Local News - November 2003

Lincoln DAR chapter celebrates 75th birthday

By DIANE TURBYFILL, Staff Writer

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DAR members celebrated a benchmark anniversary Saturday.

Local chapter regent Sheldon Anderson says the event felt like a homecoming.

“The DAR is such a worthy organization with a sense of family history and tradition,” she said.

Anderson is the fifth generation of her family to be a part of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She said the group recognizes the importance of the past and the future.

“We sponsor schools and do so much for historic preservation,” she said.

Members and special guests gathered at Anderson’s home Saturday to celebrate the 75th birthday of the organization.

Betty Boyd, first vice president general with the national organization, drove from Statesville to attend.

“This is a special event for a chapter, and if they invite me I think it’s important that I come,” she said.

For many who attended, the event was an opportunity to visit the past. Visitors wore period dresses and bonnets.

A history of the Jacob Forney Chapter was presented during the gathering, and a historical portrayal of the first national DAR regent followed.

Member Adair Cantwell said she had goose bumps from the time she arrived at Anderson’s Lincolnton home.

“It was so neat seeing all those ladies come up the walk in costume,” she said. “It was like going back in time.”

Anna Casper enjoyed visiting with DAR members. She sat beside a framed certificate honoring her grandmother who became a member in 1907.

Casper spoke with pride about her family’s heritage and history with the DAR.

“We’re God, home and country,” she said of the DAR.

Casper said five generations of her family have been members of the DAR and that she is a direct descendant of Jacob Forney, for whom the chapter was named.

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded Oct. 11, 1890. Its mission is to promote patriotism, preserve American history and secure America’s future through better education for children.

The Jacob Forney Chapter was formally organized Sept. 14, 1928.

Forney was a Lincoln County farmer and patriot. He was a member of the Tryon County Safety Committee which executed the famous “Tryon Resolves” protesting British injustices.

The local chapter began with 14 members. Anderson said the chapter is at a record 46 to date.

“Since Sept. 11 the organization has experienced a great surge of patriotism, and that’s what we’ve always stood for,” she said.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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