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The month of November has three important days: Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and the end of Daylight Saving Time (DST): Veterans Day, on November 11, is a time for us to pay respects to our military veterans. We have many veterans living in Four Seasons, and we thank them for their service. Several months ago, one of our resident veterans, Don Krampe, met with your Board at an Executive Board Meeting. He presented us with a flag and asked that it be flown at The Lodge. On July 4th of this year, we dedicated the POW/MIA flag. In 1971, the wife of an MIA recognized the need for a symbol of our Prisoners of War and Missing in Action. In 1990, Congress passed Public Law 101-355 designating the POW/MIA flag: "The symbol of our nation's concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoner, missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia." Today, it is also a symbol of all those who still haven't come home from other conflicts. The flag is black and features a white disk bearing a black silhouette of the bust of a man, watch tower with a guard, and a strand of barbed wire; above the disk are the white letters POW and MIA on each side of a white 5-pointed star. Below the disk is a white wreath with the motto: "You are not forgotten." There is no trademark or copyright for the flag, so its widespread use is not legally restricted. Another flag of distinction is displayed in the lobby of our Lodge. It is in front of the reception desk. Have you seen it? It is encased in glass and is folded into a triangle showing a blue field with stars. It was flown over headquarters of the Regional Command (Southwest) aboard Camp Leatherneck in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, during Operation Enduring Freedom on 17 May 2014 and presented to Four Seasons by the VFW Motorcycle Club, Empire Chapter. We are proud to have each of these flags. Since 1941, Thanksgiving has been held on the fourth Thursday in November, this year on the 23rd. Prior to the formal establishment of Thanksgiving, harvest festivals had been celebrated for centuries by Native Americans, with colonial services dating back to the late 16th century. As the story goes, it was in the early 1600s when communities of settlers in both Massachusetts and Virginia held feasts to give thanks for their survival, for the fertility of their fields, and for their faith. The most widely known early Thanksgiving is that of the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts, who shared an autumn harvest feast with the Wampanoag Native Americans in 1621. The first national celebration of Thanksgiving was observed for a slightly different reason than celebration of the harvest — it was in honor of the creation of the new United States Constitution! In 1789 George Washington issued a proclamation designating November 26 of that year as a "day of public Thanksgiving" to recognize the role of Providence in creating the new United States and the new federal Constitution. While Thanksgiving became a yearly tradition in many communities, it was not yet a federal government holiday. Thomas Jefferson and many subsequent presidents felt that a public religious demonstration of piety was not appropriate for a government type of holiday in a country based in part on the separation of church and state. It wasn't until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November. We give thanks to all who participated in our 20th Anniversary Celebration. The committees and clubs gave proof that we are "the Beverly Hills" of Hemet. Thank you, Tracie Rodgers, for your hard work that made our 20th a success. "If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share." ~ W. Clement Stone. Message from the Board of Directors 2 | Four Seasons Hemet Herald | NOVEMBER 2023 | Sincerely, and on behalf of your Board of Directors, Barbra Balser, Cliff Post, Tony Criscenti, Roxy Snider, Fred Kydd, and Mary Reyna Jim Crase President

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