Did you watch the presidential debate a while back? Probably not, because I haven’t found many who did. That’s okay, I forced myself to spend nearly two hours of my life watching so you wouldn’t have to, and I will be watching the vice-presidential debate as well. After all, it is my job as a fearless reporter to keep you up to date on all things of little value. Am I being too harsh in that assessment?

            Did you know that the root of the word debate is “to fight”? Well, there you go. That’s explains a lot about debates over the last few election cycles. This last one was rip-roarer. Anyway, I learned a few things about debates that I thought I’d pass along.

            Despite what you may have heard or read, the candidates do not stand at a podium. They stand behind a lectern. A podium is a raised platform upon which a lectern rests. As a writer, this confusion has been a pet peeve of mine for some time, so I just wanted to clear that inaccuracy up once and for all. If you want to run for public office, especially the leader of the free world, please learn the proper use of the language!

            And why do they need to stand up at all? Is it an endurance test? Is the one who stands up the longest without falling over more qualified to govern? They do sit behind the resolute desk most of the time. Right? I certainly would not be able to stand up for 90 minutes without at least leaning on the lectern. That would not be a good look.

            Why can’t they sit down? John Kennedy and Richard Nixon sat down during the first televised debate. Afterwards, the consensus was that Nixon looked tired, maybe that’s why they sat. So why did they stand up during their second debate? Kennedy must have been a shrewd negotiator to get Nixon to stand up. Nixon probably thought it would make him look like he had more stamina than the younger Kennedy. It didn’t. A good shave and some stage makeup might have.

            Speaking of stage makeup, at the first Trump-and-Clinton debate, they started out sitting on high stools but ended up roaming around the stage. At the next debate, they were back behind lecterns. Maybe their people were afraid they would come to blows the second time around.

            The rules were strict this last time. The candidates’ teams spent weeks negotiating the rules. They were not allowed to have notes. Should we really expect our president to memorize all the details of their proposed policies? We all used crib notes back in school. (You did, right?) After all, they are not actors trained in memorization. (Well, Ronald Reagan was, but the world was less complicated back then.)

            They were not allowed to consult their advisors. Isn’t that why they have advisors, to get concise, honest answers? I think the advisors should be allowed to sit behind the candidates on the stage ever ready with the honest facts.

            And finally, their microphones were muted when the other spoke to eliminate them interrupting one another, a physical impossibility for a politician. Here’s a thought. What if the microphones were cut off all the time?

            I’m beginning to think for this fearless reporter, the job is not worth missing watching Dancing with the Stars.

            Mattapoisett resident Dick Morgado is an artist and happily retired writer. His newspaper columns appeared for many years in daily newspapers around Boston.

Thoughts on…

By Dick Morgado

David Schafer, registrar and genealogist from 2016 to 2023 and now chapter of the Cape Cod and Islands of Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), was the speaker at the September 18 meeting of the Rochester Historical Society.

            Schafer began his PowerPoint presentation with the recounting of an event 250 years ago this September when men from Rochester, Wareham, Sandwich and Plymouth converged on the Barnstable Courthouse on September 27, 1774, to prevent the judges from meeting in order to prevent cases to move to courts controlled by Great Britain.

            Schafer then moved on to the heart of his presentation, explaining the steps necessary for locating an ancestor who had fought in the Revolutionary War.

            These searches are dear to the hearts of members of both the Sons and Daughters of the Revolution. He explained that a search often begins with a grave in a cemetery. The gravestone would have name, possibly birth date and death date. If the dates line up with the timeline of the war, there is a series of steps to follow and websites to visit. He left handouts that can be picked up at the RHS Museum.

            One place to start is the listing of Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors. One can then move to websites of the SAR and DAR beginning with the last name and verifying the biographical information. The next step is to look up the Patriot Index Cards. These can be found at MA, Rev War Index Cards to Muster Rolls, 1775-1783 at familysearch.org/search/collection/2548057.

            Theses index cards were created when, in 1891, the Massachusetts General Court directed the State Secretary to compile volumes of Muster/Payroll and various papers (1763-1808) of the Revolutionary War and create index cards (a primary source) with the soldier’s name and a description of service. At the bottom of the card are the page and volume numbers of the Muster/Payroll records from 1763 to 1808. The Massachusetts Archives have about 250 volumes of these.

            Another source of information after service has been identified are the pension records. In 1815, the first Pension Act was passed and then modified in 1820. In 1836, a pension for surviving widows was passed. These records fill in the additional names of family members and the names of those who served, along with the person named on the pension document.

            Schafer then walked us through three searches of names on gravestones in Rochester Center: Jonathan Church, Lemuel Clark and Jonathan King. He also discussed the research done by Bruce Bassett to find and verify the records of his ancestor, Thomas Bassett, also buried in the cemetery. There will be a ceremony on Saturday, October 26, at 11:00 am at the Dexter Lane cemetery to mark Bassett’s grave and all (especially members of the Bassett and Mendall families) are invited.

            Schafer began his presentation saying that cemeteries are actually a community of the 1700s and those in them are removed from today by seven, eight or nine generations. He said that these Revolutionary soldiers are the people who made the war for independence happen, more than all the famous names such as Adams, Washington, Jefferson, etc. that are found in textbooks.

            It was the passion for independence held by these soldiers that powered the fight. While the famous names will be remembered, it is only by finding and marking the graves of the regular soldiers and sailors that we can preserve their memories. The meeting ended with questions, refreshments and conversations.

By Connie Eshbach