Page 15 - Sojourner Newsletter-Winter 2025_FINAL

Volume 102, Issue 1 15

New Horizons Campaign

Edward W. Nolte, National Historian

By now, “most” Sojourners have heard about the New Horizons Campaign. This article addresses why most
(not all) Sojourners know about the New Horizons Campaign, and the history of similar prior campaigns, how
much was collected, and the need for current support.
th
At the 4 Annual Meeting in 1924, Sojourners approved Resolution 1924-01, which directed the NS-T to
publish a “monthly” bulletin. Edition #1 was published in October 1924, and since that time, nine NS-T’s
have published 750 monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, and quadrimester editions of The Sojourner through the
2025 Winter edition. A membership benefit was that every Sojourner in good standing was promised a copy
of The Sojourner. Initially, issues were sent via mail, but over time, costs of printing and postage became too
much and electronic mailing became the primary means of distribution. But what does electronic publication
have to do with the price of corn in Nebraska? As Brother Paul Harvey used to say on his radio program
(1951-2008), “In a moment, the rest of the story.”
While changing from hard copy to electronic mailing seemed prudent by those who were “electronically
connected,” what NSI has discovered is that like Apollo 13, “Houston, we have a problem.” The Order is
breaking its promise to a significant number of Sojourners because not every Sojourner is electronically
connected. How many you ask—is it 10, 100, or 500? Well actually at last check, of the approximately 7,858
living Sojourners 2,061 or 26% do not have an email address listed in the Membership Management System
(MMS).
How many of these “missing” Sojourners actually have an email address, but it is not posted in MMS, and
how many simply do not have email or a computer? That is the 64 dollar question. Oops, so I do not reveal
my age, that reference comes from a 1940-48 radio program, “Take It or Leave It,” which was similar to
Jeopardy today, where the top, most difficult question was 64 dollars.
No Sojourner should go missing or be left behind, and this is where YOU come in. The NSI leadership—
National Line Officers through Chapter Presidents and Secretaries through individual Sojourners—need to
make a concerted effort to physically contact ALL Sojourners to ensure they 1) have an email address and it is
recorded in MMS, or 2) if they do not have email, ensure they receive a copy of The Sojourner, and have an
opportunity to become a Penta, Sustainer, or Plank Owner of the New Horizons Campaign. Let’s solve this
problem together and personally charge ourselves using the mantra: “If it is to be, it is up to me!”
Historically, the New Horizons Campaign was preceded by efforts to find a new home for the Order. This
story could fill a book in itself, but suffice it to say that beginning in 1970, Sojourners began the search for a
new home, which evolved through the 1) Committee of 33, 2) National Headquarters Library and Museum
Building Committee, 3) Foundation for National Library and Museum on Americanism (FNLMA), and 4)
Foundation for Collingwood Library and Museum on Americanism (CLMA). In 1977, FNLMA purchased
the Collingwood-on-the-Potomac property, renovated it, changed its name to CLMA, and provided a home for
the Order beginning in 1978. Collingwood was the home of National Sojourners from 1978 to 2014. During
this 37-year period, Sojourners donated more than $4,000,000 to support a home for the Order and its
operations. Those donations averaged a little more than $108K/year in then-year dollars and more than
$216K in inflated 2024 dollars. This $100-200K annual plus up was needed then, and it is needed now.
As the “Greatest Generation” supported the Order then, I ask you join them in the New Horizons Campaign.
As Brother Paul Harvey used to say, “Now you know the rest of the story. Good Day!”