The Official Newsletter of the

Michigan Commandery

Military Order of the Loyal Legion

of the United States Volume 6, Issue 4

December 2015

Election of 2016 Officers

Commander: Paul Davis Senior Vice Commander: David Smith Junior Vice Commander: Adam Gaines Recorder/Treasurer: Bruce Butgereit Registrar: Keith Harrison Chancellor: Charles DuCharme Chaplain: Jon Reed ROTC Officer: W. Fred Roberts Historian: Bruce Butgereit Council: Don Shaw Council: Colin Butgereit Council: Dr. Thomas Singelyn

At the October Open House and MOLLUS Business Meeting at the Grand Army of the Republic Building in downtown Detroit, the Michigan Commandery elected a new slate of officers, with Companion Paul Davis as Commander. Michigan Commandery officers for 2016 are as follows:

Voting Results of Proposed Amendments to Bylaws At the 2015 MOLLUS Congress in Philadelphia, PA, two proposed amendments to the National Bylaws were brought before the floor for vote. The proposals and results are listed below:

To the Commandery in Chief of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, The Commandery of the State of Ohio, MOLLUS wishes to offer the following proposed amendment to Article V, Section 5, Subsection b of the Constitution and Bylaws of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.

which currently reads:

b. Associate Companions shall pay the same dues and assessments as Hereditary Companions. Commanderies may provide for Life Membership for Associate Companions on the same basis as that provided for Hereditary Companions. Associate Companions may vote and serve on committees, but no Associate Companions shall be eligible for election to office in a Commandery or the Commandery-In-Chief.

be amended to read:

b. Associate Companions shall pay the same dues and assessments as Hereditary Companions. Commanderies may provide for Life Membership for Associate Companions on the same basis as that provided for Hereditary Companions. Associate Companions may vote, serve on committees, and be elected to Commandery offices, but no Associate Companion shall be eligible for election to the office in the Commandery-In-Chief. .

Cont’d pg. 4

A Message from the Commander

Introduction and 2015 MOLLUS Business Meeting Greetings to all Companions of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, Michigan Commandery. Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Paul Davis and I have been elected to succeed Bruce Butgereit as your next Commander. I am the Past Department Commander, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War having served two terms in that office which just concluded in April of 2015. I am also very active in the Sons of Veterans Reserve and many other Civil War related activities. I look forward to being of service to the Commandery as a whole and to each individual Companion as well.

I would like to thank Bruce Butgereit and Keith Harrison for their many, many years of service to the Michigan Commandery. It will be a challenge to fill their shoes, but I look forward to a new era for the Commandery. We have added some new members in the past year and are actively pursuing additional new members. We currently have two new hereditary applications pending. In addition there is also an effort taking place to establish a DOLLUS Society here in Michigan. cont’d on pg. 3

GAR Building Open House & MOLLUS Annual Meeting

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The Missive – December 2015

If you have thoughts and ideas about events, projects or services for our Commandery please share them so we can continue all of the good work that has been done by our two most recent past Commanders. We hope you will take up the obligation of leadership and participation just as those officers who wore the blue and the Companions who have gone before us did. Our 2015 Annual Business Meeting and Election of Officers was held on October 10th at the GAR Hall in Detroit, Michigan. Companions in attendance included: Bruce Butgereit, Keith Harrison, Bruce Butgereit II, Chaplain Jon Reed, W. Fred Roberts, and Thomas Singelyn. DOLLUS was represented by Marcia Butgereit and Jan Davis. Thank you to all who attended and supported this effort. A tour of the building and viewing the renovation progress was an impressive experience. It was the hope of Past Commander Butgereit that we might be able to actually meet in the same room in which the MOLLUS Companions had meet previously. While we were able to see the room, it was unfortunately not completed to the stage where we were able to meet.

Our tour was conducted by Sean Emery one of the Minefield partners. Following the tour, Bruce and Keith, representing the Commandery, made several presentations to parties who have done so much to champion the restoration of the Detroit GAR Hall. Celestine Hollings was presented a certificate of appreciation in recognition of her efforts to save the Grand Army of the Republic Building. Attorney John Tragge was recognized for all of the pro bono legal services he provided to save the building. Sean Emery, representing Mindfield, was presented with items on loan to be displayed as MOLLUS artifacts at the GAR Hall. These included the 1897 Loving Cup.

Entertainment was supplied by the Peace Jubilee Brass Band and a selection of food items was served by the Republic restaurant located on the first floor of the GAR Hall. Homage was paid to some of the original Companions and a toast was made with Vernor’s Ginger Ale to commemorate the occasion. Loyally Yours, Paul Davis Commander Michigan Commandery Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States

Request for Material – Any Companions with interesting historical submissions, ancestor biographies or stories, events, pictures, etc. Please submit

to The Missive Editor at: wyattusmagnus@gmail.com

Commander continued from pg. 2

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The Missive – December 2015

4 Proposals continued from pg. 1 The proposal passed. The second proposal was written as follows: Current Language of Article V, Sections 3 & 4 of the Constitution of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and proposed amended language to those Sections as submitted to the Commanderies for consideration August 14, 2015 CURRENT: Section 3. HEREDITARY COMPANIONS. The direct male descendants of the age of 18 years or more of deceased eligible officers or of a brother or sister of any such eligible officer. An applicant for membership shall furnish such evidence as may be required setting forth the facts upon which eligibility is claimed. Section 4. JUNIOR COMPANIONS. The several Commanderies shall provide for Junior Companions, and prescribe their rights and disabilities. Any Companion of this Order (if his Commandery has made provision for Junior Companions) may file an application for Junior Companion in behalf of a direct male descendant under the age of 18 years of a deceased eligible officer or of a brother or sister of any such eligible officer. Such application is subject to the same requirements of evidence as that of a Hereditary Companion. No Junior Companion shall have the right to vote or hold office, nor shall he be subject to the per capita assessment levied upon each Commandery.

PROPOSED: Section 3. HEREDITARY COMPANIONS. The direct male descendants of the age of 18 years or more of (1) an eligible officer, or (2) the brother or sister (by blood) of an eligible officer; furthermore, (3) at its sole discretion, an individual Commandery may grant hereditary membership to the direct descendants of the immediate aunt or uncle (by blood) of eligible officers, that is, the first cousins of eligible officers. An applicant for membership shall furnish such evidence as may be required setting forth the facts upon which eligibility is claimed. Section 4. JUNIOR COMPANIONS. The several Commanderies shall provide for Junior Companions, and prescribe their rights and responsibilities. Any

Companion of this Order (if his Commandery has made provision for Junior Companions) may file an application for Junior Companion in behalf of a direct male descendant under the age of 18 years of (1) a deceased eligible officer; or (2) a brother or sister of any such eligible officer; furthermore, (3) at its sole discretion, an individual Commandery may grant junior hereditary membership to the direct descendants of the immediate aunt or uncle (by blood) of eligible officers, that is, the first cousins of eligible officers. Such application is subject to the same requirements of evidence as that of a Hereditary Companion. No Junior Companion shall have the right to vote or hold office, nor shall he be subject to the per capita assessment levied upon each Commandery. *****Comment: Subsection (3) of Section 3 and Section 4 permits hereditary membership for an adult or junior applicant if the applicant can affirmatively prove that an eligible officer was the blood nephew of a direct ancestor, that is, a first cousin of the applicant. However, given the concerns raised by a number of companions last year as to the impact this amendment could have upon hereditary membership, additional language was added which allows each Commandery sole and exclusive discretion in permitting first cousins of eligible officers as hereditary members. This is the approach taken by the Society of the Cincinnati in addressing the issue of permitting first cousins of eligible officers to join their order; at the time of the writing of this comment, approximately half of the state societies of the Cincinnati extend hereditary membership to cousins of Continental officers. The proposal failed.

The Missive – December 2015

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GAR Building Open House & MOLLUS Annual Meeting

PCinC Keith Harrison presents Sean Emery of Mindfield with the 1897 Loving Cup during the GAR Building Open House and Tour.

From L-to-R: Newly elected Commander Paul Davis, Past Commander Bruce Butgereit, and PCinC Keith Harrison.

The Missive – December 2015

Officers of the Michigan Commandery

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States

Commander Paul Davis pdmarcomm@aol.com

Senior Vice Commander David Smith wyattusmagnus@gmail.com

Junior Vice Commander Adam Gaines gaines_adam@hotmail.com

Recorder/Treasurer Bruce Butgereit, Past Commander civil-war@comcast.net

Chancellor Charles Ducharme cducharme@ameritech.net

Chaplain Jon Reed jreed105444MI@comcast.net

Commandery Council Colin Butgereit colinbutgereit@gmail.com

Commandery Council Don Shaw p31713@aol.com

Commander Council Thomas Singelyn

Registrar Keith Harrison, Past Commander-in-Chief pcinc@prodigy.net

Historian Bruce Butgereit civil-war@comcast.net

ROTC Officer Fred Roberts mum_b4@hotmail.com

The Missive Editor David Smith wyattusmagnus@gmail.com

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A reminder if you have not paid your 2016 dues, please send in a check for $25.00, payable to: Mil. Order of the Loyal Legion, MI Commandery Send to: Bruce B. Butgereit 1691 Summerfield S.E. Grand Rapids, MI 49508 -6499

Reminder – Annual Dues

Roster Update

The Missive – December 2015

If your contact information has changed, please send in your updates to: pdmarcomm@aol.com and civil-war@comcast.net

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