Well, here I am, a day or two late, and certainly several dollars short. I
enter on the exit heels of Dan Morrow who, like I did because of another
topic some months ago, left the list for a while. Dan is a most valuable
contributor, and I hope he sneaks a peek every now and then and decides to
come back soon.
Thankful for (finally) an ongoing discussion on something other than the
Sally Hemmings saga, I have actually read about half the EMails on Ft.
Monroe. My own ties with Ft. Monroe go back as far as 1933 when (I am told)
that as a one-year old, my mother and I lived through the Hurricane of '33
at The Chamberlain, when my father was on his two-week summer camp with
Battery D of the 246th Coast Artillery, Virginia National Guard at Ft.
Monroe. And I recall as a youngster going there in the late 1930's and
among other things (1) playing on the cannon across from the Post Chapel
which now has a sign that says "Keep Off", (2) riding the merry go round out
at Phoebus or some place like that -- I think it has been moved to downtown
Hampton, and (3) as a 5-year old lad, being ejected from the public Buckroe
Beach because I did not have a top to my bathing suit. During WWII, we
lived there for a few weeks in between Ft. Story and getting quarters at the
Norfolk Naval Base. Our son and daughter-in-law were married at the
Catholic Church on Ft. Monroe, and had their wedding reception at The
Chamberlain.
Based on the EMails, It is obvious to me that Ft. Monroe means many things
to many people. Somebody started his Email with a terrific list of
things... early settlement, Coast Artillery, Jefferson Davis, Abrham
Lincoln, and I was ready to sign on. Until, he verred off to give his
opinion that Emancipation was the #1, be-all-and-end-all reason for
preserving it. Hey, did any of you readers ever take the Myers-Briggs
psychological profile test? I did and was determined to be a solid INTJ.
Somwhere along the way, I found a list of one-line "prayers" for all the M-B
types. The one for the INTJ is "Lord, give me grace to accept the opinions
of others, WRONG though they may be." My wife says that fits me to a "T".
And in this case it is true.
We all have our opinions, but what is Top to one is noise-level for another.
My opinion is that because of its multifaceted heritage, Ft. Monroe is a
historic jewel, and deserves preservation and recognition. But it is this
very diversity that so entitles it. No single reason.
Randy Cabell
----- Original Message -----
From: "Excalibur131" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2008 1:49 PM
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Fort Monroe History
Steve,
I know we didn't collaborate on this subject. I would really like to know
what people think. I'm hoping for a large number of responses -- not
necessarily that varied, but a large number. Hopefully, it will be of
interest to all of us to see how different people perceive Fort Monroe.
Tom
South Central Virginia & More
http://socenva.com
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