Chapter Activities and Projects

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DAR promotes knowledge, loyalty, and love of country for American citizens, whether naturalized or citizens by birth. Daughters are encouraged to provide service within their communities to support the NSDAR motto: "God, Home, and Country."

 

Western Shores Chapter, NSDAR, activities include promoting and supporting historic preservation, education, and patriotism.

Historic Preservation includes:

  • Genealogy records preservation
  • Laying wreaths at Artesia Cemetery with Wreaths Across America in December
  • Helping to restore marred gravestones
  • Historical marker installations
  • Honoring historic events with anniversary celebrations and ceremonies that celebrate the moments that shaped our nation (such as Constitution Week, or the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party)
  • Financially supporting the California State Society Daughters of the American Revolution (CSSDAR) State Regent's Project
  • Conservation - through the Penny Pines Plantation project, our chapter has contributed toward the cost of planting seedlings on one acre of National Forest land in California
  • Donating to multiple projects at the state and national levels that focus on historical preservation and education

Education includes:

  • Giving to Rising Tide, a literacy program for low-income children
  • Supporting DAR schools
  • Holding an Awards Reception in April which honors approximately 30 Youth Leaders and Outstanding Students in American History (an American History essay contest)
  • Youth Citizenship awards
  • ROTC awards and other Cadet awards

Patriotism includes actively supporting our past, present, and future service members who protect our liberty and defend our nation by:

  • Hosting an annual baby shower for veteran mothers at the Long Beach Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital, and by donating time and goods for an annual veterans bingo party
  • Supporting the Long Beach Fisher House, which provides temporary lodging and support to military members, veterans, and their families, when receiving medical treatment through a southern California Navy or VA medical facility, by donating personal care items, cash, or other gifts
  • Adopting a family for Christmas from the Veteran’s Hospital part of Operation Santa and Toys for Tots
  • Collecting canned food for the Food Pantry at the Long Beach Veteran’s Hospital throughout the year
  • Providing financial assistance to Project Patriot, a DAR national initiative to support active-duty military
  • Learning about the history and proper use of the flag in order to keep our flag flying, to protect it continuously under all conditions, and to educate citizens regarding its correct usage
  • Our quilting members give give quilts to soldiers through Quilts of Valor
  • Providing custom-sewn Boat Rack Curtains for Navy bunks; these are interior liners to personalize navy bunks with character prints, to help block light, to give the area a touch of "home," and these interior curtains have pockets for phones, pens, and other paraphernalia
  • Participating in Veterans Day memorial activities.  We remember our ancestors who helped America achieve its freedom
  • Honoring and serving our veterans, our troops, our flag, and our country!

 Come to our monthly meetings and --

  • Learn your national history!
  • Stay informed about contemporary issues affecting our communities and our county
  • Promote patriotism, education, and historic preservation in Southern California
  • And best of all, be enriched by forming new friendships with other Daughters!

 

 Western Shores Chapter, NSDAR 2024-2025 Accomplishments

  • Ananya Anand, from Whitney High School, won the Good Citizen Contest at the State level! We awarded her a Good Citizen Scholarship of $250 and $250 in expenses to attend the State Education Luncheon in San Francisco where she was honored.
  • Approximately 170 people (parents, teachers, students, members, and guests) attended the 68th Annual Western Shores Awards Tea. We awarded 14 Good Citizenship Awards, 15 Excellence in American History Awards and one JROTC Outstanding Cadet to elementary, middle school, and high school students from 16 different schools.
  • Western Shores celebrated our 100th anniversary on Nov. 2, 2024. Seventy members and guests attended the luncheon. The program included vocalist Laura Savitz and Susan B. Anthony reenactor Mary Burkin. Beverly Jett presented “Famous DAR Women of California” and she awarded the Hannah White Arnett Award to Ken Winiecki of SAR.
  • Membership Awards were given to Shirley Mathews (31 years), Brandy Wood-Iler (24 years), Beverly Jett (22 years), Jeanne Tomlinson (21 yrs), and Marcia Childs (21 years).
  • Western Shores won First Place in the state for our $2500 contribution to the DAR Museum for purchasing a Mariner’s Quilt from 1850 in honor of our centennial.
  • Tonia Haney earned second place in the State for indexing 13,036 Patriot Records. Tonia also indexed 2,353 names and served 863 hours.
  • Our Chapter wrote 1,055 notes to Veterans for Veterans Day. We stuffed candy into 70 bags for Marines at Miramar. We wrote notes and decorated lunch bags for Honor Flight.
  • Our Chapter logged 3,217 Service Hours for 2024. Eleven members contributed hours.
  • Ten Chapter members laid 60 wreaths for Wreaths Across American in December.
  • Our Chapter awarded Quilts of Valor to a veteran at our December meeting and to a veteran at Operation Santa. Shirley Matthews, Brandy Wood-Iler, Hazel Torres, Camie Dean, Rae Holtzendorff, and Denise Hamilton sew quilt tops for QOV.
  • The Chapter adopted two Veterans and their families for Operation Santa. We gave the families gifts valued at over $1,250.
  • Three Chapter members earned “cords” for NSDAR Leadership classes completed: Pat Winiecki, Paula Emerson, and Sue Nelson. Those completing Genealogy courses were: Pat Winiecki, Tonia Haney (2), and Sandy Pribble.
  • Eight new members joined our Chapter in 2024-2025.
  • We donated food valued over $800 to the VA food Pantry in January and $650 in June.
  • We donated $560 for baby shower gifts in May.
  • Four members volunteered about 20 hours at the VA food pantry.

Western Shores Chapter, NSDAR 2023-2024 Accomplishments

Our Chapter:

  • Awarded 16 Good Citizenship Awards and 12 Excellence in American History Awards to elementary, middle school, and high school students. 
  • Awarded two Naval Cadet Awards to Naval Cadets in the Seal Beach Battalion.
  • Awarded one Good Citizen Scholarship of $250.
  • 190 people attended our Awards Tea! This included parents, teachers, students, members, and guests.
  • Our Chapter awarded a Community Service Award to Barbara Winkler who founded SoCal Quilts of Valor. Barbara awarded a quilt to a female veteran at the June 1 meeting; SoCal Quilts of Valor creates and awards about 700 quilts to Veterans each year. Three of our members sew quilt tops in that group, S. Mathews, B. Wood-Iler, and H. Torres.
  • Our Chapter adopted a Veteran, his wife and three children, for Christmas. We gave the family gifts valued at over $1500. The Veteran also received a Quilt of Valor.
  • Twelve Chapter members laid 40 wreaths for Wreaths Across America in December.
  • A committee of 10 members has been meeting on Zoom for one year to plan Western Shores’ 100th Celebration in November 2024. B. Jett has performed hours of Chapter history research and created all event invitations.
  • Haney, Patriot Records Act, volunteered 670+ hours online indexing, and completed 9,406 documents!
  • Our Chapter logged 3,217 Service Hours for 2023 with P. Winiecki reporting 923 hours, and T. Haney, 712 hours. Eleven members contributed hours.
  • Several Chapter members earned “cords” for classes completed July 2023 - June 2024. P. Winiecki (8), P. Emerson (7), and S. Nelson (2).
  • Seven new members joined our Chapter! Thank you to S. Pribble for her help with prospective members paperwork for the qualification process!

RAFFLE Fundraiser for 2026! Drawing for Quilt will be held in November 2026.  You do not need to be present to win.  Contact our Regent to purchase tickets!

Kudos to Brandy Wood-Iler who made this beautiful quilt for us!  She started learning to make quilts in 2020. She thinks that she has made 150 quilt tops and 400 quilts on her long arm machine since then. Normally it takes her 20 hours to do a quilt for Quilts of Valor, but she spent several months and about 50 hours on our Revolutionary War Flag Quilt!

Brandy had to learn how to digitize the flags. Normally digitizing means buying a pattern that the sewing
machine follows to embroider a symbol or picture. However, since these flags are unique, and patterns
for them could not be purchased, Brandy had to learn how to tell the machine how to move and how dense the thread should be. She learned by watching several YT videos.  

It took Brandy almost four days to finalize the quilt.  Usually a quilter finishes a quilt using the same pattern from edge to edge. For example, a quilter could put stars one row at a time for 13 inches. For this quilt, Brandy chose different patterns for each element and ran the quilt through the long arm from two different directions. She did custom quilting versus edge to edge quilting. Brandy said if this custom quilt was commissioned for an individual, she would charge them $1000.

Shirley Mathews, Brandy’s mom, was part of the process too. She bonded the edges, put on the rod pocket and added the label on the back.  Kudos and an incredible thank you to Brandy and Shirley for a beautiful, historically accurate keepsake for our 250th birthday!

Sons of Liberty Flag (Rebellious Stripes) 1767

"The Sons of Liberty Flag, also known as The Rebellious Stripes, was used as a symbol of the Sons of Liberty, and of resistance against British taxation during the American Revolution. The Sons of Liberty Flag features nine stripes – five red, and four white, arranged vertically, with no other symbols or marks. Each stripe represents an American colony.  This flag was used to signal meetings of the Sons of Liberty, especially at common gathering points such as the Liberty Tree in Boston, where a flag pole was erected in the summer of 1767. The first use of this flag likely dates to around August of that year." Quoted from Edward St. Germain, AmericanRevolution.org.

 

Continental Flag 1775 - Trumbull’s Bunker Hill Flag

“On the nights of June 16-17, 1775, the Americans fortified Breed and Bunker Hills which overlooked Boston Harbor. Although they had not officially declared their independence, a fight for control of the hills became necessary. When the British advanced up the slope the next day, according to legend they saw a red flag, but we have no real knowledge of which American Flag was actually flown in this battle.  But John Trumbull, whose paintings of Revolutionary War scenes are quite famous, talked to eyewitnesses and his subsequent painting depicting the battle displayed the Continental flag as shown here."  Quoted from RevolutionaryWar.us/flags, “Continental Flag 1775.”

 

Bunker Hill Flag 1775

 "The Bunker Hill Flag, also known as the Blue Ensign of New England, is thought to have been flown by continental forces at the Battle of Bunker Hill, on June 17, 1775. The Pine tree in the corner of the flag was used as a symbol of the strength and independence of the colony of New England. Defacing the British Blue Ensign with this symbol was an act of defiance and a statement of rebellion against the crown."  Quoted from Edward St. Germain, AmericanRevolution.org.

 

Washington Cruisers Flag 1775

 "The Continental Army was surrounding Boston in the late spring of 1775. The British Army was trapped inside the city. George Washington arrived to take command on July 3rd. He believed he needed to be able to attack the British from the sea as well as on land, so he began to commission some ships and fitted them out of his own pocket. The Congress in Philadelphia was nervous about forming a navy at this point because they did not want to offend the British, but Washington thought it was a necessity so he did it himself. Their mission was to prevent British ships from delivering much needed supplies to the army in Boston. The phrase “Appeal to Heaven” was a popular phrase during and prior to the American Revolution. It represents the colonists trust in God to deliver them from the tyrannical acts of the British government."  Quoted from Revolutionary-War-and-Beyond.com, “Washington-Cruisers-Flag.html.”

 

Culpeper Flag 1775

 "The Culpeper Flag was flown by the Culpeper Minutemen of Culpeper, Virginia from 1775 until the unit was disbanded in 1776. The rattlesnake imagery is a reference to Benjamin Franklin’s response to the British practice of sending their prisoners to the American colonies. In 1754, Franklin published an article in the Pennsylvania Gazette criticizing the practice, and suggesting that in exchange for the convicts, the colonists return the favor by sending rattlesnakes to Britain. "Liberty or Death” is a quote from Patrick Henry’s “Give me Liberty or give me death!” speech at the Second Virginia Convention on March 23, 1775."  Quoted from Edward St. Germain, AmericanRevolution.org.

 

“Grand Old Union Flag" or Continental Colors 1775 

 “According to legend, one day in 1775, General Washington approached Rebecca Flower Young, a Philadelphia pennant and colors maker, and asked her to make a flag for use by the troops. This flag was never officially sanctioned by the Continental Congress, but was in use from late 1775 until mid-1777, probably because it was very simple to make. According to legend, on January 1, 1776, this flag was first raised at Cambridge, where George Washington took command of the Continental Army. Although this flag was known as the Continental Colors because it represented the entire nation, in one of Washington’s letters he referred to it as the “Great Union Flag” and it is most commonly called the “Grand Old Union Flag” today.”  Quoted from RevolutionaryWar.us/flags, “Grand Old Union Flag” or Continental Colors 1775.

 

Gadsden Flag 1775 

“In 1775, Colonel Christopher Gadsden was in Philadelphia representing his home colony of South Carolina at the Continental Congress and presented this new naval flag to the Congress. It became the first flag used by the sea-going soldiers who eventually would become the United States Marines. This flag first saw combat under Commodore Hopkins, who was the first Commander-in-Chief of the new Continental Navy,” Quoted from RevolutionaryWar.us/flags, “The Gadsden Flag.”

 

Betsy Ross Flag

This is the flag design that legend says was created by Betsy Ross for George Washington.  "According to tradition, in June of 1776, Betsy Ross, who was a widow struggling to run her own upholstery business sewed the first flag. Upholsterers in Colonial America not only worked on furniture, but did all manner of sewing work, which for some included making flags. According to the legend, General Washington, Robert Morris, and John Ross showed her a rough design of the flag that included six-pointed stars. Betsy suggested a five-point star because it was easier to make, and demonstrated how to cut a five-pointed star in a single snip. Impressed, the three entrusted Betsy with making our first flag." Quoted from Revolutionarywar.us/flags, “Betsy Ross Flag.”

 

Bennington Flag 1777

"According to tradition this flag flew over the military stores in Bennington, Vermont, on August 16, 1777. There, the American militia, led by Colonel John Stark, defeated a large British raiding force led by British General John Burgoyne in order to protect military supplies at Bennington. The battle was won when Ethan Allen and Seth Warner, who led the Green Mountain Boys, arrived with cannon and supplies taken from Fort Ticonderoga. The traditional version of this story gives Colonial Stark’s wife, Molly Stark, credit for making the  flag. She followed the accepted rules of heraldry and began and ended the stripes with white ones." Quoted from RevolutionaryWar.us/flags, “Bennington Flag 1777.”

 

Hopkinson Flag (circa 1777)

"Many give credit for the design of the first Official “Stars and Stripes” to Francis Hopkinson, a Congressman from New Jersey, and signer of the Declaration of Independence. His reported design had the thirteen stars arranged in a “staggered” pattern. Although there is no original example or drawing remaining of this flag, we do have the bill he gave Congress for its design. Congressman Hopkins asked Congress for a quarter-cast of public wine for his work. There is no record of Congress ever paying him." Quoted from: RevolutionaryWar.us/flags, “Hopkinson Flag (circa 1777

 

Texel or Serapis Flag 1779 

“On September 23, 1779, John Paul Jones lost his first ship, the USS Bon-Homme Richard, in battle with the British frigate HMS Serapis. As the Bon-Homme Richard sunk, he boarded and captured the Serapis, then sailed the badly damaged prize ship into the Dutch harbor of Texel, where it eventually was turned over to the French. The story behind this flag was that our Ambassador to France, Ben Franklin, was then asked what the new country’s flag looked like. A flag based on Franklin’s faulty description was then painted for the French court,  who officially recognized it. Jones had one made and proudly raised this flag when he sailed back to the colonies on the Alliance."  Quoted from RevolutionaryWar.us/flags, “Hopkinson Flag (circa 1777).”

 

United States-French Alliance Flag 1781-1782

"In 1781 and 1782, in honor of the end of the American Revolutionary War and the help of France in that conflict, a special U.S. Flag appeared. It consisted of 13 red and white stripes with a very long (11 stripes long) canton bearing either 12 or 13 white stars and a gold fleur-di-lis. The stars are shown in contemporary illustrations either as 5 pointed or as 6 pointed in rows of three (with a single star below if there are 13) and the fleur at the top." Quoted from RevolutionaryWar.us/flags, “United States-French Alliance Flag 1781-1782.”

Disclaimer:

Information and images for this brochure were gathered from publicly available historical records, museum collections, archival materials, websites and local history resources. All content is presented in original language and form for educational and community purposes.

 

Parents Did You Know?

You can look up a person’s name from your family tree and see if the person is a Revolutionary Patriot:     

https://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search/?Tab_ID=0

 

National DAR Scholarships are available to applicants who are citizens of the United States and plan to attend an accredited college or university in the United States.  Applications are online and the deadline is Jan. 31:s

https://www.dar.org/outreach/education/scholarships

 

You can share information about the annual American History Essay Contest with your child in grades 5-8 in public, private or home school. Students can compete in their grades at local, state and national levels. Topics are available in summer and due to Western Shores DAR in October:

https://www.dar.org/outreach/education/essay-contests

 

 You can encourage your child in 9th-12th grade in public, private or home school programs to participate in the new Patriots of the American Revolution High School Essay Contest.  This contest will focus on the men and women who figured in the events of the American Revolution (1773 – 1783) in anticipation of our country’s 250

https://www.dar.org/outreach/education/essay-contests

 

Junior American Citizen contests are offered in art, creative expression and community service for grades preschool through grade 12. Any child is eligible to participate in the contest. A child does not have to be a JAC club member or member of the Children of the American Revolution to enter:

https://www.dar.org/outreach/education/youth-programs

 

You can download a DAR Manual for Citizenship if you would like to study to become a citizen of the United States:

https://www.dar.org/national-society/education/dar-manual-citizenship

 For timely updates during the year, contact Sue Nelson, Western Shores Chapter, at dr.sue1@verizon.net

 

Teachers/Administrators Did You Know?

You can look up a person’s name from your family tree and see if the person is a Revolutionary Patriot:

https://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search/?Tab_ID=0

 

You can find free vetted lesson plans by grade level on Constitution Week, Revolutionary War, and many topics:

https://www.dar.org/museum/education/teacher-resources

 

Teachers or Administrators (PreK-college) can apply for a legacy grant of up to $5000 for projects on the theme of “Stars and Stripes Forever: The Enduring Legacy of the American Revolution”:

https://www.dar.org/outreach/education/dar-american-revolution-legacy-grant-program

 

You can share information about the annual American History Essay Contest with students in grades 5-8 in public, private or home schools. Students can compete in their grades at local, state and national levels. (Essays are due to Western Shores each October):

https://www.dar.org/outreach/education/essay-contests

 

You can encourage students in 9th-12th grade in public, private or home school programs to participate in the new Patriots of the American Revolution High School Essay Contest. This contest will focus on the men and women who figured in the events of the American Revolution (1773 – 1783) in anticipation of our country’s 250th (Essays are due to Western Shores each October):

https://www.dar.org/outreach/education/essay-contests

 

Teachers and Administrators can select one outstanding 12th grader in an accredited High School to participate in the DAR Good Citizen contest. This award recognizes and rewards individuals who possess the qualities of dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism. Students may choose to compete by writing a personal statement and essay. (Information available late summer. Deadline Nov. 1):

https://www.dar.org/outreach/education/youth-programs

 

Teachers can teach about the Constitution during Constitution Week (September 17-23) Students can sign a Constitution Pledge and enter a poster contest:

https://www.dar.org/outreach/education/constitution-week

 

For timely updates during the year, contact Sue Nelson, Western Shores Chapter, at dr.sue1@verizon.net

 

National Society Daughters of the American Revolution

California State Society Daughters of the American Revolution