Founders of a national patriotic organization honored in Schuylkill Haven and Pine Grove

Aug. 12—SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — After the Civil War, three Schuylkill County veterans of the Union Army breathed new life into a group that would become one of the premiere patriotic organizations in the country.

James K. Helms (1841-1893) and Henry J. Stager (1842-1919), both of Schuylkill Haven, and Frederick E. Stees (1841-1905), of Pine Grove, were instrumental in the formation of the Patriotic Order Sons of America.

A delegation from the POSofA state office in Leesport, Berks County, paid tribute to the three founding members Saturday during graveside services in Schuylkill Haven and Pine Grove.

"Brothers Helms, Stager and Stees exhibited a sense of renewed patriotism to establish the order," Donald R. Borkey, national secretary, said during a service in Union Cemetery, where Helms and Stager are buried.

The service was repeated at St. John's Lutheran Cemetery, Pine Grove, where Stees is buried.

All three men served as POSofA state and national presidents, among other posts. Stager founded Camp News, the POSofA newsletter, which is still published out of the Leesport office 104 years after his death.

Helms, Stager and Stees joined the Junior Sons of America, which was formed in 1847, as teens. It was all but defunct after the war, which ended in 1865, when it was reorganized as the POSofA.

Headquartered at Valley Forge National Park, the POSofA celebrated its 175th anniversary last year. It maintains Patriot's Hall in the park.

Instrumental in legislation that set June 14 as Flag Day, the POSofA is also involved in preservation of Washington Crossing Park on the Delaware River and Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia. The organization also erected a monument at the birthplace of Francis Scott Key, author of the National Anthem, in Taneytown, Maryland.

At its height in the late 1800s, the POSofA had 3,332 camps in 42 states.

All three men were revered in their respective communities.

Some 2,000 people attended the dedication of the granite monument to Helms on June 11, 1901.

A parade was held in Schuylkill Haven when Stager's monument was dedicated on Oct. 22, 1921. His granddaughter sang "America" during the graveside service.

It was said, at the time, that the crowd that gathered to dedicate Stees' monument in 1908 was the largest ever assembled in Pine Grove. Three bands played musical selections, and two special trains of 26 cars each brought POSofA members from Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley to the service.

Standing at Helms' graveside monument Saturday, Borkey described him as an eloquent orator without equal.

"Stees was wise, suave and the greatest diplomat," Borkey said. "And Stager was a man of vision and dreams who made those dreams come true, and a writer who never touched a subject except to illuminate it."

Dan Reed, Schuylkill Haven Historical Society president, welcomed the delegation to Union Cemetery.

Ruth Tucci, cemetery treasurer, took the occasion to pay tribute to the Civil War veterans buried in Union Cemetery.

"We're proud of our men from Schuylkill Haven who gave so much to their country," she said.

Also participating in Saturday's services were Daniel M. Dailey, past national and state president, and Glenn R. Moyer, POSofA president in Berks County. Both are members of Camp 211 in Mohnton, Berks County.

Carol Weyandt, who publishes Camp News from the Leesport office, organized the service.

Harry B. Phillips, recording secretary of Camp 387 in Schwenksville, Montgomery County, laid a wreath of flowers at the graves and gave the invocation.

Contact the writer: rdevlin@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6007