One way of preserving our history is to collect items that provide a window into the past. DAR Museum Outreach Committee Chair Holly Bailey showcased such items through the sponsorship of a DAR Museum Trunk Show at a meeting staged at Historic Belvidere Farm in Mt. Sidney.
Our chapter is a Vietnam War Commemorative partner with the Department of Defense. We sponsor events to honor the veterans of this era; We have awarded four "In Honor Of" certificates to Gold Star family members. In a recent event, we honored 110 veterans at the Frontier Culture Museum.
Each year our chapter sponsors three Good Citizens and one scholarship recipient from area high schools. Our American History Committee has identified and honored Agnes May Meyer Driscoll for her groundbreaking contributions as a cryptographer during WWII. A certificate and medal were presented to her grand nephew, Captain Victor Meyer.
This chapter has honored two women with the Medal of Honor, the highest DAR award: P. Buckley Moss and Colonel Melissa Eleanor Patrick, U.S. Army. We honored Holley Watts with a
Outstanding Woman in American History Certificate and Medal. She
who brought comfort and smiles to troops in Vietnam, acting as a “reminder of home,” she would boost troop morale by visiting hospitals, playing games, and aiding the homesick. She was known as Donut Dolly.
The DAR is a service organization and this chapter works with local agencies to fulfill this mission. We used a $500 grant to transform a storage area to a teen room in a local mission. Members donated canned goods to a local food panty, and volunteer with area church food pantries. Members work with local schools, libraries and individuals to provide tutoring and literacy-based activities for children and adults.
Members participate in a Memorial Day Commemoration, sponsor Veterans Day events, and participate in Staunton's Fourth of July and Christmas parades and Wreaths Across America. We recently sponsored an event to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
In order to serve the community, members are encouraged to participate in DAR leadership courses where completion is recognized at chapter, state, and national levels. Other areas of for enlightenment are new member orientations, field trips to historic sites, daily e-mail blogs from NSDAR's leaders, as well as chapter newsletters which keep members informed of chapter, state, and national events and news.
Diligence in utilizing nature's gifts is paramount to chapter members in all aspects of daily living. The chapter sponsors conservation projects such as recycling plastic. Recently, members collected 1353 plastic items for recycling during a nine-month period, and some members are involved with community beautification and butterfly gardens. See pictures in the Photo Gallery.
A recent chapter project involved sending all kinds of personal products to a unit of female soldiers in Afghanistan prior to the US withdrawal. Emphasis was placed on items providing comfort for their "bodies" in the hot arid climate where they were based. The chapter was gifted with a US flag which had been ceremonially flown over Afghanistan.
Photos on the page above are courtesy of the Colonel Thomas Hughart Chapter NSDAR unless otherwise noted
The content contained herein does not necessarily represent the position of the NSDAR. Hyperlinks to other sites are not the responsibility of the NSDAR, the state organizations, or individual DAR chapters.