August Meeting: Conservation

 Greenway Cleanup Community Service Project

Conservation & Membership Programs

Alexander McNair Society members met at Rocket Park to have their monthly meeting, where they discussed watersheds and picked up trash along the Deer Creek Greenway. 

 

The meeting ended at Brentwood Park, where the members could enjoy the new park! Thankfully there was a water park there, because it was almost 100 degrees out! Seniors and members also worked together to plan the upcoming programs for the 2024-25 year. 

One member said: "My favorite part of the meeting was playing at the two playgrounds."

Attendance: 4 members, 5 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

October Meeting: Conservation Program

 World Bird Sanctuary Field Trip

Alexander McNair members visited the World Bird Sanctuary to learn about the conservation efforts that occur there. They enjoyed finding a bald eagle to match the N.S.C.A.R. mascot, Spirit.

While there, they did have a meeting. They also had a chance for crafts. Normally members would make ornaments for the M.S.S.C.A.R. Christmas Tree at the Missouri DAR's Roslyn Heights at our State Summer Workshop. This year the event was virtual, so societies received ornaments to make at a society event.

Attendees: 6 members (5 pee wees), 7 seniors

September Meeting: "Live Like a Pioneer!" at Sappington House

"Live Like a Pioneer!" at Sappington House

Attendees: 7 members (5 peewees) and 7 seniors

Members were able to learn how the pioneers lived in early Missouri history, including shooting a musket, using a shaving horse, and seeing a historic home.

They also discussed conservation and how historians care for the historic landmarks in our area.

Members were able to visit the Sappington House Museum to see how pioneers lived in Missouri. They saw both original pieces and reproductions throughout the house.

Members learned about different rebellions and why the soldiers joined the American Revolution. An older member researched the Boston Tea Party, Whiskey Rebellion, and Shay's Rebellion to compare and contrast them with the members. All members were able to reenact some of the scenes as they learned about them.

Members were given small versions of George Washington's Rules of Civility, donated by Reverend John Clark DAR.

 Contest Connections:

Registrar - Increase member involvement in society activities by planning fun and interactive events that will engage members at the society level.

Assistant Registrar - Understand the importance of why the soldiers joined the fight during the American Revolution.

Curator - Develop an understanding of historical reproduction and preservation techniques that are used in modern historical conservation projects.

Conservation - Discover conservation efforts and their impact at historic landmarks, battlefields, forests, and trails.

Government Studies - Learn how the Founding Fathers established the framework for the government of the United States of America and why it is used today. Learn about The Boston Tea Party, Whiskey Rebellion, and Shay's Rebellion.

Corresponding Secretary - Discover the Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior and the impact it had on George Washington's development as a leader. Examine the rules and its relevance to today's society.

Earth Day Festival

Earth Day Festival

Attendance: 7 members (5 peewees), 2 youth guests, 7 seniors, and 1 senior guest

Contests: Conservation, Membership, Registrar

Members came together for our annual Earth Day festival celebration at Forest Park. We welcomed a new prospective family at our meeting and discussed their genealogy. During the meeting we announced that the society received a 2nd Place and an Honorable Mention on national contests. After the meeting, members and their families were able to explore the Earth Day festival and learn ways to recycle and care for their earth here in St. Louis.

Conservation Contest: Members learned about ways to recycle and care for their earth through the booths at the Earth Day Festival.

Membership: Increase membership in your local society by encouraging active participation in society activities. A Punchbowl invitation was shared on Facebook.

Registrar: Plan fun and interactive events that will engage members at the society level.

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.

September Meeting: Missouri Botanical Garden

BEES!

Buzz 

6 Members, 1 Prospective, and 6 Seniors took a field trip to Missouri Botanical Garden and had lots of fun learning about plants from Missouri. We also signed 2 documents that helped Alexander McNair society grow by 2 new members!
Attendees learned about the conservation program along with many different plants from Missouri. They learned about a lot of things like bees, plants, and programs yet still had time to hug trees and have fun!

-Marcus, Age 13

Tree 

They also hugged some trees.

April Field Trip: Earth Day Festival

Members braved the cooler, windy weather to meet at Forest Park for the Earth Day Festival. There were 6 members and 2 prospective members in attendance. There were also 5 seniors and 1 adult guest. Members were encouraged to check out our new website (which has been approved by national and is now linked from the national page!) to see all the awards that we received at State Conference. Prospective members were introduced and there was a brief description of how to complete the application process. Future meetings were discussed: there are two commemorative events coming up in May, and a field trip for June. Members were encouraged to check out the Youth area at the Earth Day festival. Other members had fun climbing the rock wall!