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The Importance of Heritage
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By: Sam Hendrickson, Editor
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The modern word "heritage" descends from Middle English, deriving out of the Anglo-French word "heritatre" meaning "to inherit". The word "heritatre" comes from the Latin word "heridatare" meaning "to leave an inheritance". Through the definitions of these two antiquated words, we find the double pronged meaning of heritage. Heritage is what we inherit, and what we leave behind. Our heritage is like matter, we came from it, it cannot be destroyed, and we will leave something behind to contribute to its flow. All heritage has good to inherit and pass on, as well as negative attributes to be corrected, sorted out, and rectified. Our duty is to uphold the good of our inheritance and leave behind our own good, both as people, and as a nation.
“To secure the blessings of liberty, to ourselves and our posterity” reads the preamble to the Constitution. We are the posterity the preamble spoke of. In the United States our inheritance is the acceptance of the self-evident truths that all men are created equal and that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights.We inherited the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Supreme Law of the Land, so it is our duty to uphold their values, to improve their integrity, and to leave behind an inheritance of a more perfect union. We have inherited avenues to uphold these principles through freedom of speech and petition, as well as our freedom to participate in the government. We have inherited the blessings of liberty, and used our rights and duty to further secure them for ourselves and our posterity through amendments and further legislation such as the Bill of Rights, the 14th amendment, the 19th amendment, and the Civil Rights Act, just to name a few examples. None of this would be possible without the supporting heritage of the individuals who make up the United States.
The posterity that the founders spoke of was not simply their own. It was the posterity of all who came to this land under the Constitution. The vast majority of United States citizens descend from those who came looking for a better life. It would be impossible to find a United States citizen who is exclusively a descendant of the founding generation. People of all backgrounds have come to find a new beginning in the United States. In order for our nation to have a successful future, we must have an upstanding and civil populous. Our duty is to respect the courage and sacrifices that our ancestors have made as well as the culture that has preserved them, and to improve upon our own lives that we may leave behind a legacy to preserve our individual posterity, which in turn contributes to the posterity of our nation.
When the people fail, the nation fails, and if we cast out the legacy of our forefathers and trade it for a life that fails our future generations, we fail the nation and the vision of the founding fathers.
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"E Pluribus Unum" is foundational to American society. "E pluribus Unum" translates from Latin to “from many one”.
This idea of "e pluribus unum" has resonated with me. Throughout my lifetime I have met so many wonderful people in the United States who have come from very different backgrounds. There are many whose ancestors were here before the Revolutionary War and those who are currently in the process of making America their new home. I have met Americans who have come from Eastern Europe in the past decade, Americans whose grandparents immigrated here from China before WWII. There are Americans whose ancestors travelled here hundreds of years ago to escape religious persecution in Europe, Americans whose ancestors lived the nightmare of slavery, and Americans whose ancestors have lived on this land longer than records date back to. We are each a unique thread woven into the tapestry of this great country.
Yet, we are all AMERICANS. Our American heritage is the search for and preservation of freedom. It is bringing our unique traits, cultures, and ideas to the table and working together in creating the American dream: a country where we each have the opportunity to be the best we can be. It is our American heritage that unites us.
I smile when I hear different languages spoken at the grocery store or at school. I smile when I see a grandparent telling the tales of how their ancestors came long ago to what was known as the ‘New World’. I smile because I know that the special idea of freedom is reaching so many people from so many different backgrounds because we all deserve to be free. To know that so many have sacrificed, are sacrificing, and will sacrifice in order to enjoy freedom, brings a reverence to the idea of liberty. I am so grateful for my ancestors who made the sacrifice to come to this beautiful country and I’m grateful for those who protect that freedom. Let us strive to be the society of “e pluribus unum'' and to revere those who sacrificed to make it so.
  
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Remember Our Heritage: Family Stories from Our Board Members
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What does being an American mean to my family? It means the freedom to come to a country that allows them the freedom to pursue opportunities and the freedom to dream big. My father’s parents were immigrants from Sicily, Italy in the early part of the 20th century. They escaped Mussolini’s fascist regime in hopes of finding a better way of life. Like so many others at that time, all they brought over to America was their faith, a few humble possessions and a determination to live in freedom in order to give their families a better way of life. My grandfather and his generation knew of another world where, in spite of hard work, one was prevented from succeeding without the gift of freedom. He and his other family members took full advantage of the land of opportunity by starting their own wholesale food business. The freedom to pursue their dreams allowed them to do well -- well enough financially that my Great Uncles, Paul and Frank Andolino ended up owning and training one of the fastest Thoroughbred race horses of the 1950’s. While they maintained their love of cooking old world Italian cuisine, their faith and belief in the American dream was alive and pure.
Part of their assimilation into fully becoming American was the importance that they placed on the great social equalizers, a good education and hard work. This ethic led to my father being the first one in his family to graduate from college and to become a successful business owner. The gift of freedom that America afforded my father’s generation was the driving force that gave them a strong patriotic spirit. Though their parents were from a foreign land, my father and his brothers all served honorably in the United States military, fighting the forces of fascism all over the world. This was their way of giving back so much of what America had given to them.
Gratefully, the virtues that allowed my grandparents and parents to succeed were passed along to my generation. In 2003, I was appointed as an Administrative Law Judge in New York State where I was practicing law at the time. Sadly, at the same time, my father was hospitalized due to a serious heart condition that would later take his life. One of the last things he and I spoke about was my Judgeship. I often wondered why this would have been on his mind at the end of his life – but I realized that even though his father had a limited education and English skills, his grandson was about to become a Judge. At that moment, we both realized how this was possible – only in America!
-Peter Gemellaro, Board Member
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I have a great Uncle who was a Japanese prisoner of War in WWII 1942 (in the Philippines), who walked in the Bataan dearth March and survived. Like many in his situation, he rarely talked about this horrific time.
Our shared great-great grandma Elizabeth Reese Craig in 1952, at 94 years old, was interviewed by a local newspaper. In her lifetime, she pioneered from Utah to Arizona building their own log cabins, delivered her second baby all on her own when her husband’s horse was stolen trying to seek birthing help. Three months after their 7th baby, her husband died in a tragic train accident. She found ways to make money and her children never went hungry. Her interview is inspiring to me, she said, “Yes, I suppose you’d say that pioneering in those early years was hard, but we were all trying to develop the country and build a better nation. No one was trying to destroy it or tear it down. Everybody worked together and tried to follow the teaching of [a wise man] who said, “Stick to the good and work for the right.”
"Of course we worked hard, but hard work is good for the souls of men. If I had my life to live over I believe I’d take the hardships of our times rather than the problems of today. We built the nation. A lot of people are trying to tear it apart. No matter how hard, it is easier to build a country than to keep the enemies from destroying it afterwards"
There’s a tremendous job of pioneering for our young people today – pioneering in a wilderness of unrest, selfishness, intolerance, greed and dishonor. True courses must be charted through this wilderness just as we broke trails through nature’s wilderness sixty-nine years ago.”
I see their examples as courageous! They are each survivors! Elizabeth sees how important it is for each generation to courageously protect the freedoms that our country was founded to preserve! Grateful for the vision the Founders had to build a better nation. It was not perfect, but it has provided a system where as a nation, we have moved to pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for ALL men and women.
-Carrie Motley. Board Member
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I am grateful to be part of a family with deep roots of service to the American cause. Both of my grandfathers—George Carico and Luther Willis—were World War II veterans. Although both were from the same small community in the hills of Virginia, both also saw action in the Pacific serving in the United States Navy. Both came home and spent their lives as coal miners in rural Virginia, raising their families and contributing to their church and community. I grateful to have such upstanding individuals to look up to and to hold before my own children as models of service and virtue.
I gained from my grandparents an appreciation for service and duty to one’s country. They were part of what has been called “the greatest generation,” and they challenge our generation to ensure that posterity can exercise those freedoms that Americans so deeply cherish. Their enduring examples are exemplified in the words of Longfellow’s poem, A Psalm of Life: "Lives of great mean all remind us, we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us, footprint on the sands of time.”
-Andrew Carico, Board Member
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 My family name is Cardinet. It is a French name. The Cardinet family came to America in 1849 from Paris, France. Two brothers aged 18 and 19 ventured to the French coast and boarded a ship as sailors to earn their passage. They heard of the California Gold Rush and sailed to San Francisco where they escaped from their ship before having completed their sailor obligations. This was the beginning. Two young brothers leaving their homeland to start a life in America. The Cardinet boys did not do very well with gold mining. But the family was skilled as French confectionaries. So, in the late 1800's they started their own chocolate candy company. It was called the Cardinet Candy Company and began in San Francisco. The confections still exist today. You may have heard of the U-NO Candy Bar. I am grateful for these two young men who had the courage to leave their family and come to America to enjoy the blessings of opportunity and freedom. Opportunities they did not have in France. A freedom that allowed them to pursue their dreams, be entrepreneurs and raise their family in a God-fearing land.
-Jason Cardinet, Board Member
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In August of 1852, William married Mary Clark. They wanted to leave England and come to America so they could have religious freedom. In England, at that time, he was not able to work unless he participated in the Church of England. At 20 years of age, William left England and sailed to America on the sailing ship, “The Camillus.”
Here are a few of William’s accomplishments after he arrived in the United States:
- In 1878 William was made a member if the Utah constitutional convention which laid the ground works for Utah’s statehood which would come 18 years later.
- Was instrumental in building the Union Pacific Central Railroad line from Franklin Idaho to the Mine Fields of Montana
- Owned several sawmills that furnished timber for the railroad ties
- His sons planted a large vegetable garden and made a small ditch to water the grain they had planted. This was the beginning of the Teton Island Canal.
- He was involved in the construction of the Consolidated Canal Company. Over the years, William helped in the construction of many canals.
- The town of Rigby, Idaho was named after him in recognition of all his efforts in the colonization of southeastern Idaho. Also, because of his efforts in starting the college of BYU Idaho, one of the men’s Dorms was named after him.
At the time of his death, William and his wife had 18 children and 180 grandchildren. He assisted in colonizing 44 settlements in the Snake River Valley. I think that going through the hardship of coming to a new country, the responsibilities of earning a living and serving in leadership roles must have seemed overwhelming to William. The extreme hardships of frontier life, colonizing new towns, leading governments, and building railroads. He had many accomplishments and he left the world a better place for his being here. I am proud to be William F. Rigby’s great-great-great grandchild. I feel that I inherited some of his leadership qualities. Maybe these abilities helped me to start the Sacramento Chapter of Freedoms Foundation in 2009.
-Pam Fronk, Board Member
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 I am going to share the family history story about my Great Great Great Grandfather Mads Christian Jensen.
He was miller (a person who runs a mill to grid wheat into flour) in Northern Denmark. He married Maren Anderson. They had five children.
In 1851, two missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ, shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with Maren and Mads. They were the first members of the Church of Jesus Christ in Northern Denmark. As early member of this church, they suffered severe persecution. Even Mads’s own brother, joined a mob that broke into their home, causing destruction, physical pain, and chased the Jensen family with their small children out of their own home.
In December of 1852, they had to leave their homeland, parents, relatives, job, and home; never to see their loves one ever again in this mortal existence. Mads had to sell everything and go. Also, one of their newly born daughters died.
They traveled to Keil, Germany; Altona, Germany; Hull, England, and then to Liverpool, England. From Liverpool, they sailed to New Orleans, LA. They were part of the John E. Forsgren Hand Cart Company. Mads was appointed to be a captain to supervise the distribution of food and lead one of the ten companies during this journey. During this time, one of the little sons of Mads and Maren Jensen died and was buried on an island in the mouth of the Mississippi River.
As they traveled through St. Louis, some of the hand cart company left to find work or settle in that area. Mads and other families continued traveling and reached Nebraska, where Maren gave birth to a baby boy, the first of this hand cart company to be born in the United States. They named my Great-Great Grandfather Denmark, after the country they loved so much and were so sadden leave. Denmark later settled in Chesterfield, Idaho, served as a Senator in Idaho, and did a lot of other great things for others in his lifetime.
Mads’s and Maren’s goal was to move to Salt Lake City, Utah. As they traveled, they encountered Native Americans, mud, harsh labor to move the hand carts, sick and afflicted members of the company, and deaths. After ten months and twenty-five days from the day they left their home in Bastholm, Denmark; they reached Salt Lake City. They settled in Kaysville, Utah where he built a flour mill. For the next four years, Mads did mill work in Kaysville, Salt Lake City, Weber, and Ogden, Utah.
 
In 1857, Mads C. Jensen, was called by President Lorenzo Snow (who later became a Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ at that time) to move to Brigham City to manage a flour mill. Mads remained in Brigham City for the rest of his life. He was one of the men who established and built up that community. To this day, I still have many relatives alive and buried in Brigham City, Utah. I too, lived there for six months of my life.
This portion of my family history has taught me the importance of religious freedom, to work hard, to never give up, and to do your part to build up the community in which you live on economical and social levels.
As for patriotism, even though to this day, we hold dear and remember that we came from Denmark, we love freedom and the gift we have been given to be able to live in a country that has the most freedom in the world. I am sure that my Great Great Grandfather Denmark understood this point as he saw his family build up Brigham City and other cities in Utah. He, himself, fought for freedom as a Senator in Idaho and when he helped settle Chesterfield, Idaho. These ideals throughout the Jensen generations and other mixed family lines, have taught me that freedom is very precious, as my relatives have fought through wars from fighting side by side with George Washington to modern day military service. As for my part, it has given me strength and a patriotic mindset as I have chosen a career that has been involved with running Statewide elections and other aspects of the political election process. In short, we must be mindful and work hard to keep our freedoms in such a wonderful country like the United States of America.
-Sean Jensen, Board Member
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 Patrick Anderson was the eldest son of James Anderson who came to America from Scotland as an indentured servant. Patrick grew up on the family farm located two miles north of Valley Forge. He was an ardent supporter of the rebellion against England. He was a member of Chester County’s committee of safety, and he served as 2nd in command of the Chester County minutemen under Anthony Wayne. When General Washington called for troops to help defend New York, he accepted a Captain's commission in the Pennsylvania Musketry Battalion. Patrick’s company was camped in the yard of the Pennsylvania State House on July 4th when the Declaration of Independence was ratified. The following day, his battalion marched to New York and took part in the Battle of Long Island on August 27th. Patrick lost 11 of his soldiers on the battlefield either killed or captured – one of whom was his brother–in-law.
The following year his company participated in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. Following the American defeat at Brandywine, Hessian troops marched northeast through Chester County and crossed Patrick’s farm. The family, warned of the Hessian approach, hid their grain under the floorboards of the barn and their silver in their well and fled two miles north to French Creek. The Hessians plundered the farm, butchering all the livestock, and taking or destroying everything of value. The following year, Patrick was elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly and resigned his commission. He served two terms. I often think about the hardships and sacrifices experienced by my 5th Great Father’s family and the thousands of other Americans who believed in a cause they felt worth dying for; it gives me a deep appreciation for the freedoms that I enjoy today.
-Craig Anderson, Board Member
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Now its your turn!
We encourage you to find out more about your heritage and your family's pursuit of the American dream!
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By: Sam Hendrickson, Editor
February 26th saw the return of our annual Freedoms Foundation awards banquet. Hosted at Timber Creek Lodge, the evening saw wonderful catering, a visit from the Sons of the American Revolution, and a wonderful speech given by keynote speaker Assemblyman Kevin Kiley. At the banquet we had the opportunity to award students, volunteers, and outstanding members of our community. First we awarded our Constitution Bowl winning team, Love of Learning team 1.
2022 Constitution Bowl Love of Learning Team
Melissa McKeon, Reagan Caudle, Jacob Hendrickson, Bronwen Thomas
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After that the 2022 Senior Scholarships were passed out.
2022 Senior Scholarships:
Isabella Benson (Rosemarie Groth Memorial Scholarship, Isabella Bruggemann, Sam Hendrickson, Justin Hwang, Ally Wright
   
After the senior scholarships were passed out, the chapter winners for the national essay contest were honored with the George Washington Honor Medal.
2022 National Essay Winners:
Kyara Hernandez, Colter Peterson, Emma Scoggins, Macy Zierman, Isabella Benson, Kathryn Smith, Abigail Wriston, Ally Wright, Milton Nguyen
Finally the chapter Spirit of America recipients were introduced and recognized concluding the youth awards portion of our banquet.
After this the George Washington Medal was awarded to outstanding members of our community.
The first was given to Julie Nakayama the founder of Julie's Purse Project, a charity dedicated to provide purses filled with essentials to women surviving trafficking, domestic abuse, trauma, and other hardships. Julie's organization has filled over 20,000 of these purses.
Julie Nakayama
Scott and Jacquie Flanagan are the founders of Compassion Planet and the second recipient of our award. Compassion Planet seeks to bring at risk youth, and those aged out of foster care, to personal and financial independence. Compassion planet gives both job training and emotional training and has seen over 90 alumni.
Jacquie and Scott Flanagan
Our third recipient was Michael Gordon, teacher and founder of the Center for Entrepreneurship. The students that work at this center run Kids Helping Kids Sacramento, an organization serving underprivileged youth in the area, and worldwide.
Michael Gordon
Finally A.J. Baime was our final recipient, a best selling author, with such works as: White Lies: The Double Life of Walter F. White and America's Darkest Secret, The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and the Four Months that Changed the World and, Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans.
A.J. Baime
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We want to give a big thank you to our master of ceremonies Joni Hilton. She did a wonderful job at announcing each segment and made the night so enjoyable. Thank you to our sponsors; Folsom Lake Ford, Pottery World, and Kodiak Roofing & Waterproofing Co. We would also like to recognize our event co-sponsors; Frank Penney Injury Lawyers and Allen Warren New Faze Development as well as our table sponsors; John Adams Academies Foundation, Jesse and Amanda Knight Society, Pinney Insurance, Clifton Larsen Allen, and FuturePoint Wealth Advisors Leavitt & Pratt.
Thank you to all of our volunteers who helped with the event. Of course it cannot go with out saying thank you to our wonderful Pam Fronk who put this whole night together. She put countless hours into this event and worked so hard to organize this for our Freedoms Foundation community. As always, it was amazing! Thank you Pam!
Our awards dinner was a great reminder of the hope that still exists in our communities and our nation through the education it receives, and the simple work of the outstanding individuals living in it.
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Annual Charity Golfing Tournament
May 13, 2022
Come enjoy a wonderful day of golfing at the Whitney Oaks Golf Club! Information and Registration can be found here
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Our Newest Board Member: Jason Cardinet
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Jason is a retired Certified Public Accountant with over 30 years serving individuals, businesses and non-profit organizations advising on financial and accounting matters. He was a partner of a nationally recognized CPA firm that practiced across the country. Jason currently serves on several for-profit and non-profit boards advising on all aspects of finance, tax and accounting issues. Jason and his wife, Joan, have 5 sons. They have 9 grandchildren. Jason and Joan recently returned from serving on an 18-month charitable assignment in Philadelphia where they were able to enjoy so much of the history of our nation. They also have been to Valley Forge with the Spirit of America Youth Leadership group.
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Stay Connected with us!
Instagram: @freedomsfoundationsac
Facebook: Freedoms Foundation Sacramento, CA Chapter
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Please support our programs!
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This newsletter was made with the help of our wonderful board members. A special thank you to them for their submissions.
A special thank you to our readers--we look forward to publishing more for you!
-Bella Benson & Sam Hendrickson
Chief Editors
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