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NOVEMBER 10, 2010
SALUTING THE VA SESAME STREET DEBUTS
TIFFANY LAMPS AN AMERICAN ART FORM
AMERICAN PATRIOT SALUTING THE VA
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6 AMERICA’S LARGEST HOME
VETERANS GROUP A BEACON OF LIGHT
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THE CENTER OF THE US
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TIFFANY LAMPS AN AMERICAN ART FORM
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
THIS WEEK IN AMERICAN HISTORY
SALUTING THE VA
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With Veteran’s Day 2010 upon us, it is an appropriate moment to note the important role of the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs in our society. To give a sense of the VA’s reach, today more than 3 million veterans are receiving disability compensation, over 8 million are enrolled in the VA Health Care System, nearly 9 million have insurance policies supervised and administered by the agency, and nearly a million and a half have home loans through the VA. There are more than 1,000 VA hospitals, outpatient clinics, centers and senior citizen homes, as well as more than a hundred national cemeteries to honor the deceased. With all its faults, the U.S. can lay claim to having the most comprehensive system of assistance for veterans of any nation in the world. According to the Department’s official history, the benefits system traces its roots back to 1636, when the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony were at war with the Pequot Indians; the Pilgrims passed a law supporting disabled soldiers. The Continental Congress of 1776 encouraged enlistments during the Revolutionary War by providing pensions for disabled soldiers. In 1811, the first medical and hospital care facility for veterans was authorized by the Federal Government. In the 19th century, the national veterans assistance program was expanded to include benefits and pensions to widows and dependents as well. After the Civil War, the States tended to take the primary role in providing medical care and homes for disabled vets. But Congress established a new system of veteran’s benefits when the U.S. entered World War I in 1917. Included were programs for disability compensation, insurance for servicepersons and veterans, and vocational rehabilitation. The establishment of the Veterans Administration came soon thereafter. In 1930 Congress authorized the President to consolidate all the activities of various agencies into one super-agency.
World War II resulted not only in a vast increase in the veteran population, but also in a large number of new benefits enacted by the Congress for veterans of the war. The World War II GI Bill, signed into law on 1944, had a broad impact. Further educational assistance acts were passed for the benefit of veterans of the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam Era, Persian Gulf War, and the All-Volunteer Force. In 1973, the Veterans Administration assumed another major responsibility when the National Cemetery System (except for Arlington National Cemetery) was transferred to the VA. The Department of Veterans Affairs was established as a Cabinet-level position on March 15, 1989. President Bush hailed the creation of the new Department saying, “There is only one place for the veterans of America, in the Cabinet Room, at the table with the President of the United States of America.” Since that time, its role and responsibility has only continued to grow. CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO ABOUT VETERANS DAY 2010 OFFICIAL REGIONAL OBSERVANCES OF VETERAN’S DAY
AMERICA’S LARGEST HOME
Asheville, North Carolina, a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains, became known as an international resort area from the 1890s to the 1920s. History buffs are still visiting its historic sites and architectural wonders. Perhaps the most notable among them is the Biltmore, called “America’s largest home,” and now both a hotel, a working estate, and a historic landmark. 6 AMERICAN PATRIOT
GEORGE VANDERBILT conceived the project and he was a big thinker. Building Biltmore was, at the time, one of the largest undertakings in the history of American residential architecture. Over a six-year period, an entire community of craftsmen worked to build the estate, which boasted its own brick factory, woodworking shop, and a three-mile railway spur for transporting materials to the site.
The design was the work of renowned architect Richard Morris Hunt, who modeled the house on three chateaux built in 16th-century France. It would feature 4 acres of floor space, 250 rooms, 34 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces. The basement alone would house a swimming pool, gymnasium and changing rooms, bowling alley, servants’ quarters, kitchens, and more. The grounds had to be as monumental as the building. For this task, the 125,000-acre estate was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the creator of New York’s Central Park and the father of American landscape architecture. He not only developed acres of gardens and parkland, but in his efforts to protect the environment and reclaim over-farmed land, Olmsted established America’s first managed forest. Vanderbilt officially opened the home to friends and family on Christmas Eve in 1895. He had created a country retreat where he could pursue his passion for art, literature, and horticulture. After marrying the American, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser, during the summer of 1898, George and his new bride came to live at the estate. Their only child, Cornelia (1900–1976), was born and grew up at Biltmore. Today, the 8,000 acre estate lives on. It includes a four-star inn, winery and working farm, and receives more than one million guests and visitors a year. A family-owned company keeps the Biltmore as a privately owned, profitable, working estate. Biltmore does not receive any governmental funding or grants, making it one of the country’s most significant National Historic Landmarks that is preserved solely through private funding.
LEARN MORE ABOUT ASHEVILLE NC AND THE BILTMORE AMERICAN PATRIOT 7
The most dangerous animals in the forest don’t live there.
ONLY YOU CAN PR E VE N T W I L D FIRE S. w w w. s m o k e y b e a r. c o m
VETERANS GROUP A B E AC O N O F L I G H T As appreciation for the U.S. military ebbs and flows, one group has been serving blinded vets for 66 years now. Begun by a group of recently blinded U.S. soldiers meeting in an army convalescent facility at the end of World War II, they have been guided by statement of purpose: “We cannot expect much help or cooperation in our fight unless we prove ourselves worthy of it. If we do not wish to be considered helpless, we must begin to produce.�
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But perhaps the biggest contribution is to provide role models who have proved that the challenges of blindness can be overcome, by pairing veterans of past wars with newly blinded veterans to help them adjust to new challenges. The program is called Operation Peer Support. Similarly, representatives are also available to give advice and help with claims, and regional groups offer chances for recreation and socializing. BVA’s services are available to any vet who is legally blind, regardless of whether the cause of blindness is service connected. The Veterans Affairs estimates that nearly Today, the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) has
7,000 veterans lose their
more than 11,000 members and works actively to
site each year due to age-
locate veterans who need services and to help them
related macular degeneration,
make contributions to society. The group also guides
glaucoma and more.
veterans through the rehabilitation process, advocates for them and their families before Congress and the
The group is largely funded
Department of Veterans Affairs, participates in veterans
by donations. Americans.
events and parades, and helps provide access to tools
BVA will commemorate its
and technologies might help with vision loss.
65th anniversary at its 2010
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE BLINDED VETERANS ASSOCIATION
national convention.
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THE CENTER OF THE
U S O LY M P I C M OV E M E N T
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The U.S. Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs is the headquarters for the U.S. Olympic Committee administration and the Olympic Training Center programs. More than a dozen USOC member organizations have their national headquarters on the complex, and a dozen more member organizations and international sports federations located nearby. Once an Air Force Base and the headquarters of the North American Defense Command, the campus officially became USOC administrative headquarters in 1978. In the late 1990s, the USOC officially dedicated and opened facilities that included a state-of-the-art sports medicine and sport science center, an athlete center, which includes a dining hall and two residence halls. The USOC is now able to provide housing, dining, recreational facilities and other services for more than coaches and athletes at one time on the complex. The Olympic Visitor Center is a popular tourist site, providing information about the USOC, U.S. Olympic Training Centers across the country, and the Olympic Movement in general. The $8 million building includes a Hall of Fame and indoor reception area, a store and auditorium. There are free public tours that include a film and a walking tour of the complex. Sites to see include the Sport Center Gymnasiums where athletes train for gymnastics, volleyball and basketball, as well as boxing; the recently refurbished weightlifting facility where you’re likely to see some serious chiseled athletes; the USA Shooting Center is particularly interesting where athletes are training
to control their bodies to allow them to shoot between heartbeats; and the Aquatics Center whose pool has a capacity of 1 million gallons of water and lots of cameras to help the coaching process. Life-size figures with narrative panels adorn the Irwin Belk Olympic Pathway and provide information about Olympic and Pan American Sports. After the tour, you can visit the Olympic Hall of Fame Rotunda, enjoy the memorabilia, and patronize the Olympic Spirit Store — one of only seven stores in the country selling official gear — all of which are located in the main Visitor Center. And don’t forget the rest of Colorado Springs, a community rich in highlights. Named recently by Outside Magazine as the Healthiest City in the U.S., it is home to the 14,000 foot Pikes Peak, 260 miles of multisport trails, quick access to nearly four million acres of Rocky Mountain wilderness and a dozen world-class ski resorts, as well as headquarters for the Air Force Academy, Focus on the Family, and historic Colorado College. FREE OLYMPIC COMPLEX PUBLIC TOUR HOURS AND INFORMATION
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T I F FA N Y L A M P S AN AMERICAN ART FORM 12 AMERICAN PATRIOT
People these days collect many things, ranging from baseball cards to vintage cars, but if beauty is on your agenda consider Tiffany stained glass lamps. Known for their colorful lead glass shades and bronze bases, Tiffany Lamps originated in the New York studios of Louis Comfort Tiffany. Tiffany’s belief was that bring the decorative arts could someday hold the same status as fine arts. While making stained glass windows as part of his interior design work, Tiffany came up with the idea to arrange bits and pieces of discarded glass to form decorative lamps. By chance, Tiffany collaborated with Thomas Edison on designing one of the first movie theaters and it was Edison who suggested that they make electric fixtures together. Very soon Tiffany began to create lamps, making them as small versions of his exquisite windows, and introducing a new art form.
The elder son of Charles Lewis Tiffany, the legendary founder of the silver and jewelry firm, Tiffany and Co., Louis chose to pursue his love of art instead of continuing the family tradition. Initially, he had success with oil and watercolor works during 1860s and 1870s. However, in the 1880s he turned his attention to interior design and that was where his unique talents truly shined.
EXPLORE THE CHARLES HOSMER MORSE MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
Home of one of the largest collections of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s work
The first of the Tiffany lamps were very geometric, using basic shapes like squares, triangles and circles in their mosaic designs. These first few lamps were referred to as Favrile, meaning handcrafted. By the end of the nineteenth century many of Tiffany's lamps had become more intricate in design. His bronze casting department created bases with leaves, feathers and wildlife. The colorful leaded glass shades particularly reflected Tiffany's love for flowers, fauna, vines, trees and shrubs, and wetlands. As Tiffany Lamps became increasingly popular during the early 1900s, Tiffany hired on workers who became known as the “Tiffany Girls,” unmarried women who worked on design and glass cutting for the lamps. One of them, Clara Driscoll, worked her way up to director and designer of many of Tiffany’s most popular designs. Dragonfly, Wisteria, Peony, and Daffodil were among her most remembered designs. By the late 1920s, Tiffany Lamps fell out of favor as too ornate for the new modern era. Tiffany Studios eventually closed its doors in 1930 and Louis Comfort Tiffany passed away soon after. Although the popularity of Tiffany lamps waned for around 20 years their beauty was rediscovered by collectors in the 1950s. They are now important — and often extremely valuable— collectors’ items. AMERICAN PATRIOT 13
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“In every battle there comes a time when both sides consider themselves beaten, then he who continues the attack wins.”
— ULYSSES S. GRANT GENERAL US ARMY AND 18TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
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THIS WEEK IN
AMERICAN HISTORY
1969.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ALAN LIGHT
Sesame Street, a pioneering TV show that would teach generations of young children the alphabet and how to count, made its debut. The show was inspired by Joan Ganz Cooney, whose goal was to create programming for pre-schoolers that was both entertaining and educational. It has now been seen in 120 countries and 8 million Americans see it each year. The show’s real star was Jim Henson, shown above, whose family of puppets is much beloved; Henson died tragically in 1990.
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