Meeting Minutes — Torch Club of the Fox Valley
10 September 2020
Virtual
Notes taken by: Mary Flanagan
Attendees: Karen Bachhuber, Sue Bennett, Nancy Bodway, Brian Bushaw, Terri Daugherty, Dave Debbink, Marcia Debbink, Mary Flanagan, Paul Freiberg, Erik Hanson, Walt Hedges, Barbara Kelly, Bill Kelly, Mary Poulson, Richard Schoenbohm, Jan Smith, Kris Stahl, Robert Swain, Peter Thiel, Scott Valitchka, Bert Weigand, Donna Weis
Guests: Sofia Wilson and Lisa Campbell
BUSINESS MEETING
Paul called the meeting to order at 6:16 PM.
Two guests were introduced. Sofia Wilson joined us from Las Vegas. Sofia is a former member and IATC Regional Director nominee. Lisa Campbell joined us from Utah. She is the daughter of Peter Thiel.
They were not our only far flung attendees. Member Karen Bachhuber mentioned that she was joining us from North Carolina.
May minutes were accepted by consensus.
Treasurer's report from Barb:
Balance in account: $2,864.24
No money has gone in or out of the account since the last report on 5/5/2020. Upcoming expenses include $20.15 for our website's domain name and about $200 to GoDaddy for hosting our site for two years. There may be a few other expenses for this year such as for memorials.
Barb proposed that we use money from the account to pay everyone's IATC dues this year. That would be $50 for the first person in a household and $30 for the second. She asked for discussion on having members pay just the $20 that is kept by the club.
Scott suggested lowering that to $10 but keeping some charge just so that members still have skin in the game.
Peter said to be careful that we do not let the treasury get so low that unexpected expenses cannot be covered. Barb said there would still be more than $1,000 left in the treasury after paying the IATC dues.
Members unanimously approved the the amended proposal.
Barb will send an email to all with the address to use when sending the $10 dues payment.
Paul noted that the 2020 IATC conference in North Carolina has been moved to the summer of 2021. He also reminded everyone that club elections will be help in March of 2021 and we should start thinking about who should fill the rolls of President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary.
Mary Poulson later announced that the Noon Hour Philosopher events will begin again in February of 2021.
Bill later announced that all the Torch Club presentation slots for the rest of this year are filled but only March of next year is filled. Please contact him if you would like to give a presentation next year or use the Google Doc link he will provide.
The business meeting adjourned at 6:35 PM.
PRESENTATION
Bob Swain presented, “A Suburban White Kid Meets Black America.”
Bob grew up in a section of Milwaukee that did not include any black people. The first time he encountered one he was riding in the back of a trailer holding up a boy scout display and a black man in a car next to him asked how far he was going. They were traveling though a neighborhood in the heart of the Negro community. Milwaukee like other cities in America practiced redlining, a common discriminatory real estate practice.
Bob had a summer job delivering Coca-Cola all over Milwaukee including to a large bar owned by a large black guy called Lionel. Lionel was very friendly and always invited him to visit the bar at night for a beer. One day Bob and a friend took him up on his offer. When they walked in the door of the crowded bar, all conversation stopped. Then Lionel shouted out a welcom. After that they were accepted and had a good time.
In August of 1958 he attended a ROTC summer camp at Seward Air Force Base in Tennessee. There were only four or five black students in the program and one of them, Henry, was Bob's roommate. They got to know each other and did everything together. One day they visited Lockheed/Martin Aeronautics in Marietta, GA. Bob noticed the water fountains had a sign on them that said “White.” Bob thought it was just a color-coded plant site designation until he saw others marked, “Colored.” At the plant the white cadets insisted that their fellow black cadets use the restroom marked “for whites only” with them. No one stopped them, but they received lots of angry glares.
Bob's roommate thought the North must be the promised land without any segregation, but Bob told him that wasn't true. It just wasn't as blatant. He told him about Eugene's Lobster restaurant where black customers would be seated, but never served. They were treated as if they were invisible.
In September of 1962 Bob began his Judge Advocate career at Plattsburgh Air Force Base in New York. One of his first clients was a black Master Sargent who was married to a white woman. He was angry that his military record showed his mixed-race marriage. Bob had to explain that this was done so he would not be assigned posts in states where he and his wife could be prosecuted for being in a mixed-race marriage.
During Bob's military career his kids went to school with and had friends of every color. Kids were kids regardless of race. We can thank Harry Truman who integrated the military by executive order in 1948.
Bob's grandfather emigrated from Cornwall, England in 1868 and kept a detailed journal. In 1913 he rode a streetcar from Washington D.C. to Mount Vernon. On the trip home he noticed that the section of the car reserved for whites was nearly empty while the smaller section for coloreds was full. A black woman crept up and sat in the white section until the operator yelled, “Get out of there!” to her like she was a dog. His grandfather thought this was a terrible way to treat someone and would only lead to resentment.
Bob asked members to comment on their early encounters with people of other races and a great discussion ensued.
The meeting adjourned at 7:21 PM.