Inside the RHS Monthly Meeting (Part One of Two)

St. Mary’s Chapel cast a warm glow onto the otherwise dark and frigid February evening as members and guests of the Rocklin Historical Society convened for the first monthly meeting of 2011. Friends met inside with warm greetings and good humor as all readied themselves for a special President’s Day program about Abraham Lincoln.

Newly installed President Gebel murmured that he’d been up since 3 o’clock (though whether he meant in the am or pm is uncertain) and was waiting for the arrival of Gene Johnson, the Historical Society Secretary, before taking his place at the podium. As guests took their seats in the chapel pews, Johnson arrived on cue with handouts detailing the program ahead. Speaking to a captive audience, President Gebel decided to forgo the banging of the gavel and “launch the adventures for 2011” at what he announced to be the first meeting since December of 2010. He welcomed regular members as well as new guests and started things off with a few announcements:


• Over fifty members and friends attended the Installation and Recognition Dinner at the Springfield community center. The Whitney room and the food provided by Granite Rock Grill were both excellent and the multimedia program based on the life of J.P. Whitney was enjoyed by all. Springfield residents complimented us on the effort.
• We’re happy to announce the appointment of Miss Dani Loebs as Publicity Committee Chairman. Dani will focus on external publicity including social media, while Christy Barros will continue on internal publicity through e-mails and Carol Peterson will remain in charge of physical mailings.

• The Heritage planning committee meets Tuesdays for lunch at Oracle; board meetings are held in the Chapel Annex at 6pm on the second Monday of every month. All interested parties are invited to attend the meetings.

President Gebel then introduced Jean Sippola to discuss the evening’s distinguished speaker, Arnold Kunst. Jean informed us that Kunst has been a lifelong student of President Lincoln and gave his first speech about the president when he was in high school. The members gave Kunst a warm welcome as he took the stage and what followed was an enthralling speech that had everyone in the room hanging on every word. Kunst began with a point of recognition for the Rocklin Historical Society and all historical societies in general. He stated that as Americans, we generally do not think much of history, yet it is so integral to the human experience. After seamlessly linking history to democracy, Kunst regaled us with an anecdote about seeing political bumper stickers while driving on I-80: 

“I won’t say which party the bumper sticker promoted, but I will say it was the wrong one. And as I drove alongside the car fuming about the problems caused by that party and working myself up into a rage, I glanced through my passenger’s side window at the driver of the vehicle. I was shocked. The motorist, beyond all of my belief, looked completely normal. It was then that I realized that the driver wasn’t the one with the problem after all. It was me.”

Kunst noted that the prejudice we build against each other with regard to politics is “corrosive of Democracy itself.” To illustrate his point, he compared the modest credentials of Abraham Lincoln (circa 1860) with the impressive resume of Jefferson Davis and then asked us who we would have voted for if the two had run against one another in an election. This drew a somewhat sheepish response for Davis.  

While continuing with an entertaining and educational history of Lincoln, Kunst wielded his talents for public speaking to highlight how Lincoln’s triumphs stemmed from his humanity, his humility and a heart large enough to quell the hatred of a divided populace into a reconciliation “with malice toward none [and] charity for all.” Those final lines of Lincoln's second inaugural address, Kunst concluded, showed us a way out of hatred and prejudice. Though intended to apply to the very large divide caused by the civil war, they hold just as true for the tiny rifts caused by bumper stickers on I-80.  

After clamorous applause from the audience, Kunst took his seat and President Gebel announced a short break for members to stretch and mingle. A crowd gathered around Kunst to congratulate him on a job well done and to buy copies of his book. The speaker was generous to sign and dedicate copies to all who requested them.  

A peek into the Chapel Annex showed specially baked cookies provided by Jean Sippola and Jean Day. Some were labeled with a President’s Day theme including the “Lincoln Fruit Cookies” and “Reagan Vienna Bars.” Conversations echoed throughout the chapel in English and Finnish with an air of laughter and delight before President Gebel called the meeting back to order.  

In official business, Gene Johnson read a summary of the February 14th 2011 Board Meeting Minutes and Kathie Nippert gave the Treasurer’s report (both of these are available upon request). President Gebel then opened the floor to general discussion which I will write about in part two! 

Sincerely,
Danielle Loebs
External Publicity Coordinator
Rocklin Historical Society

Above image of President Gebel courtesy of Ronna Davis.