My name is Frances Semler and I am a Minuteman!              

I grew up on a farm near Desoto Ks, went to the two rooms Cedar Junction Grade School with teachers who taught us to be curious about everything.

The small Kansas schools I attended did not discriminate against anyone including African American children; we all got along just fine. I can remember one time my dad thought the school should go to Swope Park in Kansas City Missouri so he loaded us all in the back of his big truck and off we went for the hour long trip. Since those days I’ve realized just how much I didn’t know about segregation in Kansas City; what the people we passed in different parts of the City must have thought when they saw black and white kids singing and having a good time together. It wasn’t until I was on the Kansas City’s Park Board did I learn that black children could not swim in the pools; I do not recall any problems we had back then while in Swope Park.

Every morning we lined up outside that two room school and recited our salute to the biggest and most beautiful flag I have ever seen. 

At least once a year we were visited by two highway patrolmen ("Mutt and Jeff" because one was tall and one short) who talked to us about obeying the law. We also received the same message at home. This respect for our laws has stayed with me.

My father was a Democrat and my mother a Republican so our dinner table or a row of beans that was ¼ mile long could be a spot for lively political discussions. We were always taught to study and speak up for our ideas but listen to others. 

This background has made me proud of our flag and country!

After my dad died, my mother continued with the farm by initiating the “U-Pick pumpkin patch” (probably the first one in the area) In the Fall school buses would line up to come and pick their pumpkins and free gourd that she would give each of them. She did enjoy those children.

My sister and I helped with the farm for a few years and then our mother developed Alzheimer’s and moved in with my husband Richard and me for the final 6 years of her life.  She was a very pleasant person all her life and that did not change with the disease.  Pieces of the farm were rented out after Dad died and finally sold.

I believe in our rule of law because without it our country would not be the great nation it is!

I am proud to be a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. Everyone (Especially women) should get involved in these and other issues because our children and grandchildren's lives depend on us to pass them a country of which they can be proud.