized the same way. I
always wonder, I always ask people: ‘How did you get
here? Why in the world did you pick Weatherford to come
and live?’ And it’s interesting because everybody’s kind of
got a different answer yet they’re all here.”
DECEMBER 2016
and the country said,
‘Hey, that has been
50 years. These guys
never really got a good
welcome home. Why
don’t we welcome them
home?’ We are one of
the sponsors of those
kind of organizations.
What do we do? There’s
the youth programs and
working with veterans.”
For the SAR, history
is the baseline for the
organization. One
of the many reasons
that the SAR works
with kids is because
of the acceptance
and curiosity they can
offer. Both Connelley
and Vaughn have been
involved with reenactments their organization puts on
and they have found that though adults may enjoy the
display, it’s the kids that are more inquisitive. “I’ve been
to Williamson County, not as a re-enactor but part of the
program,” Connelley said as he gave an example. “Kids
will come up to you and ask you things. Adults kind
of just stand there. That’s why the programs are more
directed at kids, because they ask.”
So, by engaging that curiosity early the SAR can
encourage a lifelong interest and even connections in
families. To them, having kids interested in history keeps
history alive. But they don’t just leave it at honoring
veterans. Each meeting is typically dedicated to a certain
topic that changes but has something of a general
interest to the organization. They honor a police officer,
a firefighter, and an EMT through the months of January,
February and March, respectively. And this last month
they participated in various ceremonies for Veteran’s Day.
Getting involved in the SAR generally takes a little bit
of research before admittance is approved. “Normally,
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