Local DAR Members Celebrate Nation's Independence Every Day

While the Fourth of July is a time for many to remember this nation’s founding, for the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), that history is still alive.

More than 240 area women have traced their heritage back to the Revolutionary War, earning them the privilege of joining the DAR’s Piety Hill Chapter, a group that has dedicated the past 76 years to promoting patriotism, preservation and history education throughout Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and Troy.

According to Bloomfield Hills resident Barbara Balow, regent for the Piety Hill DAR, the chapter also works to support area veterans and military service members.

“The DAR is very supportive of the military, Air Force and Marine Corps,” Balow said.

That history of support is rooted in the group’s founding in 1890. Balow noted that DAR members don’t necessarily need to have ancestors that fought in the war — anyone who supported the United States during its founding counts.

“It doesn’t mean they had to have fought,” she said. “They could have been a contributor by lending money to George Washington. As long as they contributed in some way."

But the DAR is about more than an 18th-century war. It's about historical preservation and honoring those who continue to fight for the U.S.

Every year, the group raises funds for disabled veterans for a variety of purposes, including $2,400 in one year to send one veteran to the Winter Special Olympics.

“By sending them to the games, the crippled, paralyzed, blinded and other disabled veterans can see that light at the end of the tunnel — they get a chance to be whole again,” Balow said.

Other DAR activities throughout the year include planting graveside flags for fallen soldiers in Greenwood Cemetery and hosting in Shain Park.

Additionally, Balow said it’s important to get local children involved in history, so every year, the chapter drops off copies of the Constitution to area classrooms, hosts essay contests and awards good citizen scholarships.

“We are very active in supporting school systems, and we try to recognize children and help them to establish a love for their country,” Balow said.

Virginia Bennett of Bloomfield Hills, director first for the chapter and six-year DAR member, said members of an area Girl Scout troop from Bloomfield Hills Middle School became Junior American Citizens and helped to retire a flag last September.

“It was the highlight of my two years as regent to see these Girl Scouts so tenderly retire the flag,” Bennett said. “They learned the whole ceremony, and they had to do it in front of our entire group, according to the rules.”

Another important part of DAR, Bennett said, is learning from each other. The organization's national headquarters hosts its annual convention, the Continental Congress, each summer in Washington, where DAR groups from throughout the U.S. — including the 54 chapters in Michigan — converge for several days of learning.

This year, 11 women from the Piety Hill Chapter participated in the convention, which was held June 29-July 3.

“Meeting the women from around the country that share the same ideals of God, home and country is great,” Bennett said. “We meet people who had had the most amazing lives and uphold the values of their ancestors — they’re just amazing women."

Balow agreed, noting that the trip provides DAR members a chance to rediscover more of their own history.

“We don’t just get to learn what every DAR chapter is doing throughout the rest of the country, but we also get a chance to see some of the national monuments — a chance to see some of the beautiful things our country is all about,” Balow said.

The Piety Hill Chapter of the DAR meets monthly at various locations in Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and Troy.

Interested in joining, or maybe just itching to learn more of your own lineage? The group will host a free genealogy clinic Sept. 10 at the Bloomfield Township Public Library, 1099 Lone Pine Rd. in Bloomfield Township. Potential members are encouraged to attend to learn whether their heritage connects them to the American Revolution.

“It is so much fun learning about your family,” Bennett said. “When you’re younger, you don’t care so much, but as you get older, you want to pass on your family values that you were brought up with.”

Correction:  The Daughters of the American Revoluation were founded in 1890, not during the Revolutionary War, as indicated in an earlier version of this story.