When a “First Responder” Could use our Help & the Marines still have our back

 

When a “First Responder” Could use our Help!

Larry & Lana Sanders have been a part of the Disney community for nearly 20 years. If you drive through Disney often, as I do, you are well aware that Larry is responsible for law enforcement for this small lakeside town and so much more. You might find him in his patrol car or driving a tractor to smooth out road shoulders to accommodate the visiting four wheelers or hanging up Christmas decorations or doing anything else that needs attention.

 The Sanders family have been confronted with some serious health issues over the past several weeks resulting in Lana having endured double digit surgeries to combat a form of flesh-eating bacteria. The town of Disney is coming to their aid with a benefit set of this Thursday at the Community Center. Things get underway at 11:00 am with Indian Tacos and BBQ being served. People within the community have been donating items for a silent auction, but with the couple having no insurance, cash would certainly be appreciated. Contribution can be mailed the Town of Disney to the attention of Lisa Cookson.

If  there are other questions, Lisa Cookson can be reached at 918-344-3224.

Here’s to Veterans, Marines, Waterfront Bars, Cold Beer

& Investing in the Greatest Nation on Earth

A salute to our veterans is dead ahead and I’d like to thank each and every one of them for their service. In spite of the political rhetoric, we still have the greatest nation on earth, which was bought and paid for with commitment and sacrifice. The tributes and salutes that will be found in virtually every form of media this week will, indeed, be heart-warming and it’s reassuring to know the general public recognizes that the commitment and sacrifice which came before us.

 This year the celebration of the Marine Corps birthday is set for Friday, November 10^th and is immediately followed on Saturday by Veteran’s day. As an old Marine, yes, once a Marine always a Marine, I always receive a lot of shout-outs from others, who either wore the uniform with pride, or had an appreciation for those who did.

 Just makes sense that I would be attracted to a branch of the service organized and founded in a bar in Philly. When I hear the phrase, if only these walls could talk, I always think of the history shared by the Marine Corps and Tun Tavern.

Ask any Marine.  Just ask.  He will tell you that the Marine Corps was born in Tun Tavern on 10 November 1775.  But, beyond that the Marine's recollection for detail will probably get fuzzy.  So, here is the straight scoop:

In the year 1685, Samuel Carpenter built a huge "brew house" in Philadelphia.  He located this tavern on the waterfront at the corner of Water Street and Tun Alley.  The old English word tun means a cask, barrel, or keg of beer.  So, with his new beer tavern on Tun Alley, Carpenter elected to christen the new waterfront brewery with a logical name, Tun Tavern.

Tun Tavern quickly gained a reputation for serving fine beer.  Beginning 47 years later in 1732, the first meetings of the St. John's No. 1 Lodge of the Grand Lodge of the Masonic Temple were held in the tavern.  An American of note, Benjamin Franklin, was its third Grand Master.  Even today the Masonic Temple of Philadelphia recognizes Tun Tavern as the birthplace of Masonic teachings in America.

Roughly ten years later in the early 1740s, the new proprietor expanded Tun Tavern and gave the addition a new name, "Peggy Mullan's Red Hot Beef Steak Club at Tun Tavern."  The new restaurant became a smashing commercial success and was patronized by notable Americans.  In 1747 the St. Andrews Society, a charitable group dedicated to assisting poor immigrants from Scotland, was founded in the tavern.

Nine years later, then Col. Benjamin Franklin organized the Pennsylvania Militia.  He used Tun Tavern as a gathering place to recruit a regiment of soldiers to go into battle against the Indian uprisings that were plaguing the American colonies.  George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and the Continental Congress later met in Tun Tavern as the American colonies prepared for independence from the English Crown.

On November 10, 1775, the Continental Congress commissioned Samuel Nicholas to raise two Battalions of Marines.  That very day, Nicholas set up shop in Tun Tavern.  He appointed Robert Mullan, then the proprietor of the tavern, to the job of chief Marine Recruiter -- serving, of course, from his place of business at Tun Tavern.  Prospective recruits flocked to the tavern, lured by (1) cold beer and (2) the opportunity to serve in the new Corps of Marines.  So, yes, the U.S. Marine Corps was indeed born in Tun Tavern.  Needless to say, both the Marine Corps and the tavern thrived during this new relationship.

Tun Tavern still lives today.  And, Tun Tavern beer is still readily available throughout the Philadelphia area.  Further, through magazines it is advertised to Marines throughout the world.

So, as it turns out, it was always in the cards that I would wind up a jarhead….always a sucker for bars, waterfront living, spending time on beaches, cold beer, tradition and hangin’ out with some of the greatest people in the world. A salute to vets everywhere, even doggies and swabbies and all the rest, but a very special Semper Fi to the very best as Monday was the 248^th birthday of the United States Marine Corps.

See Ya’ Around the Pond!!