Colonial Heights 40&8 conducts traditional ceremony
Contributed Report
New officers installed following a candle lighting
COLONIAL HEIGHTS — Voiture 1530 of Colonial Heights conducted its annual Past Chef Dinner and Ceremony on Sunday, June 24. Each year the local voiture light candles for all past Chefs, or commanders. As each name is read, a candle is extinguished if that Chef has died, creating a great honor to the memory and service of many past Chefs who have long since passed. Following the ceremony a transition ceremony between the outgoing and incoming Chefs de Gare occurred.
The outgoing Chef de Gare George Ahrend thanked everyone present for their assistance over the past year. Ahrend officially transferred command to Lee Lipscomb, who will serve for one year in the leadership position. Lipscomb was sworn into office by Past Chef Ann Robbins who added fun and humor to the installation ceremony. The 40&8, whose origins can be traced to miserable conditions veterans endured in World War I being transported to the front lines in railroad boxcars, prides itself on the emphasis of humor and lightheartedness.
The 40&8, which started in 1920 by veterans returning from France in World War I, still uses French titles and terms in various aspects of the organization. The 40&8 is officially called La Société des Quarante Hommes et Huit Chevaux (The Society of Forty Men and Eight Horses) since boxcars used during WWI could hold either 40 men or eight horses. Today the 40&8 focuses its mission on the Constitution of the United States; the well-being of veterans, widows, widowers, and orphans; and select charities including Child Welfare, and Nurses Training.