H.K. Edgerton

From: Gary Poore - pooreg@bellsouth.net
To: lostlake444@yahoo.com
Sent: Wed, November 17, 2010
Subject: Mr. H. K. Edgerton

Mr. John Anderson
Pine Mountain, Georgia

Mr. Anderson:

I have just read your emails to Mr. H.K. Edgerton, which were forwarded to me by Mr. Joe Sparacino, Commander of SCV Dixie Defenders, Camp 2086, in Dixie County, Florida. Joe and H.K. exchange phone conversations quite regularly, and Joe forwards to me most emails he receives from H.K.

You are absolutely correct in your expressed admiration of H.K. Our SCV Camp has had H.K. down for three visits to Dixie County and Cross City, Florida, and I can assure you that he is a learned gentleman of the first order. I have eaten at Joe's supper table, on three occassions, enjoying Mrs. Sparacino's delectable culinary delicacies, while listening spell-bound to H.K. and his brother Terry Lee tell of their travels on the "Walk to Texas", and numerous other visits they have made to participate in Southern heritage events, including some Court trials at which H.K. served as witness.

In February of this year, the local black community leaders in Cross City, who were organizing a Martin Luther King Day parade, invited our Dixie Defenders Camp to join in the parade, in uniforms and with flags flying. When Joe told H.K. that our Camp would march, he and Terry Lee immediately came to Cross City, to join in our part of the parade. H.K. and Terry Lee are able to create an immediate rapport with every black person they meet in Cross City, and delight in explaining that everyone who lives in the South should be proud of our Southern heritage, and that the various Confederate flags are not flags of hate, but flags of honor. They can reach people, both black and white, that we cannot reach; and that type of outreach must always be an integral part of our advancement of and advocacy for Southern heritage.

Our Camp 2086 is now planning to sponsor, again, a Confederate Memorial Day ceremony on April 26, 2011, on the steps and veranda of the Dixie County Court House. At our 2010 Memorial Day ceremony, we flew the Third National Flag and the Confederate POW-MIA Flag over the Dixie County Court House during the Noon-hour ceremony, which we think was the first time since 1865 that the Third National flag had flown over a County Court House in the entire U.S.A. We hope to be able to bring H.K. and Terry Lee down again for this ceremony.

Please consider this as an invitation to you to attend our 2011 Confederate Memorial Day ceremony in Cross City. Just follow the Suwannee River south to Dixie County, and you will easily find Cross City and the County Court House.

Gary Poore, Adjutant
Dixie Defenders
Camp 2086
Sons of Confederate Veterans

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From: John Anderson
To: Gary Poore
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Subject: Re: Mr. H. K. Edgerton

Dear Mr. Poore.

The tears in my eyes blur my vision as I write a reply to your kind and informative message. First I am flattered and touched that anyone would see in my words something worthy of forwarding to some one else especially my new Hero Mr. H. K. Edgerton. Next I am only a simple person with no great accomplishments to lay out before the world. I am not down on myself, only unbelievably flattered that you folks see my comments worthy of sharing.

As I have become older I have felt a strong desire to do just what H. K. is doing. I want to leave something for my children and grandchildren that will inspire them to do great things and to take their knowledge of the truth and pass it down to those who deserve to know our wonderful heritage as it was and not as people with agendas want it to be.

I am a little emotional at this moment and will just tell you how much your message meant to me. I would like to be a part of what you folks are doing. Let me know if there is anything that I can do to help in any way. I will forward to you a message that I just sent to my nephew Dwayne Anderson who is presently a copy editor for American Digger Magazine. They were working on a sister publication "Embracing History" which was supposed to come out in January but will probably be delayed indefinitely due to low subscription sales. We had hoped to feature my Great Great Great Uncle Dolphin Ward Floyd who was one of the 32 Gonzales Rangers who died at the Alamo. Dolphin Floyd died on his 32 birthday March 6, 1836. I believe that my nephew will want to interview H. K on their radio station or find a story which will fit into the American Digger Magazine. I haven't even run this by Mr. Edgerton yet so I may be premature in running my mouth so to speak but I do think that it would be a good idea.

Once again Mr. Poore, thanks for your letter and thanks for making my day.

God Bless, John Anderson