“Almost heaven, West Virginia!” Thank you State Regent, Jane Larke and Daughters for a “wild and wonderful” time in your beautiful state. I enjoyed touring the incredible state park with my old Paging friends, Mindy Davis and Charla Nutter McNaboe. Special thanks to my Page, Elizabeth Saterfield, for her attention to detail. This was the first conference to which I drove and the Country Roads certainly took me to a place where I belonged!
-Pamela Wright
West Virginia is known as “wild and wonderful,” and it certainly was in early May, when we gathered at Canaan Valley Resort and Conference Center, near Davis, WV, which abuts Dolly Sods, a national wilderness area in the Allegheny mountains. And although the venue is known as a 4-seasons resort, we didn’t think we’d get a foot of late spring SNOW which turned to 60-degree weather all within three short days.
However, the changeable weather did not diminish the enthusiasm shown by West Virginia Daughters for our first in-person conference since 2019. Our Cameo Club met prior to our official opening, where club president and Honorary State Regent, Charla Nutter McNaboe, focused on family and friendships within DAR.
Traditionally, at each state conference in an administration, West Virginia emphasizes one goal of DAR. This year we focused on historic preservation, and our conference theme was “West Virginia Blooms with a Passion for Preservation.” We welcomed our members with bouquets and a boom when the Mountaineer Fife and Drum Ensemble made their impressive entrance. They entertained us during our welcome dinner with a mix of military music, traditional songs from Appalachia and of course, “Country Roads.” Their performance was entertaining and educational, as the director interwove a narration about the use of instruments as a form of communication in the Revolutionary War period.
We also heard from Lori Thompson, archivist and head of Special Collections at Marshall University, who is an advisor for a facet of my State Regent’s Project. She focused on their overall collection as well as the digitization of selected historical documents in the WVDAR collection. During our business session, each Chapter Regent also highlighted an activity they participated in that dealt with promoting history and historic preservation.
On Saturday afternoon, we offered two office specific workshops presented by our officers and chairs that targeted registrars and treasurers. Along with these workshops, National Vice Chair Morgan Elliott led one on encouraging and retaining members, and WV Quilters Documentation Chair, Roberta Gellner, on their historical preservation project dealing with collecting information about pre-1970 quilts made in, or residing in, West Virginia. This documenting process includes collecting genealogical information on the quilt maker if known.
Mrs. Wright gave an inspiring presentation during our Saturday Friendship Banquet. Our members were so excited to meet her and other conference guests during their visit with us. They felt strongly that they had made new friends, and indeed that was official when the Honorable Jim Justice, Governor of WV, commemorated their visit by recognizing them as a “Friend of West Virginia.”
Our conference wrapped up on Sunday with a beautiful memorial service led by State Chaplain Barbara Holt and our closing session. We left the mountains invigorated with energy, new ideas, and a new commitment to “bloom through our service and friendship.”
Today's DAR
