100th Anniversary of Allensworth's Homegoing

Chaplain Allensworth had just stepped off a streetcar in Monrovia when a motorcyclist ran him down. They rushed him to the hospital where doctors worked on him through the night. Unfortunately they could not save him and he died the next day, September 14, 1914.

To mark the 100th Anniversary of Chaplain Allensworth's home going, the city of Monrovia will "commemorate the life and contributions of this American visionary" on Sunday, September 14, 2014.

Speaking during the two hour program are Monrovia Mayor Mary Ann Lutz, Monrovia City Council members, Friends of Allensworth President Thomas Stratton, Monrovia Historian Steven Baker, and representing the Second Baptist Church former city of Duarte Mayor Lois Gaston. The free program is from 1:30 to 3:30 pm at the Monrovia Historical Museum.

For more information contact Susie Ling at shling@pasadena.edu or Thomas Stratton at (855) 645-1255, info@friendsofallensworth.org

Where:  Monrovia Historical Museum

  742 East Lemon Avenue     

  Monrovia, CA 91016

Date:     Sunday, September 14, 2014

Time:     1:30 to 3:30 pm

Cost:      Free

Allensworth Inducted into Hall of Fame

On October 15, 2012 Allen Allensworth was posthumously inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame. Formed in 1995, the Hall of Fame acknowledges men and women that have made distinguished contributions to the field of adult and continuing education.

Chaplain Allensworth was honored as a practitioner and pioneer in adult education for his educational contributions and achievements during his service with the 24^th Infantry Regiment, an all Black regiment of “Buffalo Soldiers.”

Most of the soldiers in the 24^th Infantry Regiment were former slaves or sons of former slaves that were not permitted to learn how to read and write. As the regiment’s chaplain the education of these soldiers fell on Allensworth.  However the Army gave chaplains little guidance and very limited supplies and materials. Allensworth took it upon himself to develop an educational program that would later be used Army wide.

In 1891 Allensworth traveled at his own expense to the National Education Association conference in Toronto, Canada, where he lectured on “The History and Progress of Military Education in the United States.” Chaplain Allensworth’s commitment to education not only enriched the lives of the soldiers in the 24^th Infantry Regiment but also enriched the lives of soldiers all across the United States Army.

A plaque with a photograph of Colonel Allensworth and a description of his contributions to the field of adult education is displayed at the International Adult and Continuing Education Hal of Fame, located at the University of Oklahoma’s Oklahoma Center for Continuing Education in Norman, Oklahoma. Chaplain Allensworth and the other inductees are profited on the Hall of Fame website.

“Gateway to the Pacific” Living History Event



Front entry to the Camp Reynolds Chapel where Allensworth

was assigned from December 1900 to August 1902.



Angel Island State Park will host “Gateway to the Pacific”, a living history event, on Saturday and Sunday, October 15 and 1 6 from 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. at Camp Reynolds. The event highlights Angel Island and its role in the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars of 1899-1902. It will feature re-enactors interpreting the lives of soldiers and civilians of the time. Event historians will be on hand to discuss details of the war, exhibit equipment and weapons, and demonstrate original hand-crank sewing machines and other home crafts of the era spotlighting civilian life back at home.

The U.S. Army Post Camp Reynolds, housed troops being deployed to location throughout the Pacific in times of war, including the Philippine Islands, until the military left the Island during the early 1960s.

Chaplain Allen Allensworth and his family were assigned to Camp Reynolds after the chaplain was injured in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War. The 100 seat chapel and 24 seat one-room school where Chaplain Allensworth conducted Sunday service, and held weekly debates among the enlisted men is still there.

For more information about Angel island State Park call (415) 435-2131 or visit www.parks.ca.gov/angelisland. For ferry information from Tiburon, contact Angel Island Ferry Company, (4150 435-2131, http://www.angelislanferry.com/. For ferry information from San Francisco, contact Blue and Gold Fleet, (415) 773-1188, http://www.blueandgoldfleet.com/.



Stephen Hill. Sr.