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Chapter #142

January 2013

Dogwood Sam’s Tales and Trails

President

Lawrence Merino

850-623-5428

Vice President

Armando Lozano

850-438-2437

Secretary/Newsletter

Barbara Nuckols

850-994-6346

Treasurer

Peggy Lee

850-476-4574

Wagon master

Larry Blake

850-623-2668

Webmaster

Larry Blake

850-623-2668

Meet Your New Vice President

Armando Lozano (Mondo)

I lived the first twenty six years of my life in Corpus Christi, Texas. After

graduating from high school, In 1969, I enlisted in the US Naval Reserve. At

that time they had a creative program. Serve the first year at your home base,

second and third years active duty, and forth and fifth years drilling on week-

ends with two weeks a year active duty. The cool part was that I was sent to

California to learn to be a radioman and learned Morse Code. The second cool

part, at the age of nineteen, I went overseas to Keflavik, Iceland. From a tem-

perature of seventy degrees to zero degrees in one day, you quickly ask “whose

idea was this.” I continued to reenlist, and served almost ten years in the Re-

serve program.

I moved to the Pensacola area for the better job opportunities that existed

at NAS Pensacola. I met and married Karen in 1982. I retired in September of

2006, after serving the Federal Government thirty six years, three months, and

eight hours, but who’s counting. With retirement here, it was time to do some-

thing else, like spoiling our grandsons. We have six grandsons, no granddaughters.

Karen and I with son Josh were active in the Scouting program. Our son Josh

participated for many years and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. Our daughter

also participated in the Explorer/Scouting program.

Karen and I joined the Dogwood Good Sam’s chapter in April 2007. we found

out about the chapter through friends Ed and Mary Elliott. We attended our

first Samboree in Dothan, Al. I have held the office of wagonmaster for two

years. It was very enjoyable and I recommend for anyone to try it once. I have

enjoyed the fellowship of the camping chapter, where we have made many new

friends. The Samborees, and a good campfire. I now look forward to being the

Vice President of the Dogwood chapter, and hope I will do a good job.

Mondo and grandsons on a hiking trip at Bear Lake

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January Chapter News

Dogwood Sam’s invaded the Mystic

Springs RV Park for their January camp-out.

Fourteen rigs made the trek to Mc David,

Florida near the Alabama state line. We wel-

comed back for their annual visit Dan and

Zerelda Hammer, it was great visiting with

them and catching up on all their full timing

adventures. Dogwood Sam’s also welcomed

two potential new members, Dianne Fields

and her dog Lilly, also Rex and Diana Hughes.

I really think they enjoyed the Good Sam’s

camping experience, and look forward to

them joining us again.

Tommy Crutchfield started the meeting

by welcoming all members, and calling for the

installation of new officers to begin. The in-

vocation was given by Sidney Lewis, followed

by the pledge to the flag. Lawrence Merino

started the installation of officers by read-

ing the Good Sam’s Pledge. This was followed

by the installation promise read by Bill

Schoenherr and repeated by the incoming

officers. New officers include, President

Lawrence Merino, Vice President, Mondo

Lozano, Secretary, Barbara Nuckols, and

Treasurer, Peggy Lee. The chapter also wel-

comed new wagonmaster Larry Blake.

The meeting of the Dogwood Sam’s chap-

ter was called to order at 10:30 am by new

president Lawrence Merino. The minutes

were read by Barbara Nuckols and approved

as read. Thank you letters from Kids House

and Eglin Pets were on display for all mem-

bers to read. Members were reminded again

to keep saving their can tabs for the Ronald

McDonald house, and to continue bringing

snack items for the USO. Lorra Robert would

like to thank those members who brought

Hugs and Kisses for the USO troops.

Jackie Blake the Sunshine Lady, asked

everyone to please inform her of any illness

A proud moment

President and first Lady

Frenchie and Toni

Beautiful Baskets of Hugs and Kisses for the

USO

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January Chapter News Or passing of members close relatives. She

can only send the necessary cards if she is

well informed. The chapter welcomed back

the Shivers after a long illness. Chapter

prayers went out to Lonnie Myers who is in

intensive care at West Florida Hospital.

(update 1/16 Lonnie is out of intensive care

and doing much better)

The next camp-out will be a Lake Stone in

Century, Florida, February 8 - 9. The number

to call for reservations is 850-256-5555. If

you are an Escambia County resident the

camping fee per night is $10.04 all other

residents will pay $17.84 per night. Reserva-

tions should be made at least a week ahead

of time. Lois Crutchfield announced the Fri-

day night dinner will be finger food, Saturday

morning breakfast as usual, and Saturday

night dinner will have a Mexican theme.

Breakfast chefs were Robert Malone, Jim

Robert, and Robert Lee. The breakfast was

on time and enjoyed by all.

Larry Blake the new incoming wagonmaster,

gave the chapter members some new choices

for future camping trips. They all sound ex-

citing and I think all members were ready to

pack up and start their new adventures. For

Larry to get a prospective on what exactly

chapter members look for in their camping

experiences, he devised a list of likes and

dislikes for each member to check their fa-

vorites. Some choose to keep going to some

old haunts, while others liked the idea of new

places. I wouldn’t want his job, lol. He also

promised that camping prices would max out

at $35 per night. Tommy Crutchfield also

suggested it was okay to camp at the same

place more than one time a year.

Jackie Blake would like members to bring

supplies to make Valentine cards for the

nursing home residents in Century, at the

February camp-out. Supplies should include;

paper glue, paper doilies, scissors, and any-

thing else to make the cards. They will be

making cards for eight five residents, and

will deliver them that day (Saturday). She

would also like to make time to spend visiting

with the residents. As Theresa Malone said

“it’s good therapy for us too.” Larry Blake

made the motion to adjourn the meeting, it

was seconded by Lois Crutchfield.

The Chinese auction moved along very fast

with Larry Blake keeping the bidding going at

a steady pace. The auction brought in $72

for the chapter. Another money maker was

the 50/50 jackpot, it brought in $96 with

the 50/50 split $48 going to the chapter and

the other $48 going to the winner Charlie

Dechant, Charlie’s third time to win the

50/50

What do you

mean, your bacon

is better than

mine?

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Samborees

Upcoming Samborees

Florida Winter Samboree

February 27- March 3 2013

Palatka, Florida

Georgia Samboree

March 21- March 24 2013

Perry, Georgia

Mississippi Spring Samboree

March 21 -March 24 2013

Tupelo, Mississippi

A Louisiana Adventure

April 11 -April 14 2013

Shreveport, Louisiana

Florida Spring Samboree

April 17 - April 21 2013

Okeechobee, Florida

Alabama Samboree

April 18 - April 21 2013

Dothan, Alabama

Treasurer Report

January 9, 2013

Beginning Balance $435.34

Withdrawals 0

Barbara Nuckols stamps $9.00

Perma Forma Patches $182.88

Deposits $146.00

Treasurer

Roy Alsfeld

Sunshine Lady Jackie Blake

Birthday Wishes

Lois Schlatter 1/10

Carolyn Alsfeld 1/25

Lois Crutchfield 1/25

Happy Birthday!

Get Well Wishes

Lonnie Myers

Kay Schoenherr

Get Better Soon!

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Bella Bella Boo, better known as Bella will be eight years old the end of January. If you watch her play,

you’d never know it. She thinks she is a large puppy and her mission is to protect us. Yes, she is a

watch dog. She will sit by the front door of the house for hours watching for something to move. Or

she’ll sit in our back yard looking toward the neighbors yard (even though we have a six foot privacy

fence, she stares at it) waiting for someone or something to make a noise so she can bark. I think

that’s her favorite activity.

Bella has a box of toys that she loves to play with, but she really doesn’t want to share them. She

will fetch, but only when she wants. She’s learning that if she puts the toy down, then we’ll throw it

again. All of her toys have names, blue baby, green monster, blind puppy, elephant, dirty sock, and

basketball (it’s about an inch in diameter) . Most of the time we can tell her what toy to get and

that’s the one she’ll take out.

All you have to do is say “wanna go camping” and she’s ready to go. If you walk by our RV you will

see her sitting at the window. Of course she will bark at you, that’s our alarm system. She barks at

pretty much everything that moves or makes a noise, that’s why we try to park away from a lot of

people moving around. Her “time out” is when we put the blinds down, and then she pouts.

She also flies with us to New England. We pay for her carrier to go under the seat, and we book

our flights with long layovers, so we can take her out for a break between flights. She really needs to

accumulate frequent flyer miles.

Her favorite treat is baby carrots. You can really get her attention by saying “carrot.” Jim will say

to her “night, night time” and she will go sit by the kitchen counter. Jim will give her a piece of Bis-

coff cookie, and she prances to her kennel. She also expects a small treat when she comes in from

the back yard.

Yes, our dog will bite, well sometimes, but we never when, so we advise everyone that she might

bite. If you try to pet her she will usually walk the other way and ignore you. Other times she will

come up to you and act friendly. Maybe it’s a game to her. But please always be aware that she could

bite.

Bella doesn’t like to have her picture taken. She is the only dog I know that will close her eyes or

look away just as you take the picture. It takes a lot of picture taking just to get a few good ones.

Submitted by Jim and Lorra Robert

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And a Train Runs Through It We are off again, this time it is Christmas of 2011. Our local family has kinda scattered

this year for Christmas, so Charlie and I planned to spend Christmas with his sister in Port

St Lucie, Florida. She comes down every year to get away from the Ohio winters, a snowbird

by definition. The camp ground she stays at annually, only allows one pet per rig……. So we

had to look for another park.

We knew of a RV park that was not too far away from Charlie’s sisters park. It was very

crowded, and most of the clientele being construction workers from the nearby nuclear

plant. Well you kinda get the picture, but hey they allowed pets! I made our reservations

about a month in advance, didn’t want a repeat of the previous year. Everything was all set

for us to arrive a few days before Christmas and stay for a week. This park had no ameni-

ties, such as cable, pool, wi-fi, or anything else you might imagine a south Florida park would

offer. Nope they were just there to supply a place to park your RV and take your money,

which I might add, they weren’t cheap! We arrived on time with no incidents. The lady

showed us two sights she had open, we would not fit in either sight. Here we go again, I was

near tears, and ready to give up on camping. Then she offered us a site that was TEN feet

away from the railroad tracks. It was nice and level, with water, electric and sewer, it

looked like it would work, so we took it!

All settled in, it really was a nice site. No trains, so what was all the fuss about? We fell

into bed that first night, very tired from our trip, went right to sleep. Somewhere deep in

my gut, a rumbling took place. It shook my teeth, rattled my brain, and woke us from a deep

sleep. It was a train. Our bedroom was backed up to the railroad tracks, bells started ring-

ing announcing the trains arrival, ding- ding, here I come! Then the train whistle, whoo-whoo.

We sat straight up in bed, the train was here. In the bedroom? Boy it sure sounded like it.

The bells, and whistles were nothing compared to the rumbling of the train on the tracks,

the noise was deafening, It was going very fast, and it seemed to be a mile, maybe two miles

long! All we could do is pray the train didn’t jump the tracks, we along with other campers

would surely be killed. Did we get used to the trains, well I really wouldn’t say used to it, but

we recovered from getting woke up every hour at night better.

There were no trains on Christmas day, that was nice, but at midnight Christmas night,

our friend, the train was back.. During our stay we looked for and found another campground

for future stays. It’s a little farther from Charlie’s sister, but no trains!

Charlie and Barbara

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My Favorite

Recipe Submitted by Lois Crutchfield

Breakfast Casserole

6 eggs

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup milk

6 slices bread

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 pound sausage

Grease casserole dish. Crumble bread and place on bottom of dish. Sprinkle sausage

over bread, mix eggs and milk together, and pour over sausage. Sprinkle both

cheeses on top, cover with foil, and place in refrigerator overnight. Heat oven to

400 degrees. Bake with foil cover for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional

10 minutes or until golden brown.

Goes great with coffee!

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New Years resolutions…….hmmmm? I didn’t make any, why? Well I know I won’t keep

them, especially if it concerns loosing the pounds I put on over the long holiday season. It

seems we are being bombarded with weight loss remedies on TV. One I practically noticed is

the one you sprinkle on your food. “Just sprinkle it on your food and you will loose thirty plus

pounds in just no time at all.” Yeah right! Makes me wonder what exactly does that “sprinkle”

do to your food? Does it poison your food? In which case you may be dead, so naturally you

will loose and won’t gain any weight. Or does it make your food taste so bad you won’t be able

to eat it? What a way to ruin a good steak!

Another one is that pre-packaged food you get in the mail. Delivered right to your front

door. Supposed to be delicious. Now how can that food be so good when it is shipped in from

Tim-Buck-Two, in dry ice, every month. Tell me do you shop for your groceries only once a

month? Have you ever seen that food, sure you can have dessert, a dime size morsel. The

entrees, well my dogs would turn their noses up at them. Of course I guess if you were eat-

ing only that food it would look like a banquet! I guess it works for some people, especially

movie stars, and celebrities.

Oh yes lets not forget the exercise equipment. Those Chinese torture machines that are

guaranteed to cripple you in just one week! Especially those all-in-one contraptions that will

give you six pack abs before you die. Not for me, I’ll get my exercise doing more fun stuff

like watching TV, reading, (they say if you wiggle your toes and fingers while reading and

watching TV it is a form of exercise, lol) camping, and walking the dogs.

Being a little serious though…. I guess I should start doing the most difficult exercise I

know, the push away. You know push away from the table sooner. It’s free, don’t have to

sprinkle it, wait for deliveries or throw your back out.

I hope y’all are better with your resolutions then I am. The important thing don’t make

promises you can’t keep, be sensible and you will be successful.

Good Luck!

Barbara Nuckols