"MORMON BATTALION AUXILIARY PROJECT TO HELP THE HOMELESS"

This New Year the National Auxiliary Staff has decided to help the homeless--men, women, and children--throughout our communities. This project would include all members-at-large, wherever they may be, as well as company auxiliaries. Also, any descendants of the Mormon Battalion, whether they are members or not, your family members, your friends and neighbors--all would be welcomed to contribute, too.

The Arizona, California, Logan, and Kane companies are invited to participate in their respective areas.

The Salt Lake Homeless Shelter is a large facility and our contributions would benefit many people. They need all kinds of good used CLEAN clothing--including underwear, shoes, coats, gloves, and hats. Warm blankets or quilts, and NEW toilet and grooming articles are much needed. New items would be especially appreciated.

Each month the company presidents and members of the National Staff will be happy to accept your donations. We will combine what we have received, and in behalf of the U.S. MORMON BATTALION AUXILIARY, TAKE THEM TO THE SHELTER. Col. Fairbourn has expressed a desire to contribute, and we welcome any donations from men of the Battalion.

Please give us your support in this worthwhile project. Keep a record of your activity in this project. THANK YOU!

 NANCY WILLIAMS Treasurer

It's that time of year again! Time to remind each company member and all members-at-large that DUES are now DUE! National dues are still $10. Make checks payable to U.S. Mormon Battalion Auxiliary and send to me, Nancy Williams, 1303 N. Devon, Kaysville, UT 84037. Life membership is now $75. If you are a Life member, you do not pay National dues or receive a membership card every year, but you still pay company dues--to the company treasurer. During 1998, we had three new life members, and eight new company members or members-at-large. It is good to be growing! So if you know someone who would be interested in joining the modern-day Mormon Battalion Auxiliary, give them an invitation. We are working on goals for the next two years (as we enter a new century) and hope that everyone will participate in the activities being planned. The National Staff are happy to wish you a healthy and prosperous New Year!

"There is something we can take home to God, in achieving which we find true happiness, and that is CHARACTER--what you have made of yourself during this mortal existence. Character and the Service you have rendered will determine your position and place in the next world."--David O. McKay

 The U.S. Mormon Battalion and Auxiliary would like to express their deepest sympathy to Lt. Col. George Bascom and his family in the untimely death of their beloved wife and mother, Leonora Jenkins Bascom. She was a lifetime member of the women's organization and contributed greatly to the success of the Women of the Battalion. She will be missed at our meetings and other functions. We sadly say, "Goodbye" to a wonderful friend.

LEONORA JENKINS BASCOM

Born in Kingston, PA, in 1913, Leonora is the only child of John Arthur and Blanche Cole Jenkins. Her father came from Wales when he was 9 years old; her mother is a descendant of Dutch merchantmen from Dordrecht, Holland. Leonora was an only child and spent a lonely early childhood while both parents worked. They first lived in Nogales, near Tucson, then moved to San Diego. By the time she entered Jr. High, Leonora was an accomplished violinist--later to become a well-known concert violinist. This career was interrupted when she met her "hero," George, who was in the military. He baptized her, and three months later married her, before leaving for overseas, and WWII, for 2-plus years. They were sealed in the Temple the week after he returned.

Leonora has enjoyed a full and active life as a schoolteacher, as a mother (3 Children; 12 grandchildren; 1 great grandchild), as stake choir director, Relief Society officer (ward and stake), and wife to an active Church officer (Bishop, Stake Presidency, Patriarch). She and George served 4 missions together (Philippines, England, and the Family History Library in Salt Lake) and she supported him on two when the children were small. She is an active genealogist; her mother's line goes back to 1480, and their temple work was recently begun. She and George did sealings last month for her great grandparents, her sixth great, and her sixteenth great grandparents.

She is #4 on the Lifetime roll, and was very helpful in Company B, San Diego, in helping build that company to Battalion status (4 companies) in the 1970s. She is an elect lady.

(She died from a cerebral stroke, December 21, 1998)

She is #4 Life Member, and in the early days of the rejuvenated Battalion, she was a Lt. (She passed away on 21 December 1998.)

A HARMONIOUS THOUGHT

A mother, wishing to encourage her son's progress at the piano, bought tickets to a Paderewski performance. That evening they were seated near the stage. The mother engaged in conversation with a friend and did not notice the boy slip away. When the lights dimmed, and the audience looked to the stage, the mother gasped. Her son was seated at the piano and began playing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," as the great Paderewski entered. He whispered to the boy, "Don't quit. Keep playing" and, leaning over him, began to fill in the bass with his left hand and played an obligato with his right. In our lives, it is the Master who surrounds us and says, " Don't quit. Keep playing."