Photos from the March 10, 2020 Brunswick Town DAR Meeting

Gwen Causey, who discussed Women and the vote.

Women in North Carolina have long been politically active. The first occurrence on record dates back to 1774, when a group of 51 women gathered at the home of Penelope Barker for the Eden-ton Tea Party, sending a scathing letter to King George III of England announcing a boycott of East Indian tea as long as it is taxed by the British.  For almost 150 years following that historic tea boycott, women sought representation, here in North Carolina and across the United States. Those acts of courage, persistence, and resistance finally came to fruition with the meeting of the Equal Suffrage League of North Carolina in 1914. But it took five more years for the Women’s Suffrage Amendment to make its way through Congress in 1919, then out to the states for ratification.  On August 26, 1920, the Women’s Right to Vote officially became the 19th amendment to the U. S. Constitution.  Today, more than 66 million women cast votes in elections across the country, including almost 3.6 million in North Carolina alone.  Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony adopted the Kansas state flower, the sunflower, as a symbol of the suffrage cause. Soon, gold pins, ribbons and sashes, as well as yellow roses became symbols of the cause.
By the time of ratification of the 19th amendment was underway in 1920, supporters could be identified by the color rose they wore: yellow for Suffragists, red for the opposition.
In 1908 Emmerline Pethick-Laurence designed the sash color scheme of purple for loyalty and dignity. White for purity.  Gold, the color of light, is the torch that guides the purpose. Simplified, the tri-colors signified loyalty, purity, and life.
The British women’s suffrage colors were purple, white, and green. Purple is the royal color, it stands for the royal blood that flows in the veins of every suffragette, the instinct of freedom and dignity. White stands for purity in private and public life. Green is the color of hope and the emblem of spring.
The First Woman to Register to Vote in Brunswick County, NC
Women’s suffrage had a lot of support in North Carolina. By the time the 19th Amendment reached the North Carolina state legislature in August of 1920, 35 other states had already ratified it.
Had it not been for Gertrude Weil of Goldsboro the march toward electoral equality would have likely stalled. Miss Weil established the North Carolina League of Women Voters, serving as its first president. She did live to see North Carolina eventually ratify the 19th Amendment in 1971.
On June 7, 1920, the Suffragists invaded Southport. The North Carolina Equal Suffrage Association turned its attention to the Sixth Congressional District, and Southport. They held a mass meeting at the county courthouse, with Miss Lola C. Trax, of Baltimore, as speaker.
Anna Pauline Miller Davis registered to vote on October 12, 1920.
In the same month, October 1920, the first citizenship lecture was given at the Army and Navy Club and it was well attended. Mrs. Davis presided at this meeting and introduced the speakers. Mayor J. W. Ruark read the voter registration laws and urged all women to exercise their new privilege by registering and voting.
Gwen talked about the Miller Family and their influence in Southport, NC.  They had a small hotel that was expanded and included dining, and dancing.  A couple of the Miller descendants were in attendance and introduced, they were Ms. Beth Marsette and her daughter, Evelyn.

L to R: Gwen Causey, guest speaker, and DAR  member,  Beth Marsette (holding scrapbook) and her daughter Evelyn (holding picture in frame)

4 generation picture left to right: Elizabeth Davis Watkins, Anna Pauline Miller Davis (holding baby)
baby is Elizabeth  Marsetteand  Anna Katherine Watkins Marsette

Our Brunswick Town DAR Regent, Pat Gooding looking quite elegant today.

 A Let Woman Vote flyer from 1919

Candle Wick Award Winners L to R: Cheri Lambert, Jane Johnson, Norma Eckard, Diana Fotinatos, Carol Jutte and Nancy Mazzei

SUPPLY - The Brunswick Town Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution recently recognized the five members who logged the highest number of service hours in 2019. DAR members around the country log their voluntary service hours which meet DAR’s mission of contributing to patriotism, education and historic preservation and other activities that benefit members of our community. 
Brunswick Town members accumulated more than 9000 community service hours in 2019 with such activities as volunteering for a hospice, working in the schools, hospitals and libraries, service to veterans and veterans’ organizations, helping at assisted living facilities and more.  First place went to Carol Jutte with 1593 hours, 2nd to Diana Fotinatos with 1349, third to Norma Eckard with 854 hours, 4th to Jane Johnson with 837 and 5th to Cheryl Lambert with 781 hours.

Diane Price, our librarian brings many books each month to our meetings to share with members. You can browse through the list of books to borrow on the tab marked Books at the top of our blog. Hopefully, more members will take advantage of this. We are the only chapter that has a library.

 The photos above were designed by Dana Majernik, our Brunswick Town historian shown in the above photo. Each month she compiles all the events that she attends in a photographic display. She also sends me, Phyllis Wilson, blog manager photographs with lots of information to share on our blog. So just look through the blog to read all about what our chapter has been up to lately.

 Every year at the DAR State Conference chapters donate a gift that will be displayed at an auction. Attendees will purchase tickets and bid on an item. The lucky winner will take it home. What a beautiful patriotic handbag. Anyone would love to win this.

                                         

This photo was taken prior to the start of the meeting. Many ladies arrive at 9:30 so they can visit and set up display panels.

American Indian Minute Chair Cheri Lambert:  The 1920’s were an era of discrimination against the Native Americans.  By the end of World War I Native Americans were suffering from short life expectancy, disease malnutrition, a diminishing land base and a poorly developed and unrealistic school system.  Native American children were given the opportunity to voluntarily attend American schools, yet the government was cited for actually bullying parents into sending their children to be educated in boarding schools away from their reservation.  Over 10,000 Native Americans were educated in boarding schools, they were separated from their tribe or reservation in an effort to destroy any sense of tribal identity as it was thought this would be the best way to transform their lives.  The children were given European-style haircuts and new English names.  If they were found speaking their native language they were beaten.  They were made to go to Christian church services and encouraged to ridicule their parents’ values.

National Defense Chair Kathy Johnson spoke about how camels were used for our Cavalry in 1855 and later during the Civil War.  They proved to be hardier then Horses and mules for the desert campaigns and could carry heavier loads.  They did not need much water and ate the de-sert scrub brush other animals would not touch.  Initially, 33 camels were bought to the US where they were shipped to Texas.  Lt. Edward Beale took charge of them.  They were used to carry equipment for land surveying and performed well above expectations.  They were only used for a short time during the Civil War.  In 1860 Lt. Col. Robert E. Lee used them for patrols but as the Civil War started and Camp Verde, TX was captured by the Confederates the soldiers did not know what to do with them.  Some were sold and others were turned loose in the desert where they roamed for years.  Only a couple served during the war.  The last of them died at Griffith Park, CA when he was 80 years old but sightings persisted for some years.

Phyllis put both of these photos of Kathy Johnson on the blog to let people know when the photographer is taking a photo at the very start of your speech allow her to take a great photo of the speaker. It is not easy to photograph people when they are talking and looking down at what they are reading.

Eugenia Bates, DAR member. Celebrates her 91st birthday on March 10th.

L to R: Kathy Miller answered the Constitution Minute question given by Constitution Week Chair Diana Fotinatos.
Constitution Minute:  Chair Diane Fotinatos reported that the 19th amendment guaranteed all American women the right to vote.  Victory took decades of agitation and protest.  Several generations of women lectured, wrote, marched and lobbied to achieve their goal.  Many of the original supporters did not I’ve to see the final victory in 1920.

The amendment was first introduced in 1878 and the suffragettes worked tirelessly in each state, often criticized, heckled and jailed to fight for their rights.  By 1916, almost all the major suffrage organizations were united behind the Constitutional amendment.  When New York adopt-ed Women Suffrage in 1917 and President Wilson changed his position to support an amendment in 1918, the political balance began to shift.  The ratification of the 13th amendment was on August 26, 1920, and it changed the face of the American electorate forever.
Question:  In 1890, the National American Woman Suffrage Assoc. was the merger between The National Woman Suffrage Assn. and the American Woman Suffrage Assos.  Name one of the women who held the President or Vice President position.
Answer:  Elizabeth Cady-Stanton, President or Susan B. Anthony, Vice President.

Conservation Minute: Chair Mary Sands spoke there is problem with trash and plastic debris affecting our shorelines.  In honor of Earth Day on April 22, 2020, she has organized a “Beach Clean-up” at Holden Beach and at Ocean Isle Beach.  The town Managers have been instrumental in posting the flyer Mary created to enlist the residents to participate with our DAR, Brunswick Chapter.  The flyers were passed around and a volunteer for Ocean Isle Beach was asked to help Mary out.

Susan Cunningham signed her membership papers for the Brunswick Town Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution at the March 10, 2020 meeting.L to R:  Carol Hart, seated Susan Cunningham and Martha Koletar, vice-regent

Hospitality Committee!

A special thank you goes to Dana Majernak and Phyllis Wilson for taking the photographs at the March 10th meetng.