The event culminated our last six months of work toward the national goals to promote Historic Preservation, Education and Patriotism.

Alta Graham, Chapter Regent presented a talk about the winter of General George Washington at Valley Forge. We discovered that upon arrival, the army managed to erect hundreds of hand-hewn log cabins to house the starving troops and a hospital was established along with a new protocol of inoculation for smallpox. Martha Washington arrived at the encampment to give support and encouragement and bring donations of clothing to the troops. Needing discipline, Baron von Steuben taught independent soldiers to

understand the need to follow orders. When asked about her presentation, Alta replied,

“I was surprised to learn how many GOOD things happened during the

encampment. We thought we knew the whole story, but there’s always something new to discover in history when you look at the details!”

Vice Regent Mary Kenney invited the Los Angeles Fifes and Drums to perform for us, and what an exciting and educational performance it was! They were deep in character and authentic Revolutionary dress while they explained how the fifes and drummers played a critical role for the marching troops. Not only did the music soothe the tired souls, but the drums set the pace and even gauged the distance of the march. At army encampments, morale was low, but with a fire and music, the army was less likely to have their troops go AWOL. “Yankee Doodle Dandy” was a particularly interesting story, as it was explained that our very patriotic song was really meant as a vehicle for the British to mock American soldiers. "Yankee" began as a negative term making fun of Americans, "Doodle" was a derogatory term that meant "fool" or "simpleton," and “Dandy” as a man who dressed himself up, often quite outrageously, to gain attention. The sentiment was that American colonists were considered dumb and unsophisticated as if sticking a feather in their cap and calling themselves “macaroni” gave them some status. The term of the time referred to the Macaroni Club; a subculture of worldliness, superior style, sophistication and enlightenment in London.

Barbara Winkler of SoCal Quilts of Valor presented three veterans with beautiful quilts. The organization is a non-profit, all-volunteer group whose mission is to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor. The quilts are a 'one per lifetime' award and are available to any honorably discharged Veteran or anyone currently serving.

Over the years, their organization has made over 7100 quilts, and they have awarded over 500 so far just this year. Each quilt can take upwards of 50 hours to create and uses about 10 yards of fabric and batting, thread, and patterns and once complete are sent to their volunteer “long-arm” quilters who sew it all together. They have about 20 volunteers that meet weekly at their Bellflower location. They are always looking for donations of materials or helping hands. Information about the organization and Quilt Request Forms are on their website at www.socalqov.org

Veteran Bill Champlin gave a talk on his experience participating in the September Honor Flight, a two-day whirlwind visit to Washington D.C., Arlington Cemetery and numerous memorials. Throughout his story, he made us laugh and nearly cry, but in the end, his description of receiving a large envelope of cards and letters from DAR during the flight’s “mail call” showed the sisterhood just how truly important and meaningful our work is to collect letters and cards for our vets.

For more information about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, visit https://www.honorflightsouthland.org/.

Our Historic Preservation Chair Patricia Mendez honored local history lover Dana Graham with the NSDAR Excellence in Historic Preservation Medal for his efforts in guiding the Palos Verdes Historical Society and working toward building a new museum for the collection of artifacts that would otherwise be lost. The society has installed bronze plaques on many of the historical sites on the Peninsula and Dana himself has been involved in the effort to save the La Venta Inn which was the first building in Palos Verdes. For more information on their efforts, visit https://palosverdeshistoricalsociety.org/.

We heard from our friend Melani Hurwitz of the Battleship IOWA who invited our Quilts of Valor vets for a private tour of the ship. Our chapter has been informing the ship about DAR historic preservation grants available for specific preservation projects in their efforts to create the very first National Surface Navy Museum. https://surfacenavymuseum.org/

Lastly, we welcomed two new sisters to our wonderful organization. It could not have been a more fulfilling few hours and an outstanding celebration for the culmination of our past 6 months work! The Point Vicente Chapter NSDAR will be celebrating local students for their efforts in our annual Essay and Art Contests at our monthly meeting on January 16th. For more information about our chapter and work, see our website at https://pointvicente.californiadar.org/.

Contact: Diana Starr
Public Relations Chair
310.218.7815
ladydianastarr@gmail.com

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The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) is a women's service organization founded in 1890 whose members can trace their lineage to an individual who contributed to securing American independence during the Revolutionary War. DAR chapters participate in projects to promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism.

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to preserve the memory and spirit of those who contributed to securing American independence. For more than 130 years, the DAR has strived to bring awareness to the honorable sacrifices and enduring legacy of all patriots who fought for America’s freedom. DAR is a nonprofit, nonpolitical women’s service organization with more than 185,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide. www.dar.org