Butler DAR marks centennial of service
A longtime Butler fixture celebrated 100 years of service, community and history Saturday.
The General Richard Butler chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) held its “100+1th Anniversary” celebration at Butler Country Club with a luncheon, historical presentations and ceremony to round out the afternoon.
During the luncheon, members and friends of the organization participated in skits portraying figures from Revolutionary War history, women's history and the history of the DAR.
Leaders also read proclamations from local leaders including state Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-21; Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey; U.S. Representative Mike Kelly, R-16th; the Butler County board of commissioners; Gov. Tom Wolf; and DAR State Regent Elizabeth Watkins honoring the group's work and legacy.
The county commissioners declared Saturday to be “General Richard Butler, NSDAR Day” in honor of the group's anniversary.
“(We) extend sincere gratitude to its officers and members, past and present, for their accomplishments, commitment, and dedication to the County of Butler and its residents,” the board wrote.
History of serviceDAR is a service and historical preservation nonprofit organization made up of women who can trace their heritage and genealogy back to a Revolutionary War patriot. There are nearly 3,000 DAR chapters and more than 185,000 members worldwide.Women interested in joining work with their chapter's registrar to trace their ancestry.“It is not limited just to soldiers. It can be seamstresses, people who brought firewood, farmers who provided food, people who were spies, who were tending to the horses, veterinarians, doctors … anybody who provided help, aid or assistance in the Revolutionary War,” General Richard Butler Chapter Regent Martha Eberhardt said. “If you can trace back to someone like that, then you would be eligible to become a Daughter.”The General Richard Butler chapter of DAR was founded Feb. 20, 1920. The first regent who led the chapter was Alma Phillips, who started the group with about 35 other women. Their first meeting place was the Little Red Schoolhouse in Butler. The chapter is named for General Richard Butler, a Continental Army officer who is also the namesake of Butler County.A previously planned centennial anniversary celebration was postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic conditions last year.
Since its inception, the chapter has been a non-political group dedicated to historic preservation, education and patriotism. The group focuses on a number of different areas of service projects, one of the largest being the maintenance and upkeep of patriot gravestones.“We will clean them, mark them with the DAR marker, and as part of that marking we install an American flag,” Eberhardt said. “For the ones we have found, we will, on a routine basis, check to make sure they are still in good condition, and if they need any additional TLC or have any damage to them we will (maintain them).”Some gravestones are harder to find than others, she said.“Some are in a cemetery; some were buried on a family farm, and some were buried on the edge of a bluff which has now grown into a woods,” she said. “They're historic stones, and they're over 200 years old, so you can't just glue them together. It's a process of trying to identify people who can help us get it back to the way it was in the best preservation process.”The group spends a lot of time doing research, and Eberhardt said the larger DAR organization is very helpful when there are questions.“That's the wonderful thing about DAR is there is a network — we can ask 'What did you do with this?'” she said. “For instance, when we clean the gravestones we follow the process that they use at Arlington National Cemetery. Any DAR member going out to clean a gravestone will use that process, which Arlington has vetted as the best process. The older materials are much different than new materials, so they do require a little bit of a different process.”
The General Richard Butler chapter also works with the national organization Wreaths Across America to lay wreaths on the graves of veterans in December.“Last year we laid 1,000 wreaths in North (Side) Cemetery,” Eberhardt said. “We were able to cover every veteran's grave.”Each year, the chapter also takes on service projects and has a scheduled Day of Service in October. In 2021, the group focused on preparing goodie bags for first responders in Butler.“We prepared 180 snack bags and delivered them to the Butler City police, fire department, sheriff's office, township police and the state police at the barracks,” Eberhardt said. “Last year, our day of service was with Emily Brittain (Elementary School). Their need with COVID was very challenging — we couldn't really go in anywhere. They had a need for items for their teachers, and they needed face shields for students. We provided boxes of face shields and masks and other school supplies.”The year before that, the chapter worked with the Robin's Home supportive housing center for female veterans to convert their garage into a storage area and organize donations.Eberhardt feels that one reason the General Richard Butler chapter has persisted for so long is that participation can be passed down through generations — she herself joined because her mother had been a member.“(Women) get into the organization and find that they really enjoy it,” she said.She is grateful that the group gets the chance to celebrate its legacy.“We're excited to have this fun celebration and share where we've been, what we've been doing, and what we are doing now with everyone,” Eberhardt said.Member and former regent Karen Lutzic said that she has enjoyed learning about her genealogy and relatives, as well as participating in service, through DAR.“These are some wonderful ladies here, and there is a lot that the DAR does to help,” she said. “It makes you want to learn more of your family history.”
