March 8th DAR Meeting

Diane Kuebert, Regent with guest speaker E. Gifford Stack

The March 8, 2017 DAR meeting was be held at 10:00 AM at the Trinity United Methodist Church, 209 East Nash Street, in Southport, NC. The guest speaker, was E. Gifford Stack, who gave a very informative presentation about  "Lighthouses Before, During and After the Revolutionary War."

Mr. Stack provided some interesting information on the history of Lighthouses in the United States.

Americans are enthralled, fascinated, and charmed by lighthouses since the first one was built in Boston Harbor in 1716.  At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, there 11 lighthouses scattered along the eastern seaboard. Some, including the battle weary Sandy Hook Lighthouse in New Jersey, are still standing today for us to admire.

     Once our new nation got underway, lighthouses were an integral part of our development.  Do you know what the first federal construction project was under our new Constitution?  Yes, a lighthouse - Cape Henry, at the southern entrance to the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia, opened in 1792.

     Here in North Carolina, all of our lighthouses were built after the Revolutionary War.  Each of the prior and existing lighthouses have unique stories surrounding them, ranging from destruction by Mother Nature, to intentionally blowing up the structure to keep it out of enemy hands, to at one time shinning the brightest light in the US and second brightest in the world!

    We are fortunate to have such a rich history of NC lighthouses that today may still be visited - and in most cases climbed.  Lighthouses in 2017 continue a tradition of captivating our interest, not unlike that first one built some three hundred years ago in Boston.

By E. Gifford Stack

Secretary, Friends of Oak Island Lighthouse

Request to ask Mr. Stack to speak at one of their meeting should contact him at:  oakislandlighthouse@gmail.com.

https://www.facebook.com/brunswickcivilwarroundtable/  - Jim Johnson, husband of Vice-Regent Carol Jutte has written an interesting article about E.Gifford Stack on the Civil War Round Table Facebook page. Hope you all will enjoy reading it.

Please bring Easter Baskets or Easter items for the students at DAR Crossnore School.(No nuts due to allergies) to the April 12th meeting.  Our goal is for 85 baskets. For more information contact, Regent, Diane Kuebert (910-253-8853) or Registrar, Cindy Sellers (910-540-0301). Carole Jutte, Vice-Regent and her husband plant to deliver them to the Crossnore School.

Carol Jutte, Vice-Regent and Fran Carlsen, Wreaths Across America Chair holding awards that our chapter received from the director of Wreaths Across America in Wilmington, NC. Each year many organizations in our area work endlessly to have a wreath placed on each of the 5,000 graves at Wilmington National Cemetery. Each year we get closer to the goal. We need over 2,000 more wreaths to reach our goal. Start this month and go to http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/#join-us.
Type in NC0009P or Brunswick Town Chapter NSDAR. I started doing this in January and have already purchased 4 wreaths. When a friend of mine has lost a loved one, I send them a sympathy card stating that a wreath will be placed on a grave Saturday, December 16, 2017 at Wilmington National Cemetery. 

Be sure and visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Brunswick-Town-Chapter-NSDAR.