Society Saturday - Colonial Dames of America

We were pleased to welcome our President General, Sharon Vaino for an official visit.  She had made a point of visiting all 37 of the CDA chapters during her term.

President Vaino told us all about current activities of the Society.   Her husband Jaan traveled with her and even helped serve the drinks for our luncheon.

The society owns the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum in New York city.  This once was part of the country estate of Abigail Adams Smith, daughter of John Adams.  Although it is now in the middle of Manhattan, during the mid-19th century it was a destination in the country.  Most of the national functions are related to the care and upkeep of this museum.

It was interesting to learn more about our national society.

www.cdany.org

Society Saturday - Touring Atlanta

This year, the Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America had their October board meeting in Atlanta.  The Georgia chapter showed us what southern hospitality is all about.

Our Field Trip day started with a visit to the Atlanta History Center.  There, we viewed exhibits on local Folk Arts, Native Americans, the 1996 Olympic Games, and the Civil War.  The Civil War exhibit was extremely well done and attempted to tell both points of view - both north and south.

Next, we had lunch at the Swan Coach House - a cute little restaurant that is a favorite for teas and showers.  They also had a little gift shop for all those things you didn't know you "needed".

After lunch, we toured the Swan House.  This was a 1930's era mansion in the Buckhead neighborhood.  The gentleman who led the tour did it in first person as Mr. Inman, the owner of the house.

We learned a lot of tidbits about Georgia history over dinner that evening - for example, Georgia is the capital of the four P's - Peanuts, Pecans, Peaches and Poultry.

Society Saturday – Dedication at Adena Mansion

Every President General for National Society Sons and Daughters of Antebellum Planters has chosen a project in keeping with the objects of the Society.  This term, I chose Adena Mansion in Chillicothe, Ohio as the recipient of our Society’s donations.

Adena mansion was built in 1807 by Thomas Worthington.  At one time it encompassed nearly 3000 acres of land.  Thomas Worthington commissioned Benjamin Henry Latrobe (architect of the U.S. Capitol) to build a permanent stone house for his family on a hilltop overlooking the Scioto River.  This mansion was called the “most magnificent mansion west of the Alleghenies”.  He named his house “Adena”, a term descriptive of delightful places that he read in an ancient history book. 

Worthington is known as the “Father of Ohio Statehood“.  He was a delegate to the Federal Government to lobby for Ohio statehood.  He was primarily responsible for the selection of Chillicothe as the territorial capitol, as well as Ohio’s first state capitol.  He was also one of the framers of Ohio’s Constitution.  Worthington was elected sixth Governor of Ohio in 1814.

The view from the front lawn of Adena mansion was the inspiration for the Ohio State Seal.  Adena mansion currently has a series of gardens that are recreated to be as historically accurate as possible.  NSSDAP is funding the construction of a natural barrier to keep deer out of these gardens.

We dedicated this project with a ceremony in the garden.  Three officers of NSSDAP traveled to Ohio and were joined by members of the Adena Mansion Board of Officers. 

www.antebellumplanters.com

Society Saturday - Lincoln Tales Tall and True

Our banquet speaker at Heritage Weekend was Brian "Fox" Ellis.  He is a story teller from central Illinois.  He gives very interesting programs on various personalities from the 19th century.

His program tonight was a first person interpretation of a boyhood friend of Abraham Lincoln.  He told of how Lincoln almost drowned by falling in muddy creek, how he almost froze to death during the winter of the Big Snow, how he played a trick on his stepmother by putting muddy footprints on her whitewashed ceiling, and other interesting tales.

His stories were interspersed by harmonica music and a sing-along.  It was a most enjoyable way to learn about the early years of our Sixteenth President.