During the 2007 Memorial Day
program on the Courthouse Lawn, the Green River Chapter was asked to
take the lead and chair the program. We coordinated the
program in cooperation with the Butler County Chapter and all of the
local veterans' organizations. We sent personal invitations to our 2006 honorees and prepared the invitations for all other honorees that had been named for all of the other organizations. We had a huge crowd for the ceremony. >
Chapter History & Recent Highlights
Green River Chapter NSDAR makes
history
By Christine Porter Coleman
On Saturday, October 7, 2006, at the hour of 9:00 a.m., people from far
and near came to celebrate the organization and founding of the new Green
River Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, of
Aberdeen, KY. Eighty-seven women became organizing members of the new
chapter. The commons area of Butler County High School was the staging area.
Christine Porter Coleman had petitioned the National Society to become
Organizing Regent for the new chapter and was appointed for that purpose on
April 7, 2006.
At the June 26 meeting of the National Board of Management, the name
"Green River Chapter" was approved but they could not use nor
publish the name until the confirmation day on October 7.
Following several months of recruitment, Saturday, October 7, was the
day appointed by the National Society for the confirmation to take place.
During the meeting and surrounded by happy members and friends, Mrs. Coleman
placed a call to Glenna Acord in the Organizing Secretary General’s Office of
the National Society for the purpose of finding out if the National Board of
Management had confirmed the chapter. After the news was given that the Green
River Chapter had been confirmed, the officers were sworn in by Claire H.
Long, Honorary State Regent from Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
At that same time Mrs. Long gave the history of the organization
entitled, "The DAR Story." She also gave a very informative
talk about the DAR Insignia, what it represented, how to wear it, and its
importance to a DAR member.
Other chapter members participating in the program included Mary Elder,
Chaplain, who gave the invocation and benediction; Melanie Hunt, Flag
Chairman, who led the pledge of allegiance to the Flag of the United States
of America; Lynda Knight, Recording Secretary, led the American’s Creed;
Maxine Minton, Registrar, read the names of the 87 members; and Vickie
Stovall, First Vice Regent, read the history of the Green River that she and
her husband Mike Stovall had written for the purpose of submission to the
National Society along with the petition to name the chapter.
Mr. Michael Elmore, BCHS Principal, welcomed the new chapter and guests
and offered his assistance throughout the day. He gave an update of the
progress being made at BCHS under his watch.
A color guard was provided by the JROTC of Butler County High School.
The newly formed Green River Chapter Chorus was directed and
accompanied on piano by Betty Brown, Chorus Director. They performed
"The Star Spangled Banner," "Heal Our Land," and
"Song for the Nations."
Following the introduction of local dignitaries, DAR members from
around Kentucky, friends, and guests, Regent Coleman thanked everyone in
attendance, especially the officers and members of the Green River Chapter.
Alice Warner, of Greenbelt, Maryland, attending college in Cleveland,
Ohio, drove all night to get there and the Hatfield sisters, Elaine Powell
and Susan Green, drove from Orlando, Florida, and Alpharetta, Georgia, to be
present for this very historic moment.
Coleman especially thanked Maxine Minton, Registrar, for all of her
hard work in completing the genealogy and application papers necessary for
members to be verified and approved. Mr. Hurdel Minton presented a check for
$100.00 as a donation to the new chapter in honor of his wife Maxine Minton.
A memorial tribute was set up on the speaker’s table to honor
prospective member Mrs. Opal Amos, who had just passed away. She was the
sister of Mr. Hurdel Minton.
Following adjournment, Regent Coleman invited everyone present to
remain and enjoy the brunch that had been provided by the chapter members.
The Green River Chapter NSDAR is still recruiting charter members and
you may call toll free 888-526-4604 or 800-441-4786. Membership is open to
any woman 18 and over who can prove lineal descent from a patriot or soldier
who served in the American Revolution. The three main objectives of the
National Society are to promote education, historic preservation and
patriotism. The NSDAR motto is God, Home, and Country.
On December 9, four additional members were verified and approved for
membership in the Green River Chapter, making a total of 91.
At
the time of the American Revolutionary War, the Green River was a fresh,
pristine waterway to the west. Within three years an act of the Virginia
General Assembly would reserve all of the land between the Green and the
Tennessee Rivers for their officers and soldiers of the Virginia Line or
Continental and State Armies. Just as the Green River led our ancestors into
a new beginning, we would like the name to lead our new DAR Chapter in a new
beginning.
The
river that was a highway for our ancestors serves as a highway for us and
always will be a highway for our future generations. So, too, we hope this
chapter established on the patriotism of our grandfathers will be here for
children of our future.
Butler
County is uniquely situated on the Green River because it is divided almost
equally in half. The larger communities in Butler County were all situated on
the river: Rochester, Woodbury, Reedyville, Logansport, Mining City,
Morgantown, and of course, Aberdeen.
Green
River arises from a spring on land near Hall’s Gap in Lincoln County.
According to the U. S. Corps of Engineers, it is the longest river to flow
completely within the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It flows westward, then
northwesterly some 370 miles to empty into the Ohio River. During this run
through thirty-one counties, the Green and its tributaries drain over 9,200
square miles of Kentucky, nearly one-fourth of the Commonwealth’s total area.
As you see, it has touched many lives through those miles. When you look at
our ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War, they too have touched many
lives.
There
are basically three distinct but different lives of Green River. Just below
the banks, farmlands, and riverbed is a labyrinth of caves and sinkholes. The
beauty beneath in these caves is unparalleled with flora and fauna, sightless
crayfish, troglobites, and rare endangered species like the gray bat. Mammoth
Cave is one of the modern "wonders of the world" and the Green
River is the lifeblood of this cave system.
Our
ancestors are the lifeblood of our families. We are the lifeblood of our
future and someday we will be another link in a family line that has reached
back into time.
The
second life of the river is the part we see, smell, and feel, with some being
beneath its surface. The Green River is a colorful world of aquatic
diversity. There are nearly 151 species of fish - more than in all of Europe
- and 71 species of mussels. Green River is listed by the Nature Conservancy
as the fourth most biologically diverse river in the world. We see our
chapter as being composed of many people that are colorful and diverse hoping
to preserve memories of our forefathers.
Finally,
as we sit on the banks of Green River, we see that it meanders between mossy
rock banks, tangles of sycamore, river birch, and box elders. Vines of the
Virginia creeper hang close to the water, further deepening the green hue.
Beautiful wild flowers, southern maidenhair fern, spreading foxglove, and
Eggertt’s sunflower dot the riverbanks. It is ever changing just like the
future of this chapter.
The
river is full of stories to be told. Our ancestors have stories that we need
to tell. These stories need to be protected for the future by the Green River
DAR so they will always be there just like the Green River.
If you have any questions about how to join the
DAR or the meetings of the
Green River Chapter please contact Christine Coleman,Organizing Regent
or Sandra H.
Martin, Registrar
Kentucky Society NSDAR
With State Headquarters located at
Duncan Tavern Historic Center
Paris, Kentucky 40361
Webmaster:
Christine Coleman
Page Updated 01/16/09
The DAR Insignia is the property of, and is copyrighted by, the National
Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Web hyperlinks to non-DAR sites are not the responsibility of the
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