February 23, 2019. Madison, Mississippi. Major Morris.

Tucked into the bottom of an old trunk was a Salvation Army crest complete with an eagle, which means that the crest was American. The American Salvation Army no longer uses the crest so my crest is an antique. Ken and I bought it at an auction in Pennsylvania in the early 70's. No one else at the auction bid on the crest so we because the proud owner of this relic. For a short time we hung it on the wall just for fun but since that time it has been housed in the trunk that once belonged to my parents. The trunk followed the Buckley family from one place to another so it seems to be a good friend to me. I knew my family would have no interest in the crest so I contacted the Jackson Salvation Army to see if they wanted it. The National Headquarters is in Atlanta, which houses the archive department, so they wanted the crest. Major Morris, the Divisional Commander came to my house to retrieve the crest and drive it to Atlanta. Major Morris brought his daughter, who is in graduate school. And they stayed to chat for almost two hours. I enjoyed their company. When they first arrived Major Morris asked me my Salvation Army connection. On the stairs to the lower lever are shelves full of family pictures so I showed him the pictures. Every picture was 0f a person in uniform. I have pictures of my parents, the Buckley family, my mother as a young officer, Ken's mother in uniform and several other s. They seemed to be interested and asked lots of questions. I thought they would pick up the crest and leave but as I can not stand too long I invited them to sit in the living room. And we talked. And we talked. They had been stationed in Ohio so knew many Canadian officers. And they lived in DC for 12 years and attended The Prince George's Corps, but long after we no longer attended. And we talked about the Jackson corps and the people in the band. The Salvation Army officers in the US are impressive, well educated and enthusiastic and dedicated. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit with the DC and his daughter. In fact, she is best friends with Liz Schramm, who is the grand daughter of Bob and Naomi Schramm who were good friends at the Corps in Maryland. The Salvation Army is a small connected group. Before they left, Major Morris asked what I wanted him to ask God to grant me when he prayed. It caught me by surprise so I hedged but finally settled on strength and courage. During his prayer, he added good health. As they were leaving, I jokingly suggest to him that that may be too much to expect from God. And we all three laughed.