June 13, 2014

Oroville Mercury Register
September 16, 1939
(75 years ago)
Star-Spangled Banner Written 125 Years Ago By Florence D. Boyle, Chairman Publicity American Legion Auxiliary

September marks the one hundred Twenty-fifth anniversary of the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner. The American Legion auxiliary has therefore chosen the birth month of our national anthem in which to give especial emphases to the inspirational power of music. There are several Americans whose fame rests almost entirely on one poem each. Among those famous people is Francis Scott Key, who wrote The Star-Spangled Banner. His poem has been set to music and thereby greatly increased the fame of the author. The martial and patriotic fervor of Key’s song is emotional and stimulating. The sentiment of patriotic ecstasy which Key felt when he looked out and saw “by the dawn’s early light” that the British guns had not shot down the symbol that represented the defiant spirit of his native land, nor dismantled the fort that defended that land, was the embodiment of the sentiments of all true Americans in 1814, and on all similar occasions ever since. The flag itself inspires confidence in those who live under it and respect from those who would do injury to any under its protection. Key was born in Frederick county Maryland, in 1780. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, and began practice in Baltimore. In 1814 he went aboard a British man-of-war to secure the release of a friend’s imprisonment, in which he succeeded. But both he and the prisoner were held on board the vessel until after the attack on Fort McHenry in Baltimore harbor. The poem, The Star Spangled Banner, was his expression of relief after the anxiety experienced through the night. It was written on an old envelope. He was subsequently made district attorney for the District of Columbia and spent the rest of his life in Washington. He died in 1843. In Golden Gate park, in San Francisco, James Lick erected a handsome monument to the memory of Francis Scott Key, “but the national anthem, which he spontaneously gave to the American people early on that morning in 1814, far surpasses any monument in stone.”

Oroville Mercury Register
August 26, 1939
Mercury For Best War News
Those who are not on the regular subscription lists of the Mercury would do well to subscribe now, at least for the duration of the European crisis. This is the time to read carefully all one can about world news. Read it in the newspaper that reaches you most quickly after publication- while the news is still fresh. The Mercury receives from 8000 to 10,000 words of telegraph news daily. From this it carefully selects the best. It has been publishing from 5 to 7 columns of European crisis news daily. Subscribe now and take advantage of this excellent, speedy service.

Stu’s Notes:
200 years ago this year since our National Anthem was written by Francis Scott Key as a poem and what a beautiful song it became. Am I the first to write of this up-coming anniversary? Three cheers for the Oroville Mercury for printing this article so long ago and here again, this Friday the 13 of June, 2014. We must teach some of the younger generation what to do when the Anthem plays. Doff your hat and stand at attention. I sometimes feel like standing up when I hear it on TV. Oh how I love America’s National Anthem, long may it play.

War- Dan Beebe did an excellent job in letting his readers know what was going on during the long days of WWII. It started in Poland, Sept 1, 1939. For 12 years I have been writing the stories of the Men and Women he wrote about. I think that somewhere on our Memorial Site we could put Francis Scott Keys Poem in Stone. Saturday, June 14, 2014

James Lenhoff along with Alberta Tracy has organized a Flag Day Ceremony 10AM at the Liberty Pole Montgomery Street. Come out and honor our Flag. A No Host Lunch will be held after the Ceremony at the Bird Street Café, International room. Please come and celebrate with us.