America 250!
Have you made plans for the 250th Anniversary Celebration?
Remember back in 2018, I suggested our chapters plan an annual commemorative event celebrating their namesake so they could develop a following and refine the plan? If your chapter hasn’t formulated a plan yet, you still have time, but time is ticking away! Now is a good time to brainstorm and make plans. Plan interesting and educational memorials, wreaths laying, lectures, plays, or whatever your talented members can create, so that your chapter will have an annual commemorative event established for the 250th Anniversary Celebration. Your efforts will carry out this administration’s theme “Tying the Past to the Present is our Gift to the Future.” The Battle of Rockfish Chapter acted on my request right away and held an event at the battle site in the summer of 2019. In 2020, they again held this commemoration virtually with many viewing from home. I am so proud of their continuing efforts to establish an annual event based on their namesake.
We are so fortunate to live in one of the original thirteen colonies, where events happened and people strove to make themselves free and independent from England. Our chapter names tell the story of our participation in the Revolution. North Carolinians will be interested in hearing about the skirmishes, the people, and the places involved in the remarkable transition from dependent colonists to independent citizens governing themselves. So much happened here that is not in textbooks. Don’t let our residents think all was quiet within our state and our people just sat around and watched the war take place elsewhere!
Besides celebrating this remarkable anniversary, the goal is to educate the public and generate interest in joining DAR. For us personally, it is to keep alive the memory of our patriots who sacrificed their lives and fortunes to establish a country upon the principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity.
While Zooming with the Clear Creek Militia recently, plans were created with enthusiasm to work on their celebration. They clearly exhibited pride in their chapter name as well as pride in their patriots. Don’t forget that you could enlist the input and assistance of nearby DAR chapters and SAR chapters combining your efforts for a more comprehensive commemorative event. Team work always creates a superior outcome. I anxiously await hearing about your chapter’s commemoration!