Grinnell Chapter of the Daughters of the
The regular meeting of the Grinnell Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution Nov. 10 was led by Regent Darlene Leib.
National Defense Minute report was given by Dee Meyers on the topic of Veterans Day. World War I — known at the time as “The Great War” —officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, Nov. 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”
For the Flag Minute, Lelah Main continued the history of the American Flag. When Alaska was admitted to the Union, the flag had 49 stars and the new flag was flown for the first time on July 4, 1959. Hawaii was admitted in 1960 and the flag was changed to 50 stars and has remained that way. This 50-star flag is the longest serving flag of the U.S.A.
Betty Carr reported on the Good Citizens contest. First place was awarded to Gabrella Daft of Newton Senior High School, second place to Stephanie Pettit of Newton Basics and Beyond, third to Ann Deutsch of Baxter High School and fourth place to Tyler Swenson of Montezuma High School. A ceremony will be held at the May DAR meeting in Grinnell.
A program, “The History of Women,” was given by Kris Macy. She focused on two women who were patriots in the American Revolution. “Molly Pitcher” was a nickname given to a woman who carried water to the men during the war. She was actually Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley who fought alongside her husband firing the cannons against the British. She was awarded a pension in 1822 by the Pennsylvania State Legislature and it wasn’t until the anniversary of the War in 1876 that a marker — noting her exemplary service — was placed on her grave.
Sybil Ludington Ogden is known as the “female Paul Revere.” When, on April 26, 1777, Sybil’s, father Col Ludington, received word that the British were attacking Danbury, Connecticut, 16-year-old Sybil volunteered to warn the countryside of the attack and to alert the militia troops to muster at Ludington’s. She traveled some 40 miles, twice as far as Paul Revere, through the towns of Carmel, Mahopac, and Stormville, in the middle of the night, in a rainstorm, on muddy roads, shouting that the British were burning Danbury and calling out the militia to assemble at Ludington’s. Sybil Ludington’s contribution to the war was to help stop the advance of the British, and thus give the American militia more time to organize and resist. She was recognized for her midnight ride by those in the neighborhood and also was recognized by General George Washington.
Another significant woman of the period was Phillis Wheatley, the author of the first book of poetry by an African American, published in London in 1773. Born in West Africa about 1753, Wheatley was named for the slave ship, the Phillis, that brought her to Boston on July 11, 1761, and the Wheatley family. Although she spoke no English upon her arrival in this country, she soon proved to be a precocious learner. She was treated more as a member of the Wheatley family than a servant or slave, and her education was that of a young woman in an elite Boston family.
The next meeting will be Dec. 8 at the Centre for Art & Artists in Newton.