June 23, 2015

Finest Hour 114, Spring 2002

Page 11

Dallas

OCTOBER 2 IST—Members of The Churchill Center and their guests gathered at the home of Richard and Anne Hazlett for a stimulating program by Chris Hanger. The program was especially poignant in the wake of Chris’s untimely death a few months later (FH 113:8). The program opened with a videotaped message of welcome from our Patron, Lady Soames, and a videotape of the launching in Maine of the USS Winston S. Churchill, and her subsequent commissioning in Norfolk, Virginia. The videos were augmented with verbal commentary by Chris, who also read an e-mail just received that afternoon from the ship’s Commander, Captain Franken. Winston S. Churchill was at the time south of Ireland, her goodwill visits to ports in the UK having been canceled following the September 11th attacks (see “We Stand By You,” FH 112:10). The program was followed by a reception with wine and hors d’oeuvres.

NOVEMBER 30TH—The 127th anniversary of Churchill’s birth was celebrated tonight with a formal dinner in the McKinney Room at the Cooper Aerobics Center. A social hour preceded the dinner and various pieces of Churchill memorabilia were on display. The British Consul, the Hon. Paul Martinez and his wife graced the occasion.

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The speaker was Lt. Col. Jim Brown, who shared some of the wit and wisdom of Sir Winston Churchill. This was followed by a toast given by Nathan Hughes, who fascinated us by discussing the precise location of Sir Winston on each decade of his birthday. About thirty members and guests attended.

Both functions were arranged by our faithful North Texas directors, Paula and John Restrepo.

New Chartwell, N.C.

HIGH POINT, NORTH CAROLINA, NOVEMBER I5TH—One of our loyal members is doing his part to spread the word. Steve Arnold’s Arcon, Inc. has recently completed a small residential project known as “New Chartwell.” Steve has named its three streets Blenheim Court, Chartwell Drive and Number Ten Way: “I have yet to find someone who immediately recognizes the significance of all three names. I am quite certain I won’t have to tell you.” (Steve, what’s the meaning of Blenheim Court, hey?)

Toronto

FEBRUARY 28TH—Toronto’s venerable Albany Club again served well for “An Evening with Winston Churchill,” the popular lecture series staged by The Other Club of Ontario. The speaker was John Plumpton, President of the Churchill Center and past-President of ICS Canada, who remarked eloquently on the continuing relevance of Churchill in today’s world, especially in the context of September 11 th. He also made a moving plea for educational institutions to return to the study of traditional history and not let future generations grow up ignorant of our own story. Mr. Plumpton concluded with a brief explanation of the mission of the Churchill Center and Societies, and informed us of various initiatives in planning for the future.

During the second half of the evening Garth Webb, a Juno Beach veteran, and Don Cooper introduced members of the Other Club and their guests to the fascinating Juno Beach Centre project. The Juno Beach Centre will open on the site of the Canadian D-Day landing in Normandy, and will serve as a permanent memorial to this great Canadian contribution to world freedom. The project will cost several million dollars, part of which is to be financed by the sale of “donor and memorial” bricks which will form part of the museum. Following the address, ICS Canada President Randy Barber announced that a titanium donor brick had been purchased by ICS-Canada, which will be on display in perpetuity.

A very pleasant evening ended with light refreshment and a chance to examine several more artifacts from Randy’s bottomless chest of Churchilliana. Thanks go to Norman MacLeod, President of the Other Club of Ontario, and his team for putting the successful event together. Congratulations are also due to Norm’s wife Jean, who is to be invested as a member of the Order of Canada for her services to volunteerism: an award of great distinction presented to a most deserving lady. Our next “Evening with Winston Churchill” will occur in the autumn.
—Rafal Heydel-Mankoo