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Organized June 13, 1896

Thanksgiving

The first American Thanksgiving was celebrated less than a year after the Christian Plymouth colonists had settled in the new land of America. The first Thanksgiving Day, set aside for the special purpose of prayer as well as celebration, was decreed by Governor William Bradford in July 30, 1623. There were harvest festivals, or days of thanking God for plentiful crops. During the Revolutionary War, eight special days of thanks were observed for victories and for being saved from dangers. On November 26, 1789, President George Washington issued a general proclamation for a day of thanks.

A Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer
The Year of 1798

"Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly implore His protection and favor-- and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint committee requested me to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially in a form of government for their safety and happiness.

"Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday...to be devoted by the people of these states to the service of that great and glorious Being Who is the beneficent Author of all that was, that is, or that will be--that we may then all unite in rendering Him our sincere and humble thanks...

"And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions...to render our national Government a blessing to the people...to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations...and to bless them with good government, peace and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true knowledge and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us--and generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of prosperity as He alone knows to be best..."

--President George Washington, 1798

Let’s not forget the purpose of this day is prayer and thanksgiving as we feast and fellowship.

2003 Annual Meeting - Feb 21st & 22nd

Alliance Day 2003 in Paris, France
Celebrate the 225th anniversary of the treaties that united our Nations against common enemies from the American Revolution through World War Two.

The Fall Issue of SAR-IZONA is now available on-line!
(You’ll need Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free download, to view the issue.)
We now have older issues of SAR-IZONA available to you on the website.
Check the Newsletter page for the archive.

The Palo Verde Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution; Chandler Elks Lodge 2429; the Charles Trumbull Hayden, Cactus Wren, and Gila Butte Chapters, Daughters of the American Revolution; the East Valley Tribune Newspapers, and the Chandler Connection have united to promote The Spirit of America in Chandler .

The 13 rays of red and gold on the top half of the flag represent both the 13 original colonies of the Union, and the rays of the Western setting sun. Red and gold were also the colors carried by Coronado's Spanish expedition in search of the Seven Cities of Cibola in 1540. The bottom half of the flag has the same Liberty blue as the United States flag. Since Arizona was the largest producer of copper in the nation, a copper star was placed in the flag's center.