Today's DAR
I am so grateful to my “Sol Sister” State Regents who have welcomed me to meet their members, oftentimes making special and unique arrangements to host my official visit when my schedule could not always accommodate their conference. This week I had the pleasure of attending events in both Tennessee and Wyoming, two of the 25 states that I’ve had the opportunity to visit within the last four months.
Blazing a Trail from Tennessee to Wyoming!
Tennessee Statehood Day, Nashville, June 1
State Regent Cecile Wimberly invited me to join her in beautiful Nashville during a full day of special events. Our journey began with a visit to the Tennessee State Museum to explore Volunteer State history. What a thrill to view the 1812 uniform restored through a partnership between the NSDAR Historic Preservation Grant program, the Tennessee State DAR Society and the state’s C.A.R. Society. In all, more than $14,000 was raised to purchase and restore the uniform of William Graham, who was commissioned in the 6th Tennessee Militia Regiment in 1807 and served until 1815. The uniform was part of a recent auction lot that also included his powder horn. The items had been retained by the family in an attic trunk, and the jacket pocket contained not only tobacco but also Graham’s decommissioning papers! What a treasure – and what an honor to have supported its restoration and permanent display.
Then it was off to experience Tennessee Statehood Day, meet the Secretary of State and State Librarian at the Tennessee State Library and take in a special display dedicated to the state’s constitution and other important documents/treaties. The Library also hosted the annual Tennessee State Society’s DAR youth awards ceremony, which offered the opportunity congratulate these outstanding essay and scholarship winners.
Lunch was a delicious “tea” served at Thistle Farms, a restaurant and retail operation that supports a shelter dedicated to helping women recover from both domestic and substance abuse. A variety of organic soaps, fragrances, candles and other products are made through the organization, which provides meaningful work and a fresh start for women in need of a helping hand. We met one of their success stories, who told us about her remarkable journey from addict to program manager. Part of Mrs. Wimberley’s State Regent’s Project has been to support the work of Thistle Farms, and a generous donation was made during our time together. One of this administration’s Women’s Issues Committee goals was to raise awareness of the dangers of domestic violence, and this event was a moving expression of the importance of doing so.
The afternoon’s highlight was a wreath laying ceremony at Nashville’s new Tennessee Women’s Suffrage monument, dedicated to the women who fought for women’s suffrage more than a century ago. Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment, when 24-year-old legislator Harry T. Burn switched his vote after receiving a letter from his mother, Febb E. Burn, who asked him to “be a good boy” and vote for the amendment. We are immensely proud that Mrs. Burn was a DAR member.
The gracious Tennessee Daughters provided me with the pleasure of staying at the historic Hermitage Hotel, an astounding historic preservation success story after very nearly being torn down in the 1980s. It was the site of the War of the Roses, an intense lobbying effort to give women the right to vote. I was given the privilege of staying in the very room (overlooking the statehouse) occupied by that important summer of 1920 by none other than Carrie Chapman Catt, one of the suffragettes who helped lead the fight for women’s right to vote. She devised the “Winning Plan,” which carefully coordinated state suffrage campaigns with the drive for a constitutional amendment—which was won by the single vote of young Harry Burn.
I treasure long friendships with several Tennessee Daughters, and it was certainly a joy to reconnect with them in person after having been separated by the pandemic. This, in fact, was Mrs. Wimberley’s third attempt to welcome me to her state – and it was, indeed, the charm.
107th Wyoming State Conference, Casper, June 2-5
(Cowboy!) Hats off to the Wyoming Daughters for installing and dedicating our latest DAR America 250 marker at historic Fort Caspar! It is beautiful and will be visible to tens of thousands of visitors annually to this site, a crossroads where the descendants of our Patriots pushed onward to settle the American West. It was a fabulous display of community spirit and involvement led by Wyoming State Regent Jeanette Hursman. I felt privileged to be a participant. Huzzah, Wyoming State Society!
That evening, the Wyoming Daughters hosted a delicious dinner in the wonderful museum at the site. Even better yet? We got to explore the fabulous exhibit researched and created by two Wyoming Daughters about their State Society and its chapters, titled “Patriotism from Peaks to Prairie: Wyoming Women of the DAR.” The panels and items in the exhibit will now travel to other parts of the state. Great way to Rise and SHINE!
Congratulations, Mrs. Hursman, for an excellent 107th State Conference. It was a privilege to meet Sgt. First Class Shane Vincent, a former Tomb Guard who discussed the centennial of the Tomb of the Unknown. He is the only Tomb Guard to have ever come from Wyoming. We also met the recipient of a state scholarship that is endowed to support a student of Native American descent; this year’s nursing student winner is the granddaughter of a World War II Navajo Code Talker. The Wyoming Daughters also welcomed their statewide essay winners and learned more about fighting wildfires as part of a Conservation Committee-themed luncheon.
As always, I think I most enjoyed hearing the reports of the chapters here, where their membership of 565 represents a 4-percent increase in the last year alone. Activities reported included Flag Day celebrations, Constitution Week observances, POW-MIA ceremonies, Our Patriots moments, waterway cleanups, JRTOC support, Wreath Across America participation, veterans outreach and Flag retirement ceremonies. The Wyoming Daughters planted 228 pollinator gardens in the last year, and one chapter worked with a local teacher to send backpacks filled with food home with students on Fridays to ensure that their families had adequate nutrition during the weekend.
I was appreciative of the opportunity to address the conference during the Friday evening dinner, and I was grateful that Mrs. Hursman allowed me the opportunity to host a breakfast for the Wyoming members of the Heritage Club. I deeply appreciate that the state society sponsored the restoration of its State Box and State Seal and provided additional support for The Next Act.
In between official conference business, I was treated to shopping trip to the famous Lou Taubert Ranch Outfitters, a third-generation Main Street Casper business that specializes in western wear, as I was outfitted to get some practice for riding into the sunset in a few weeks. Then, it was off to the 20,000-acre Banner Ranch, owned by the Trumbell Family. It is a fourth generation cattle ranch — and the current generation’s great grandmother was once the Wyoming State Regent. From riding Hannah to petting a day-old calf, it was SO FUN! They have 600 head of cattle, more than 20 horses and even a small donkey (named Don Quixote!). You can enjoy lots more photos of this fabulous homestead by visiting my DAR President General Facebook page.
Mrs. Hursman’s conference theme was “Blaze the Trail.” I am certainly impressed by her leadership and the accomplishments of her members, who reported more than 9,600 hours of Service to America last year. Indeed, great things are happening in the Wyoming DAR!
