Charles Dudley Warner, editor of the Hartford (Conn.) Courant, wrote in 1850 that “politics makes strange bedfellows.”
An unusual twist for that statement would be the bizarre connection between two recent winners of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Good Citizenship Award at Wayland High School last year and at Martin High School this year and the honors they received.
At first glance, it must be noted that the DAR award customarily in days gone by was presented to a high school senior who also was a female. As I grew up and covered these annual events, I was always struck by the overwhelming numbers of young ladies winning such accolades and even surmised it was supposed to to a woman. After all, they are the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Of course, I was proven wrong in later years, and was interesting that the DAR award recipients in Wayland, Jon Seymour, and Austin Marsman at Martin, were males.
But what makes the honors even stranger is that both young men, for whom I have the utmost admiration, are political leftists the DAR in bygone days would have avoided.
Both Seymour and Marsman have demonstrated fearlessly their political beliefs in the public arena. Seymour unabashedly wore his Bernie Sanders button while visiting the State Capitol in Lansing for some kind of Youth in Government program.
Marsman, who has been a welcome regular contributor to this on-line news service, went even further by leading the charge in Allegan County last March for young people protesting the spate of high school shootings, even appearing on WZZM-TV and calling out State Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker for making disparaging comments.
Yet both are DAR award winners in the last two years.
For those who do not know or remember this fascinating historical tidbit about the DAR:
The organization was planning a gala affair in Washington D.C. in 1939 to commemorate an anniversary. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt arranged to have Marian Anderson, recognized world wide as one of the greatest contraltos of the era, to sing for the occasion.
However, DAR mucky-mucks refused to allow Anderson to sing. They did not officially say the reason was the color of her skin, but it was pretty clear what the root of the problem was.
Mrs. Roosevelt was so outraged that she immediately resigned her DNR membership and organized an outdoor ceremony instead. Anderson sang Franz Schubert’s “Ave Maria” in front of the Lincoln Statue and her performances and images have become national icons since. It was reported that 75,000 attended.
The DAR was forced to examine its racist attitude and policy, paving the way toward a more just and respected organization.
But I still get the idea that the DAR honoring Seymour and Marsman almost 80 years later is an interesting connection, and perhaps proof, despite recent troubling indications otherwise, that we may be continuing to evolve as an intelligent and compassionate species.
On another note: Heartiest of congratulations to Mr. Marsman on his graduation this past weekend at Martin High School. Rumor has it that he and Seymour both will be attending my alma mater, Grand Valley State University. I’ve even heard scuttlebutt that Marsman intends to join the staff at the Lanthorn student newspaper, where I was hoodwinked into beginning my career in journalism 50 years ago. Please don’t hold it against the then-editor who was responsible.
Congratulations to both Mr. Marsman and Mr. Seymour. Best of luck at my alma mater; they’re lucky to have you both as lakers.