Enough said. We have all benefited from his patience in sharing Angelwood. As the Chapter has matured, I hope he's become less of an "FR widower." Thanks, Freeper “Mark Phelps” (also our DC Chapter webmaster).

A conservative all her life, Angelwood found Free Republic in 1997 in the Whitewater link off of the Drudge Report. She lurked for some time. Then, one day in the fall of 1998, in the course of the impeachment turmoil, she read this post from MrConfettiMan:

"As promised in a previous article, I went down to the White House this morning with my protest sign. It was the first time I had ever done anything that might label me an activist. And you know what? It felt awesome!!!!! It might feel really good to sit around with a bunch of like-minded people and complain about Clintoon, but it feels a hundred times better to go out and be proactive. * * * Join me. It'll make you feel really good."

This truly historic FR thread had a commanding title: "DC Protest: I Was There, Where Were You?". (You’ve heard this story but you can never hear it enough. Remember DaisyScarlett’s profile just last week of Bert, who said he felt really good when he finally went to the White House protest. Those were heady days!)

She laughs at her first sign: two pieces of construction paper with bumper stickers (Impeach Clinton) and flag stickers slapped on them, joined with strings to form a "sandwich board" she wore.

Soon after these weekly protests commenced, a thread went up on Free Republic entitled:  Washington DC Area Chapter Formed. All were welcome:

"We have decided to continue our White House protest every Saturday from 10am - 2pm . . . . We encourage all Chapters and citizens to join us on Saturday mornings. You will not believe the support you get from tourists and Americans. America does care. Eagles Up!

Freepers and Lurkers from all over the country would coordinate their travel plans to the DC area so that they could join the DC Chapter for a Saturday protest. Honorary DC Chapter membership was bestowed upon them all.

Angelwood had lurked for more than a year, but had not registered to post. She had asked MrConfettiMan or Marylander to post articles for her. She began going to the White House during her lunch hour and then would have a report posted. On December 6, 1998, the New York Times had a front page story by James Bennett stating that there were no protesters at the White House. Angelwood's husband was so incensed that he signed her up on Free Republic that very day!

Since the NYTimes article wasn't true (SAY IT ISN’T SO!!), Marylander and Angelwood made plans to protest the D.C. Office of the New York Times on Monday afternoon. They passed out a flyer and asked every man who entered or exited if he was Mr. Bennett. Someone, who must have been offended by the impromptu protest, even lobbed a raw egg out of an upper window at Marylander and Angelwood.

So the chapter began. There were ebbs and flows in events and attendance. Kristinn, Angelwood, and MrConfettiMan were mainstays. Sometimes, for some Freeps, it was just two or three people. Things blossomed, things bloomed. “Freepers are everywhere.” Angelwood became known as the “Button Lady” because she began making up buttons with clever and true statements on them for distribution to the tourists and student groups visiting the White House. Many Freepers and Lurkers donated to the DC Chapter “Button Fund” over the years, and to date approximately 15,000 buttons have been handed out.

When Angelwood wasn’t standing outside the White House on Saturdays in those early days, she was able to go to various Congressional hearings and trials. She would write after-action reports to share her insight and eye witness accounts of what went on behind the scenes at memorable events, such as:   Ken Starr’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee; the Burton House Government Affairs Committee hearings with John Huang, Bruce Lindsey, Beth Nolan, Cheryl Mills, and Charles Ruff; and the trial of Julie Hyatt Steele where Angelwood freeped Susan McDougal. She had the Freeper bug big time!

Angelwood and Kristinn thought they would be able to retire after George W. Bush was elected and the Clintons left the scene of their crimes. Unfortunately, Al Gore just wouldn’t concede that he had lost, and the DC Chapter got busy organizing the protests at the Vice President’s mansion on the grounds of the Naval Observatory.

After Bush was declared the 43rd President of the United States, she helped with the Free Republic Inaugural Ball and Count the Silverware Party (featuring Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and his band, Capitol Offense). It was a complete success.

Check out Angelwood's bookmarks in her profile. She's been at all the major DC Freeps. That includes the March for Justice and Impeachment Day. It’s revealing that one of her favorite Freeps is the lesser-known "Twilight Freep" outside the White House, just before the dinner to honor the 13 House Managers and to thank them for their role in securing President Clinton's impeachment. She and about 70 or 80 others went to the White House with flashlights and signs.

The White House entrance was set up with a screen surrounding the front door. It was a security measure to protect President Clinton and Hillary when they stood outside to greet the Japanese Ambassador. There was a formal State Dinner that evening. The assembled protesters were able to do several chants: “Clinton is a Liar” among others. Then they chanted "Treason is the Reason" so long and so loud that it made it onto the C-SPAN tape of the event, which is available for sale. This is one of her favorites because she knew that evening that President Clinton and Hillary must have heard them. Even after the Senate failed to do its constitutional duty after the House impeachment, this Freep was a "reminder" to President Clinton that Freepers were out there, still watching.

Since September 11, 2001, the DC Chapter has been very active in maintaining a memorial site at the Pentagon to remember the victims of that tragic attack. They have also countered the anti-war protesters whenever they assemble in Washington, DC. They have held three Patriots Rallies for America to Support Our Troops and envision many more. And when Sen. Clinton goes fundraising, Angelwood goes Freeping.

All this has earned Angelwood quite a Rolodex in a town that competes on who-you-know. As they say in Washington, “People” – that’s a capitol “P” – have her phone number. She won’t name drop names, so let’s “out” her with some photo-dropping. Being a leader of the DC Chapter is like being an angel in one respect: there’s a lot of work to be done, but you get to meet some pretty important people! People such as  (click on the photos for larger view).....

Brit Hume Bob Barr Katherine Harris David Limbaugh

It was a great thrill for her to meet David and Rush Limbaugh, and she wrote a great post calling the 4/18/01 booksigning party an absolute delight!. Rush Limbaugh signed her name tag and then stuck it on her shoulder! She didn’t remove it until she got home, at which point she stuck it on David’s book for safekeeping. Rush had a link to her Free Republic article with her picture on his homepage for three or four days thereafter – great publicity for Free Republic. Whoo hah!