May Field Trip 2: Memorial Day Service

Members place roses at the graves of DAR members.

Members participated in an annual Memorial Day Service for the Missouri Daughters of the American Revolution. Alexander McNair Society members joined other local C.A.R. societies in placing roses at the graves of DAR members. The Missouri State Society C.A.R. also placed a wreath.

Members also learned about the history of Memorial Day from the keynote speaker at the event.

Four members and four seniors were in attendance at the event.

May Field Trip 1: Battle of Fort San Carlos Commemoration

Alexander McNair members helped
lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

Alexander McNair Society joined other local C.A.R. societies to participate in this commemorative event. There were 4 members and 4 seniors in attendance from the Alexander McNair Society.

While there, they learned about the history of the battle and about the renovations at the Arch. Afterwards, members explored the Children's Treehouse exhibit to learn more about St. Louis and Missouri history. 

The Society President summarized the battle:

"The Americans fought even though they were out-manned. They kept on fighting no matter what. To help them win the battle, they built a giant tower to have a better vantage point and also a better area for the cannons. They also dug a trench around a wall around the city so they could fire at the British without worrying as much about being hit."

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!

Veteran's Day Program

Members attended the Veteran's Day Program at Jefferson Barracks.

Older members helped to pass out programs to attendees. They participated in a wreath-laying and helped pass out special gifts to Veterans in attendance. They also helped with refreshments after the program.

After the services, the Senior Society President explained to younger members about service dogs. They learned about different types of service animals and how to act around them. They also discussed how service animals help veterans. Members were able to color pictures that had more information for them to talk about at home with their families.

October Meeting

Members and Seniors decorated pumpkins and had an election for the best pumpkin.

 Members learned about the election process in a fun, new way this year! Members and seniors decorated their own mini-pumpkins. Meanwhile, they learned about how the election process works and how it has changed over the years. Finally, members participated in primaries where they voted on their favorite pumpkins. You can see the winner of the final elections in the picture!

After the pumpkin decorating, members were able to watch videos about the election process and the electoral college.

September Meeting

Members role-playing town criers while singing the C.A.R. song.

Our Society President shared information he learned through a Google Slides presentation. Members learned about how the news of the Victory at Yorktown disseminated throughout the colonies. He explained how Town Criers shared the news throughout towns. People also learned about the victory from newspapers and broadsides. Members learned the difference between those items, and also learned about the mastheads that were found at the top of them. Members created their own mastheads to be used with the society's newsletter.

Members were able to try on period hats and take turns ringing the bell and shouting, "Here ye, here ye!" The meeting concluded with the members marching to the C.A.R. song with the town crier's bells.