DAR chapter celebrates 100th anniversary
Members of the Old Elyton Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) celebrated its 100th Anniversary with a luncheon held at the Birmingham Country Club.
The event was held on Sept. 17, the 226th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution. To commemorate the occasion, 45 members of Old Elyton Chapter gathered along with 30 members of John Parke Custis Chapter, with regents from other Alabama chapters including Lily of the Cahaba, General Sumter, Princess Sehoy and Cahawba. Special Guests included Alabama’s State DAR Regent, Connie Grund, who acted as the event’s master of ceremonies, and ASDAR officers including Marguerite Horton, Nancy Folk, Janeal Shannon, Verna Brennan and Annette Smith.
The luncheon began with the singing of our National Anthem by Sandy Ash, accompanied on the piano by Charles Kennedy, both from the Cathedral Church of the Advent. “Dolley Madison” from Montevallo’s American Village performed in costume a monologue of historical accounts and fun facts of her life. Afterward, U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus’s assistant, Christian Samford, presented Old Elyton with a flag that had been flown over our nation’s Capitol, a framed copy of the Congressional Record mentioning Old Elyton Chapter’s 100th anniversary, and a congratulatory letter. Mountain Brook’s mayor also sent a proclamation regarding the Constitution.
The DAR school located in Grant, Ala., was named for one of Old Elyton’s founding members, Kate Duncan Smith. In honor of this and Old Elyton’s support, Peggy Johnson, KDS school Board of Trustees chair, and Heather Green, executive director, presented Old Elyton with a proclamation by the Kate Duncan Smith DAR School, naming Sept. 17 as Old Elyton Chapter Day.
The ladies dined on a menu from the recently released “Dining With The Washingtons” book of historic recipes, entertaining and hospitality from George and Martha Washington’s home of Mount Vernon.
At the end of the gathering, “God of our Fathers,” a hymn written in 1876 to commemorate the 100th birthday of the Declaration of Independence, was sung by all with Charles Kennedy on the piano.