The mission of the Civil War Round Table of Kansas City is to promote historical, educational, literary, and preservation activities related to the Civil War.
558th Regular Meeting
Wednesday, December 13, 2023
Milburn Golf and Country Club 7501 West 69th Street, Overland Park, KS 66204 Social hour begins at 5:30 p.m. and dinner is at 6:30 p.m.
This meeting will include a plated dinner at a cost of $34.00 per person. Reservations are required in order to attend the dinner meeting. Please note that wearing masks at the dinner meeting is optional.
Reservation Deadline: Thursday, November 7th. To make a reservation, please contact Marlene Natoli (contact info in newsletter).
December 2023 Meeting
Dr. Diane Mutti Burke, Professor of History at the University of MissouriKansas City (UMKC), will be giving a program about refugees in the Civil War.
Dr. Mutti Burke also serves as Director of the Center for Midwestern Studies. She is an historian of the American South and the Civil War, with a particular interest in the history of slavery, women, and the Missouri-Kansas border region.
Dr. Mutti Burke’s award-winning first book titled: On Slavery’s Border: Missouri’s Small Slaveholding Households, 1815-1865, was published in 2010 and is part of the Early America Places series.
Dinner Menu
Milburn Golf and Country Club will serve the following meal at our dinner meeting: Oven roasted prime rib, winter vegetable medley, and mashed potatoes. Dessert will be Brownie and peppermint ic cream. All dinners are served with house salad with Milbum house dressing, sliced bread, iced tea, water, and coffee.
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November 2023 Meeting
Dr. Kristen Epps, Associate Professor of History at Kansas State University, gave a program titled: “Slavery and Emancipation on the Kansas-Missouri Border.” Dr. Epps explored slaveholding in this region that was peripheral to the main plantation economy, the deep roots of the Underground Railroad, and the system’s demise during the Civil War.
Dr. Epps also runs the editorial offices for the journal Kansas History. Her research focuses on the Bleeding Kansas era, especially the experiences of enslaved people and their journeys to freedom. Her first book, Slavery on the Periphery, came out with the University of Georgia Press in 2016.
This should a very interesting program, so bring a friend and enjoy the evening.
Click here for a summary of Dr. Epps's program.
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Annual Business Meeting of the Round Table
The following slate of Officers and Directors for 2024-2025 will be presented to members of the Round Table for election at the November dinner meeting:
Elected Positions
- President: Gary Nevius
- 1st Vice-President: Deb Buckner
- 2nd Vice-President: Blair Hosford
- Secretary: Judy Smith
- Treasurer: Dick Titterington
- Monthly Meeting Coordinator: Marlene Natoli
- Director of Preservation: Arnold Schofield
- Past Three Presidents:
- Father Dave Holloway
- Dan Dooley
- Chip Buckner
- Directors:
- Les Thierolf
- Blair Tarr
- John Kussman
Appointed Positions
- Sergeant at Arms: Lane Smith
- Chaplain: Father Dave Holloway
- Historian: Don Bates
- Newsletter Editor: Dave Pattison
- Website Administrator: Dick Titterington
- Chairman of the Board, Monnett Battle of Westport Fund: Dan Smith
Membership Dues Will Increase in 2024
Pleae note that annual dues will increase on January 1, 2024. Individual Member will be $40 and Family Member will be $60. However, if you renew your membership before January 1, 2024, you will only have to pay $35 for individual and $55 for family.
Dinner Will Remain $34
Change in Dinner Meeting Start Time in 2024
The following change will take effect starting in January 2024: Social hour will be from 5:00-6:00 p.m. and dinner will begin at 6:00 p.m. This will allow Milburn’s staff and our members to get home at an earlier time.
Round Table Now Accepting Digital Payments
The Civil War Round Table of Kansas City now accepts digital payments via the Square digital payment processing service. This process is simple to use and secure. Square charges the Round Table a fee for this service. If you decide to use this service, we add this fee to the total charge. For more information, please refer to our Round Table Digital Payments page.
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Book Auction
With apologies to our speakers, one of the highlights of each dinner meeting is the book auction led by Arnold Schofield.
This month the following items will be auctioned:
- A Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War by Stephen B. Oates; Free Press Publishers, 1994. In excellent condition with dust jacket.
- A Civil War Treasury of Tales, Legends and Folklore by B. A. Botkin; Randum House Publishing Company, 1960. In excellent condition with dust jacket.
- Robert E. Lee: An Album by Emory M. Thomas; Norton Publishing Company, 2000. In mint condition with dust jacket and mylar cover.
- Brothers in Arms by William C. Davis; Salamander Publishing Company; London, England. In excellent condition with dust jacket.
During the December dinner meeting, there will also be a raffle for Civil War books and artifacts. Raffle tickets will be sold at the meeting for the $1.00 each, four tickets for $3.00, or six tickets for $5.00.
Remembering Colonel Jack Brooks on D Day
The following writeup is from Round Table member Don Bates regarding Colonel Jack Brooks, who served as president of our Round Table in 1987 and again in 1990.
On June 6, 1944 Captain Jack Brooks took an Infantry company onto Normandy Beach. He was in the first wave to storm Omaha Beach. The assault had the most casualties on D-Day. "We lost 48 men”, Brooks said, referring to his company of 140 soldiers. "Our regiment of 3,200 troops lost 35 officers and 950 men on the first day." His Division was the Big Red One out of Ft. Riley, Kansas. He was promoted to Colonel and served a tour of duty in Korea and two tours in the Vietnam War, before retiring in 1966.
Colonel Brooks received a multitude of decorations. Most notably, in 2011, he was awarded the Knight of the French Foreign Legion of Honor for his service to the people of France by the French government in a ceremony at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth. This was for heroics on DDay, landing in the first wave on Omaha Beach with the Big Red One on June 6, 1944.
It was my absolute pleasure to pick Jack up and bring him to our Round Table meetings after he stopped driving. We always had meaningful conversations. Jack passed away January 13, 2020, at almost 100 years of age.
Member News
We would like to welcome new member Dr. Ethan S. Rafuse, with the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Dr. Rafuse has been a speaker at several of our Round Table dinner meetings. He was given the Round Table’s highest honor, the Harry S. Truman Award, in 2019.
Judy Stanton, the wife of former member Roger Stanton, has generously donated 237 Civil War books to the Round Table. Roger was a big supporter of our Round Table by being the highest bidder during the live book auctions at our dinner meetings. Roger passed away on March 4, 2022.
New Members
These photographs were taken at recent Round Table dinner meetings . Please introduce yourselves and welcome our new members.
Battlefield Dispatches
"Battlefield Dispatches" made its first appearance in the Border Bugle with the December 2005 issue. The column was later given the label, "The Sergeant Major’s Roar." Over time, the Round Table's Website Administrator will be slowly all the "Battlefield Dispatches" which have appeared in the Border Bugle. The website administrator will enhance Sgt. Maj. Arnold Schofield's column with images where applicable. Just click on the menu item, Sgt. Major's Roar, to see the progress.
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