Members of the The General Andrew Lewis Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) celebrated President’s Day and the 250th Celebration of the American Revolution with the third, fourth and fifth grade students of Crichton Elementary School in Crichton, Greenbrier County. Attending from the DAR were Regent Suzanne Cronquist, Vice Regent Judy Deegans, Treasurer Barb Hiltner and Corresponding Secretary Karen Lee McClung. The DAR members were welcomed to the school by Principal Ashley Spencer. The teachers brought their students to the room decorated for them by the DAR committee. The third grade is taught by Emily Sines, the fourth grade by Sonja Manspile and Kelsey Tygrett teaches the fifth grade. The students were very well behaved and quickly became engaged in the program. Regent Suzanne Cronquist opened the program by discussing the 250th Celebration of the founding of our great country. She explained the DAR is an organization devoted to family and history.
Member Karen Lee McClung (a retired teacher) picked up where Regent Cronquist left off by helping put into perspective what it was like 250 years ago. She gave them some homework. At first, they moaned and groaned when she said that dreaded word, homework. As she explained what she wanted them to do, they got into the project. She asked them to go home and write down the names of their mother and father and then under that to add the names of their grandparents and to ask their parents the names of their grandparents. She explained they were doing genealogy – creating a history of their families. They loved the idea.
Vice Regent Judy Deegans spoke to the students about George Washington whose birthday they were celebrating. She told them about Washington becoming a surveyor while still a teenager and his ties to what is now West Virginia. Some of the first places he surveyed were in West Virginia, and he found the land in the eastern panhandle to his liking. They were told about the Washingtons settling in the eastern panhandle of what is now West Virginia, and he could have lived there had he not inherited Mount Vernon. They also learned about his surveying work along the Ohio River and work he did on the West Virginia side of the river.
The talk of Washington turned to the Battle of Valley Forge and the bitter winter spent there by Washington and his men. Deegans told them that her great-great-great-great grandfather was at Valley Forge with Washington and crossed the Delaware River with Washington’s army to fight for America’s freedom. It was so much fun to see the students in the moment while they shared that their fathers and grandfathers were veterans.
The students were served cupcakes and bottled water which they enjoyed. Each student left with a bag containing a book entitled Our Patriots, subtitled The Men & Women Who Achieved American Independence. Each page profiles a patriot, and it can be colored with crayons. A box of crayons and an American flag were also included in the bag. It was a great celebration!
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution is a nonprofit, non-political women’s service organization whose main objectives are historic preservation, education and patriotism. Members are all lineal descendants of those who supported the cause of independence in the Revolutionary War back in 1776. If you are interested in the Daughters of the American Revolution, call Registrar Sandra Cowan at 681-215-5303 in the afternoon.
