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12 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | AUGUST 2014 | COMMUNITy NEwS Did You Know? By Bobbie Eckel DiD You kNow that august 4 is u.s. Coast guaRD DaY? This is a day set aside to honor the military branch that protects our waters and shorelines. The first predecessor of the U.S. Coast Guard, the Revenue Cutter Service, was created by the U.S. Congress on Aug. 4, 1790. Alexander Hamilton urged Congress to authorize the construction of ten cutters which were built to enforce U.S. tariff laws. In 1915, President Woodrow Wilson merged the Revenue Cutter Service with the U.S. Life- Saving Service, creating a single maritime service dedicated to saving life at sea and enforcing maritime laws. The Coast Guard was then given the extra duty of operating the nation's lighthouses as of July 1939. In July of 1946, Congress transferred the Department of Commerce Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation to the Coast Guard, which included inspection of steamboats. The Coast Guard had grown from ten cutters in 1790 to overseeing all merchant marine licensing and merchant vessel safety. That was not the end of the Coast Guard's expansion, however. After the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the Coast Guard was transferred to the new Department of Homeland Security. They have come a long way from enforcing tariff laws! For additional information on the history of the Coast Guard, please visit the U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office Official website. DiD You kNow that august 7 is NatioNal lighthousE DaY? Congress, on Aug. 7, 1789, authorized the Federal Government to build and operate the lighthouses of the nation. These imposing structures have symbolized safe harbors to men at sea for many years. The powerful sweeping lights have shown the way through fog and storms, saving many ships and lives. With the advent of radar and GPS technology, lighthouses have taken a back seat in guiding ships safely into port, but they remain as special symbols to many communities. DiD You kNow that august 24 is VEsuVius DaY? This marks the day in 79 A.D. that Mount Vesuvius exploded. One of the largest volcanic explosions in recorded history, the eruption destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae. The cities were buried by 10 to 75 feet of volcanic ash and pumice. An estimated 3,360 to 4,000 people died. The entire eruption sequence was recorded in detail by Pliny the Younger who was in Misenum, about 18 miles away. He could not only see the eruption, but he felt the earthquakes and described them in his letters. The heavy layers of ash and pumice did serve to protect the remains of the city of Pompei against the elements until future archaeologists could unearth the cities. (The ruins of Pompei were discovered in March, 1748). Vesuvius also exploded a second time in 1631, killing approximately 3,500 citizens. The current population around the volcano is about 3 million – which is potentially catastrophic considering the dangers of this volcano. DiD You kNow that august 21 is NatioNal sENioR CitizEN's DaY? This is a day proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan on Aug. 19, 1988, to recognize and show appreciation for the contribution of elderly people to home, family and society. In his Proclamation 5847, President Reagan noted, "For all they have achieved throughout life and for all they continue to accomplish, we owe older citizens our thanks and a heartfelt salute. We can best demonstrate our gratitude and esteem by making sure that our communities are good places in which to mature and grow older." Interestingly enough, in lieu of the advertisement normally provided by Holiday Insights for various holidays, the advertisement at the top of the National Senior Citizens Day is for a dementia care facility with the encouragement to "call today for a free consultation." Seems more crass than politically correct!

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