The Dorothy Q Chapter NSDAR met Saturday, April 19, 2025, at Elston Memorial Home. Fourteen members were present.
Ericia Church, Regent, welcomed everyone and called us to order.
We began with our regular Ritual, Pledge of Allegiance, The American’s Creed, The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America, and the Star-Spangled Banner.
Then Ericia called upon Terri Fyffe for her program on, “Dorothy Q’s Unbelievable Contributions to World War I”.
At our Chapter house we have a Volume of Record that details all the myriad contributions the Dorothy Q Chapter members made during the War. The following is a ‘Regent’s Tribute” by Alice Green Ross, who was the Regent of Dorothy Q Chapter DAR from 1916-1923.
“It has been a labor of love and gratitude to assist in compiling these war service records of our brave sons and equally brave Daughters.
Of our soldier boys there is nothing to add or take away, they were Gentlemen unafraid, worthy of that grandsire who fired the shot heard ‘round the world or that other who endured untold hardship at Valley Forge that from that place of sacrifice, that vale of humiliation, that valley of the shadow of death, the life of America might arise regenerated and free.
It is to our own membership that I wish to pay special tribute. In war it is the women who pay the biggest part of the war debt in the way of suffering, waiting, hoping, enduring. Theirs is a mental pain, theirs the uncertainty day after day. Theirs is a war unsung that leads not to the path of glory but to a battle silently endured.
It will always be a source of profound gratitude that it was my great privilege to have served as Regent of Dorothy Q Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution during the World War because in no other way could I have been so intimately associated with the splendid women who formed our membership. As I look over the list each name brings to my mind some beautiful gift or characteristic peculiar to that individual which calls forth my deepest admiration.
Surely these women were worthy daughters of the American Revolution for in the hour of their country’s need they came to her aid and patiently, bravely bore their part. They gave not only of themselves, but they gave that which was dearer than life itself, their sons.
These reports are all too meager because they leave unsaid so much that is of value and of beauty. If only there was some way to record the wonderful manner in which each woman responded to each request made of her, no task was too hard or sacrifice too great if it would only help our soldier boys to victory. The long hours spent in sewing, surgical dressings, knitting, in conserving food, women who had kept house for many years learned new ways because their country asked it of them. Plans of years were put aside in order to buy government bonds and war stamps. Brave hearts went forth to comfort and encourage when their own were consumed by terrible anxiety because a letter was too long overdue or a cable had come too soon. If tears were shed it was in the lonely midnight hour when only God could see:
The bravest battle that ever was fought;
Shall I tell you where and when?
On the maps of the world you will find it not;
It was fought by the mothers of men.
Nay, not with cannon shot,
With sword or nobler pen.
Nay, not with eloquent word or thought,
From mouths of wonderful men.
But deep in a walled-up woman’s heart-
Of woman that would not yield,
But patiently, silently bore her part-
Lo! There is the battlefield.
[Paraphrased from a classic poem by Joaquin Miller.]
In closing this tribute to the Daughters of Dorothy Q, may I add my personal word of thanks for their splendid devotion to their country and their loyalty to their regent? Tears come to my eyes as I recall their ceaseless kindness and their gentle sympathy during two terrible heart-breaking years, years so terrible that I wonder now how we had the courage to endure them. Those years when they suffered, when they worked, when they sacrificed together have bound these women together with ties that even time cannot sever.
The book is closed, that period in our lives is already history, new problems await our attention. To all officers, all committees, to all Daughters who served so faithfully I can only say “God Bless You Everyone.”
Gratefully and Faithfully Yours, Alice G. Ross, Regent.”
The Dorothy Q Chapter adopted a French orphan, Gilberte Loutsch, age 6, pictured below, sending money to France for her support. Other chapter members adopted an additional 21 orphans.
Per documentation prepared by Mrs. Julia D. Waugh:
The chapter sponsored many fundraising events including war dinners, and sales of items they made.
The following totals indicate something of the scope:
Sent overseas:
Knitted — Sweaters – 284
Pairs of socks — 433
Pairs of Wristlets — 124
Helmets — 165
Garments — 969 to French relief; 1,179 to the Red Cross
Soldiers’ Comfort — 160
Ambulance Pillows —125
Comfort Kits — 165
Thousands of surgical dressings were prepared and sent.
Monetary:
Liberty Bonds — $65,000
War Savings Stamps — $1,787.50
Red Cross — $2,692
War Chest — $450
Soldiers’ Families, YMCA, etc. — $ 875
Total monetary donations — $70,804.50
The report thus far has dealt with the material and practical. No figures of speech nor flight of fancy can summarize the values we attach to the stars of our service flag in their symbolism of sacrifice. Only in spiritual terms can we measure men who obey that impulse and desire to lay youth, aspirations, love and home on the altar of country. We fill a modest space in Chapter annals, but the brightest page in our history bears the honor roll of the sons of Dorothy Q, emblazoned by its golden star.
“One comes not—
What matchless stories is he reading now,
This boy who lies beneath the stars in France,
Who, wondering, saw the mighty tale unfold,
And, dying, helped the world her dream unroll;
— But all the world’s heart reads the wondrous tale —
The story that he wrote out with his blood,
The story that he lived out with his death,
The Great Book that he wrote — not coming home.”
There is much more material covering all the chapter member’s efforts during WWI, and the service records of those related to DQ DAR members who were in the service of the federal and allied governments, or in such non-military service as recorded. It is a wonderful, recorded record of their sacrifice.
After the program we adjourned for refreshments, returning thereafter, to our regular business meeting.
Ericia next called on Judy Fifer for the National Defender Report. Judy reported on some March and April dates of historical importance:
March 3, 1931 — President Herbert Hoover signs a bill that makes the “Star Spangled Banner” the national anthem.
March 8, 1790 — George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address.
April 4, 1968 — The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, where he went to support a garbage workers’ strike.
April 18, 1775 — British commander-in-chief General Gage orders a unit of Regulars to march from Boston to Concord to seize supplies of arms and ammunition there. Word leaks out, and William Dawes and Paul Revere head out separately on horseback to warn that the British are coming. Both are intercepted by a British patrol early the next morning, while Samuel Prescott, a young doctor out courting, continues the ride to warn the patriots.
April 21, 1790 — Said to be the largest public event in America, 20,000 people attend the burial service in Philadelphia of Benjamin Franklin, who died 17 April.
Minutes: Terri Fyffe had emailed the minutes from our March meeting to all members for them to read prior to today’s meeting. Members were asked for any corrections or additions. Finding none, Gay Eagleston moved and Rachel Brown seconded to approve the minutes. Motion passed.
Treasurer’s Report: Pam Rager presented the figures. The CD had come due so Pam went through the officer’s and received email permission to roll it over. The annual report has been filed with INDAR on 3/31/2025. The Treasurer’s Report is filed for audit.
The American Indian Committee Report — Jan Bridge reporting some interesting information about Native Americans.
Native American heritage spans over 15,000 years and includes 574 tribes with diverse cultures and languages.
Warrior women existed, and not all Native Americans lived in teepees.
Many U.S. state names come from languages of Native American tribes.
The giant sequoia tree is named after the Cherokee Chief Sequoyah, who invented the phonetic written alphabet for the Cherokee language.
DAR Schools Report — Rachel Brown — Rachel spoke about the Hindman Settlement School in Kentucky founded in 1902. Hindman Settlement School was the first rural social settlement school established in America, is currently the most successful. Established in 1902 by May Stone and Katherine Pettit in Hindman, Kentucky, the school soon became a model center for education, healthcare, and social services. It has been a DAR approved school since 1921, gaining support from all DAR chapters.
DAR Project Patriot Coupons — Susan Allen — reports that she sent in 720 coupons to active-duty military and their families.
Election of officers for 2025-26 — Nominating committee presented the slate of candidates. No one was nominated from the floor. Candidates: Regent, Michele Borden; Vice Regent, Ericia Church; Treasurer, Pam Rager; Secretary, Terri Fyffe. Susan Allen moved that we accept the slate as presented. Gay Eagleston seconded. Vote unanimous.
Military Banners – Susan Fisher & Michele Borden
The ‘give-back’ to support veterans through the Military Banner program this year was proposed as:
$1,000 to Attica American Legion Post 52; $1,000 to Veedersburg Charles Forest American Legion 288; $1.000 to Covington Old Guard VFW Post 2395; $500 Crawfordsville Brian Bowman VFW Post 1431. Rachel Brown moved and Gay Eagleston seconded to award these funds. Motion passed.
Historic Structures Grant Project – Michele Borden
Pam Rager obtained a $4,000 grant from the Efroymson Family Fund, Central Indiana Community Foundation. This is restricted to help offset the expense of the Historic Structures Report. She is also soliciting donations from chapter members. Judi Kleine is the architect who has been approached. Judi said it would not exceed $12,000 (she would need to draw all the blueprints as we have no historic ones). Perhaps quite a bit less if husbands of Susan Fisher, Pam Rager, and Michele help with the measurements. This is still in the planning stage.
Pam Rager is still working on incorporation requirements. We cannot review and vote on this until we hear back from our attorney Dan Taylor.
Our next chapter meeting will be May 10, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. Hostesses: Susan Allen, chair, Jan Bridge, Pam Allen, Pam Rager. Program by Michele Borden.
Meeting adjourned 2:50 p.m.
