October Meeting

 Commemorating Missouri's 200th Anniversary & Learning about the American Revolution

American Heritage, American History, & Patriotic Education Programs

Alexander McNair Society held their October business meeting on Saturday, October 30th at Missouri's First State Capitol in St. Charles, MO. During their program, members and seniors learned and discussed Missouri's 200th Anniversary and the 238th Anniversary of the end of  the American Revolution.

Life during the American Revolution

Before the meeting, members were encouraged to read the book I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis. Families were able to read the book together and discuss the topic at an age-appropriate level for their members.

At the meeting, members and seniors were able to discuss the American Revolution and what life would have been like for a child during that time period. They were able to add the dates of the American Revolution to their timeline. 

Missouri Statehood - 200th Anniversary

Next members and seniors learned about Missouri's path to statehood by taking a guided tour of Missouri's First State Capitol. Members were excited to find information about the society's namesake, Alexander McNair, the first governor of Missouri. They got to learn about the two people running for governor and then pick who they would have voted for.

 

Patriotic Education - Military Uniforms throughout the years

Members were able to see examples of military uniforms from the American Revolution and compare them to the military uniforms from the past with a timeline of military uniforms. They discussed reasons why uniforms would look the way they did during that time period.

Attendees: 6 members (4 peewees), 4 seniors.

September Meeting

Patriot's Day & Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

American Heritage, American History, & Patriotic Education Programs

Alexander McNair Society held their September business meeting on Sunday, September 12th. During their program, members and seniors learned and discussed the September 11th Attacks and the History of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Patriot's Day - 20th Anniversary of the September 11th Attacks

Before the meeting, members were encouraged to read the book I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001 by Lauren Tarshis. Families were able to read the book together and discuss the topic at an age-appropriate level for their members.

Families also had an opportunity to attend 9/11 Commemorative events the day before, including a memorial at Clayton City Hall, Flags of Valor at Art Hill, and an evening memorial at the Florissant VFW.

At the meeting, members and seniors were able to discuss the 9/11 attacks. Seniors explained where they were that day and some of the feelings they went through. Two of our seniors were C.A.R. members at the time. One explained how they had been on a family vacation in Boston and shared their experiences of plans having to change and how people looked at them as tourists that week. Another explained what it was like to be away at college and about a project she started to send cards to C.A.R. members in New York City. Members had questions about why terrorists would do this and talked about how people must have felt that day.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - 100th Anniversary

Next, members and seniors learned about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and its upcoming 100th anniversary. A senior read the book Twenty-One Steps by Jeff Gottesfeld to the members. Afterwards, members and seniors discussed why we have the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and how it came to be.

Before the meeting, one family visited the site of a memorial for Michael Blaisse, the Unknown Soldier from the Vietnam War. His remains were identified in 1998 and he was brought home to Florissant, MO and is now buried at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis.

Patriotic Education - Military Uniforms throughout the years

Members were able to see examples of military uniforms from the War on Terror and compare them to the military uniforms from the past with a timeline of military uniforms. They discussed reasons why uniforms would change over the years and what was special about these uniforms.

Finally, members were able to see the timeline that the society is making to show different events throughout American History. They were able to identify several events that we've discussed so far this year: the Lewis & Clark Expedition, Missouri Statehood, World War I, September 11th, and today with the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Finally, members participated in the C.A.R. song, had a snack, and closed the meeting.

Attendees: 6 members (4 peewees), 4 seniors.

Missouri Bicentennial Ice Cream Social

 

Members, Seniors, and Guests gathered for an Ice Cream Social to learn about Missouri history and celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Missouri becoming a state.

Members worked together to create a timeline of important dates in Missouri history.

There was also a Missouri puzzle for everyone to work on.

As a celebration for their hard work, they were able to enjoy some ice cream! They also enjoyed welcoming our newest member to the society at this fun event!

Attendees: 7 members (5 peewees), 5 seniors, 4 senior guests

June Field Trip

 Lewis & Clark Historic Site

American History, American Indian, Patriotic Education Programs

Members and seniors learned how our ancestors were "On the Move" during the Lewis & Clark Expedition by visiting Camp River Dubois where Clark and the Corps of Discovery first met and trained.

American History

Members learned what it was like to live during the time of Lewis & Clark and what it was like to be on the trail through a story.

American Indian

Members learned how the American Indians were "on the move" and helped with the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

Patriotic Education

Members were able to see the different uniforms that were worn during the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

                 

Attendees: 6 members (4 peewees), 4 seniors

Memorial Day Service

Memorial Day Service at Coldwater Cemetery

Veterans & C.A.R./DAR/SAR/S.R. Relations Programs

Members and seniors attended the MSSDAR Memorial Day Service. The keynote speaker was a veteran, speaking of her time in war and returning home. Members helped place roses at the graves of Missouri Daughters during the service. 

Alexander McNair member, Marcus, is currently the State President of M.S.S.C.A.R. and had the honor of placing a wreath during the service.

Attendees: 3 members (2 peewees), 7 seniors

May Meeting

National President's & Conservation Programs

Members and seniors gathered together for an outdoor meeting in May for the "2021 Life Outside" contest put on by the Great Rivers Greenway.

A member shared information about the National President's program, "Keeping Everyone on the Move" and the OSCAR MIKE Foundation. You can help support N.S.C.A.R. and OSCAR MIKE here.

Then they gathered up their things and got on the move! Members took a walk to the Greenway where they completed activities for the 2021 Life Outside challenge.

They completed different challenges like collecting trash for conservation, taking selfies, tossing balls, and making leaf rubbings. 

Attendees: 6 members (4 peewees), 6 seniors

February Meeting: Mountain Schools Program

Mountain Schools Virtual Tour

Alexander McNair members and seniors learned about the Mountain Schools through a Google Slideshow. The 5 mountain schools are sponsored by the DAR and are: Berry College, Crossnore School, Hillside School, Hindman Settlement School, and Kate Duncan Smith DAR School. 

Members were able to learn about some of the special programs at the schools and a fun fact about each school. (Ex. Berry College has an eagle cam!) They were then able to compare and contrast the schools, using a Venn Diagram and dry erase boards. Notes on memorable facts were added to the Slides.

Finally, the members voted that each member in attendance could send $10 to the school of their choice. The society sent $30 to Berry College, $10 to Crossnore School,  $10 to Hillside School, and $10 to Kate Duncan Smith DAR School.

The full public version of the presentation (names edited out) is viewable here: Alexander McNair Society Mountain Schools Presentation

 Attendees: 6 members (5 pee wees) and 4 seniors

January Meeting: American History

 Paul Revere's Ride

Alexander McNair members and seniors met virtually through Google Meet to learn more about Paul Revere and his famous ride. They watched several videos:

• Paul Revere's Ride - Rap
  
• Paul Revere's Ride - Muppet Version
  
• Paul Revere's Ride Bellringer
  

Members created their own lanterns while watching the videos:

The directions for the craft can be found here: Paul Revere's Lantern Craft

Attendees: 6 members (5 pee wees) and 5 seniors

November Meeting: American Heritage

 Family Recipes

Alexander McNair members and seniors met together to learn about the American Heritage program and about their family heritages. This year's program was to learn about how families keep recipes and pass them down from generation to generation. 

Mrs. Moll, Senior Vice President, shared a recipe from her childhood that was passed down from her grandmother. It was discussed how measurements were different in the past.

Members were excited that they could share some of their favorite recipes with each other.

Ms. Sammons, Senior President, shared the Sammons-Smith recipe book, which has recipes from all of the parents' families combined. Some of the recipes were written by the great-grandma and grandma of the members. Others were newer and were printed from the internet.

 Each family brought a recipe that could be shared.

Attendees: 6 members (5 pee wees), 4 seniors

Veteran's Day Service

 St. Louis-Jefferson Chapter DAR Veteran's Day Service

Alexander McNair members attended the Veteran's Day Memorial Service and helped place a wreath at this annual event. 

Attendees: 6 members (5 pee wees), 4 seniors

April Meeting: Earth Day Festival

Awards were given to members who weren't
able to attend State Conference

Plenty of people attended this fun-loaded meeting at Forest Park. 5 Members, 5 seniors, 2 prospective members, 1 visiting C.A.R. member, 1 visiting DAR member, and 1 other adult guest attended.

We gave out awards to members who were absent from State Conference. We also welcomed a new prospective member and signed his papers. Then we went out into the Earth Day Festival and learned about our Conservation Program. We learned about the how to protect our earth and its environment. Another thing we learned about was weathering & erosion, and how littering can affect our waterways.

-Marcus, age 14

Members Modeling Weathering and Erosion

February Meeting: Conservation, National Merit Award, & Patriotic Education

Member holds the American flag.

Patriotic Education

We watched a few episodes of Liberty's Kids and discussed what happened as we went and why it was significant. The first episode we watched was the very first episode. It goes over the Boston Tea Party. We talked about why the Boston Tea Party happened, and who was involved in it. The second episode was about the Intolerable Acts, which raised taxes against the colonists will and the colonists began to get angry.

We also talked about the book that the 3 oldest members read. (We passed it around between the meetings throughout the year.The book is called Revolutionary War on Wednesday.  In the book, Washington crossed the Delaware River, and it was about the surprise attack on Trenton.

Reading the book and watching the TV shows put the information in a more fun way to understand the history of the Revolutionary War.

- Marcus, age 13

"I don't really pay attention in history, but this was different. It helped me learn in a fun way. Telling the story made me feel like I was there."

-Corban, age 10

PeeWees holding up their recycling display.

Conservation

Members were able to sort items for recycling with a sticker craft activity. They explained why each item went in each bin as they went. They presented it to the adults afterwards.

National Merit

Seniors worked together on the National Merit contest and divided up contest entries for National and State contests.

We put our hand over our heart for Pledge of Allegiance.

Business Meeting

Members voted on delegates to State Conference, donations to the Tamassee DAR Mountain School, and to National Funds. There were 6 members, 1 prospective, and 4 seniors in attendance. We have a new prospective family, who will be attending in April.