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4A
NOVEMBER 8, 2001
People
Buffalo Soldier group member sheds
light on Buffalo Soldier history
By Leticious B. Welcher
Special to AUGUSTA FOCUS e
Dennis McClendon, plant
training manager at Procter
& Gamble has a love for black
history. And he doesn’t mind
sharing what he knows. As a
member of the CSRA 9th and
10th (Horse) Cavalry Buffalo
Soldiers, McClendon, the
chapter secretary enlightens
and raises the level of under
standing of a part of history
that very few fully compre
hend. Donned in his blue cav
alry uniform, the 58-year-old
looks like he has stepped out
of the pages of an American
History book, or does he? Not
really. The truth is, history
books don’t tell much of the
story behind some of the most
heroic soldiers there ever
were —the Buffalo Soldiers.
“Very few people know the
true involvement of blacks in
the history of our country,
especially from a military
standpoint,” McClendon said.
He along with other members
of his local chapter recently
presented t..e colors during
the national anthem at the
CSRA Classic football game.
An event that he was very
proud to be a part of. “The
CSRA Classic is one of the
biggest events in the local
black community and to be
involved in thatis not only an
honor, but a wonderful oppor
tunity for exposure.”
McClendon doesn’t want
people to mistake the goal of
the CSRA (Horse) Cavalry
Buffalo Soldiers, which was
establishad in 1999. “People,
youngand old, love the horses.
They draw attention on their
own. But we are more than
guys with horses, we repre
sent aremarkable part of his
tory, and that story is much
bigger than men in uniforms
on horses,” McClendon said.
The story is that of the origi
nal Buffalo Soldiers. The Bus-
The Walker Group Annual CSRA Classic Thanksgiving Dinner
The Walker Group is busy making plans for their annual
Thanksgiving Dinner for the community.
This event will be held Thursday, November 22, 2001 at
BL'’s Restaurant located at 1117 Laney-Walker Blvd. Din
ner will be served from 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.
Alarge turnout of families, individuals and volunteers s
expected. In an effort to prepare for another successful
WAGT operations
manager recognized
Reggie Cofer, operations manager at WAGT in
Augusta, is the recipient of a prestigious award for
his “off-duty” work as an ACC/SEC basketball ref
eree. Cofer was awarded the Atlantic Coast Confer
ence Basketball Official’s Commissioner’s Award
during ceremonies on October 20, 2001 in Atlanta.
Cofer was selected by his peers for the award.
Winners must meet criteria including: concern and
respect for fellow officials, displaying behavior both
on and off the court that is a credit to himself, his
family, the Atlantic Coast Conference, and the
game of basketball and giving freely of himself to
improve officiating. Winners must also have been
selected to officiate the Conference’s Men’s Basket
ball Tournament at least one time and the NCAA
Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament. During
the past season, Cofer was part of the officiating
team in such high profile contests as Maryland vs.
Duke (ACC semi-finals), Duke vs. Virginia and
Indiana vs. Texas (NIT pre-season tournament).
As operations manager at WAGT, Cofer super
vises programming, production, and promotion.
The Georgia Southern graduate has been employed
by WAGT for 18 years, beginning as a college intern
and working his way up to his current position.
Cofer, an Augusta native, is married with two
teenage children.
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Dennis McClendon dressed in Buffalo Soldier regalia.
Photo by Leticious Welcher
falo Soldiers, a group of black
men made up of slaves, free
men and black Civil War sol
diers, were organized in 1866
and were the first blacks to
serve during peacetime. Over
180,000 black men served in
the Union Army during the
Civil War with more than
33,000 of them losing their
lives. The war left the future
of blacks in the United States
Army uncertain. But all of
this changed in 1866, when
Congress passed legislation
that established two cavalry
and four infantry regiments
(which werelater consolidated
totwo) whose enlistment was
to be made up of blacks. Serv
ing as soldiers was nothing
new to many of the new re
cruits. Until the early 1890 s
they constituted 20 percent of
allcavalryforces onthe Ameri
can frontier. The majority of
them had served in all black
units during the war. The
mounted regiments were the
9th and 10th Cavalries, which
soon became known as the
Buffalo Soldiers,anamegiven
to them by the Cheyenne and
AUGUSTAFOCUS
Comanchelndians. The Chey
enne thought that their short
curly hair and black skin re
sembled that of the buffalo, an
animal that they worshipped.
The 9th and 10 Cavalries’ as
sistance in conquering Mexi
can revolutionaries, hostile
Native Americans, outlaws,
comancheros and rustlers was
both invaluable and unrecog
nized. “Very few people know
the tenacity of these men who
faced extreme prejudices and
were repeatedly given hor
rible assignments.” said
McClendon. Despite the many
obstacles and prejudices, these
troopers developed into two of
the most distinguished fight
ing units in the history of the
U.S. Army. The contributions
of these extraordinary men
are a living legacy through
organizationslikethe CSRA’s
9th and 10th (Horse) Cavalry
Buffalo Soldiers, motorcycle
clubs that have taken on the
name to pay tribute to them
and former members of the
regiments. According to
McClendon this year is a sig
nificant one in not only the
Thanksgiving Dinner, the community’s support is needed.
By helping to spread the word and serving as a volunteer,
you will be helping to feed the less fortunate and making a
happier Thanksgiving for the community.
Anyone interested in partnering with the Walker Group,
please contact Jamaro Thomas at (706) 722-4222 ext. 223.
celebrate Founders’ Day
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Tau Gamma Delta Sorority Inc. Kappa Chapter ob
served Founders’ Day on October 4, 2001 at4:3o p.m.
at Kurama, 2034 Washington Road, Augusta, Geor
gia. Soror Elizabeth Jordan was chosen “Soror Of The
Year” 2001-2002.
Shown in the photo above (I) to (r): Soror Abel Nivens,
Soror Catherine McCoy, Soror Lauminna Nivens, Soror
Annie Blount, Soror Elizabeth Jordan, Soror Pauline
Gilchrist and Soror A. Lois Jackson. .
history ofthe Buffalo Soldiers,
but in the history of our
country’s military, marking
the 50th anniversary of the
integration of troops, which
took place in 1951 during the
Korean War and ended segre
gation in the military. “To
have an understanding of our
history is empowering. Once
we know the true stories be
hind the compressed versions
of our history, we are taught
in the classrooms, we can be
gin to better understand why
things arethe way they are. It
isthat understanding —areal
and legitimate understanding
of our history, that gives us
the powertochart the courses
for our future,” McClendon
stated. “There is so much his
tory that people just don’t
know or understand. Take for
instance, the program that is
running on HBO ‘Band of
Brothers’. Blacks might look
atthat and become upset won
dering why there aren’t any
blacks shown. Their first in
clination would probably be to
blame Hollywood. But the
truth is there shouldn’t be
any blacks in that movie be
cause blacks weren't fighting
withthe 101stregiment, which
is the featured regiment in
the film. ‘The Band of Broth
ers’ is one story about one
unit, but there are countless
other stories to be told about
many otherunits,” McClendon
added. In 1993 a memorial
park was dedicated by Gen
eral Colin Powell to honor the
memory and contributions of
the gallant Buffalo Soldiersin
Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas,
which was the home of the
original 10th Cavalry. For
more information on the
CSRA’s 9th and 10th
(Horse)Cavalry Buffalo Sol
diers contact Trooper Dennis
McClendon at (706) 863-4430
or Trooper, Donald E. Butler,
chapter president at(830)648-
9828.
High School Footballi:
EpDIE GETER
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Laney: 20 Cross Creek:l2
6' 1"; 190 lbs; Outside Linebacker
Stats: Intercepted a pass and returned
it 31 yards for a TD; 8 tackles and 1 fumble recovery
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Celebrating 100 years of life
i Lillie Gross Johnson cel
| ebrated her 100th birthday
; October 15. She was born in
| Glascock County, Ga.to Albert
| & Rosa Gross.
' Shewed CarsleyJohnsonin
1 1915, moved to Warrenton,
' GA, and gave life to five chil
! dren(Orsbie, Roman, Oysbie,
| Roosevelt, and Annie.) Au
| gustahasbeen her home since
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. Her life is celebrated by
‘three remaining children, 20
‘grandchildren, 44 great
i grands, and countless other
| relatives and friends.
Family Y’s Youth and baskethall
programs hold registration
. Registration for The Fam
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- Basketball programsis sched
' uled for November 5-17. at
| Wheeler Center, 3532
| Wheeler Road, Augusta.
|’ Youth Basketball offers
| team play for boys and girls in
\grades 1-9. Practices, held
once a week, begin the week
»fDecember 17, and all games
\are scheduled on Saturdays,
January 5, 2002 thru Febru
lary 23, 2002, between 8:00
lla.m. and 6:00 p.m. Fees are
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i OYSTER PERPETUAL DATI [
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_M}horfal Hills = Monday - Saturday
F 2635 Washington Road JEWELERS 10am - 9pm
" Augusta, Georgia 30904 v
| (706) 7387777 E 7/7 A R~
’ www.windsorjewelers.net S ere. 3', Ton i
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Lillie Gross Johnson poses
with her family
$29 for Gold Members, $37 for
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Bronze Members.
Iddy Biddy Basketball is an
introductory program for chil
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It uses games and drills to
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