P. Buckley Moss e-newsletter

Dear Friends:

I was with friends the whole weekend; and, everywhere we went, it was all about our troops! What an inspiring Memorial Day! It was a weekend of celebrating being American, and we talked about how lucky and grateful we are. We wished that everyone all over the world had the same sort of freedom that we have and recognized that it is our wonderful armed forces and those who serve our country in other ways who keep us safe and able to be together with family and friends.

Two of my dear friends just had shoulder surgery. Sally Gobrecht, President of the Lake Marburg Moss Chapter of the P. Buckley Moss Society, had her surgery on May 24, and I understand she is surpassing the expectations of her physical therapist. Way to go, Sally! Sally has also served on both Boards of Directors of the Society and the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education. Society member and friend to all Al Sandstrom had his surgery on May 29. I understand he will be released from the hospital by the end of the week. Since I posted about Al’s surgery on Facebook, so many people have posted well wishes and inquired about him (all women). He is very much a favorite with the ladies.

Al with the girls at the Kinsport, TN, Collectors’ Convention in 2004. The Dinner Dance had a ’50’s theme. Front row, L. to R.: Society Board member Ginger Cloonan and Al Sandstrom. Back row, L. to R.: Society Board members Mary Lou McMillin and Marlyn DeWaard and Moss Portfolio staff members Michelle Berrier, Cathy Williams, and Kirsten Thomas.

As mentioned in the caption above, our Collectors’ Convention Dinner Dances usually have a theme. We’ve had Mardi Gras, Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville, Western, and 1950’s to name a few. This year, our July 21 Dinner Dance in Riverside, Iowa, will have a birthday party theme to celebrate the Society’s 25th anniversary. I’m going to have fun dressing up!

This week I’m coming up to Virginia just for the weekend to attend my grandson Sean Donnelly’s graduation and then flying back down to St. Pete. I’m getting a lot of painting done, and one of the things I’ve just finished is the painting for the special print for my July Museum Open House and Barn Show. Carrying Honor Forward features Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington, Virginia, and includes the new addition to the Barracks as well as its clock tower.

Carrying Honor Forward will be released during my July 13-15 Museum Open House and Barn Show in Waynesboro, VA. For more information, please contact the Museum at 1-800-343-8643 or 540-949-6473.

This special giclée is a good companion piece for my April Open House and Barn Show special release, which was titled Homage to the Past, featuring Bushong Farm. The May 15, 1864, Battle of New Market raged all around Bushong Farm, and VMI’s 251-strong Cadet Corps marched from their campus to New Market to participate in the battle. The Cadets were aged eighteen and under, some of them sixteen and even younger (tradition has it that some were only fourteen); yet, they fought with extraordinary courage and contributed significantly to the day’s victory. When the battle was over, the Cadet Corps had eight dead and forty-four wounded.

I’m sending up a group of new small originals to the Museum’s curator Bonnie Stump, and they will be available during the Open House and Barn Show. I’ll return to Virginia shortly before the show, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing all my friends. My daughter Becky and her family are coming over from Italy in time for the show, and it will be such a joy to have them with me. It will be great to see my granddaughters Sofia and Michela and catch up on their news and see how they’ve grown.

I’m off to celebrate with Sean!

Love,
Pat

Fundraising Opportunity for the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education

Pufferbellies Toys and Books for Children, located at 15 W. Johnson Street in Staunton, Virginia, (540-886-3516) is offering their charitable giving program called “Shop Sundays for a Cause” in June to the Foundation. If you shop at Pufferbellies Toys and Books during any Sunday in June, they will donate 10% of the Sunday’s sale to the Foundation. Since September, 2007, Pufferbellies has donated more than $15,000 to local organizations serving children and families through this wonderful giving program. What a great way to stock up on those summer toys and books—even get some early Christmas shopping done!

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