Dorothy Brush "Random Thoughts" Published Aug. 21, 2002

I read the newspapers
with scissors in hand

A thank you to Barbara Parsons for her letter to the editor setting the record straight on the subject of pensions denied to Confederate soldiers. In this column featuring Jackie Hall's search for Clay Hickerson's grave, it was stated that black soldiers were required to serve the entire time of the war to receive a pension, but Barbara explained that applied to white soldiers as well.

That period of history called the Civil War is more often remembered in the South as the War of Northern Aggression. East Tennessee at that time was sharply divided in their sympathies. There were many staunch supporters of the Union and just as many who believed in the cause of the Confederacy. The conflict ended 137 years ago, but in the South, remembrances passed down from generation to generation live on. It was their land and homes that had suffered and the war left deep scars.

Active chapters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of the Confederacy are found across the South. I was not aware of any like organizations of descendants of Union soldiers. Then on Aug. 2, I saw a small news story which reported that the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War 1861-1865 had elected their first black president at the 112th annual national convention of the organization, held in Springfield, MO.

Celestine Hollings is 82 years old and from Detroit. Her grandfather, Jacob Allen, was 22 when he joined the Union army in Nelson County, KY, on Aug. 23, 1864. He served in the U.S. Colored Troops, Company G, of the 107th Regiment and was honorably discharged Nov. 22, 1866.

***
Three newspapers arrive at our house daily, and I read every page of each with scissors in hand as I look for stories of human interest. Many are sent off to family and friends far away. Others I share with you just in case you might have missed them.

This week I read that the first U.S.-born panda to survive to adolescence , Hua Mei, would be 3 years old Aug. 21. In 1998 I attended a conference in San Diego and visited the world-famous zoo. At that time the panda exhibit was being carefully monitored and only a few visitors were allowed in at any one time. There were high hopes that the female adult was pregnant and they were being especially careful of her.

It was a delightful treat to watch that mature female clumsily climbing a tree in her enclosure. It would have been easy to spend all day just watching this exotic animal enjoying her solitude, but the time for watching was limited. Back home I searched for news and was rewarded when a baby panda was born. She stole the hearts of San Diego residents and the rest of the country.

Now that she is 3 she must return to China, according to the agreement made when her parents arrived at the zoo in 1996. It said any offspring would go back to China when they were 3. There are lots of sad faces in San Diego today. Hua Mei will probably be sent to the Wolong Giant Panda Protection Research Center in Sichuan province to be part of China's premier panda-breeding program. Much as she will be missed, she will do her part to see that there will be pandas for many more generations to enjoy.

· · ·
Dorothy Copus Brush is a Fairfield Glade resident and Crossville Chronicle staffwriter whose column is published each Wednesday.