The Da ught e r s o f the Re pub l i c o f Te xa s

Volume , Issue March 2015

O n December 6th, the Elisabet

Ney Chapter, Washington/

Virginia/Maryland was chartered.

Ten DRT members traveled from

Texas to attend and participate in the

chartering. On very short notice, U.S.

Rep. Peter Sessions’ office managed

get tickets for a White House tour.

Friday morning at 8:30 am we were

waiting in line. December is the only

month when you may take photos in

the White House. It is decorated for

Christmas and it was breathtaking.

Several members went to the DAR

Museum while the rest walked from

the White House to the Capitol.

After a tour of the Capitol, we re-

turned to our hotel to rest up for din-

ner that evening. We were guests of

Elisabet Ney Chapter Organizing

President Priscilla Roberts for dinner

at the Ft. Meyers Officers Club in Ar-

lington The chartering ceremony was

held Saturday at the Army Navy

Country Club in Arlington. The cere-

mony was followed with lunch and a

lot of visiting and photography.

The clubhouse is lovely and their dec-

orations were almost as over the top

as those at the White House. That

evening several ladies took a bus tour

of Washington, DC while the others

took the metro in search of dinner.

Friday morning greeted us with cold

and drizzle! But Saturday night it was

pouring.

Texas Ladies are tough and they still

managed to get some surprisingly

good and unusual photos. Several of

our new friends in the Elisabet Ney

Chapter have vowed to come to San

Antonio for convention. We can’t wait

to see them and catch up.

A Human Relations training seminar

was held in November. Employees

from the Alamo (10), the French Le-

gation (1) and Headquarters (1) at-

tended along with 2 members of the

BOM. Feedback has been very posi-

tive; one supervisor said it was the

best training session he’d attended in

15+ years. Several asked when the

next training session would be and

the topic. The seminar was presented

by Judy Wolfe a professional Human

Ellen McCaffrey, President General

Inside this issue:

Elisabet Ney

Chapter Charter

& Christmas at

the White

House!

Medallion Dedi-

cation

Texas History

Essay Contests

District Fundrais-

ing Challenge

French Legation

Director’s Report

Report to DRT

Library Collec-

tion Committee

Convention

2015!

Continued on next page...

Judy Wolfe and Ellen McCaffrey

The President General’s Newsletter Page 2

Relations Facilitator and she has been a wonderful

asset to me and our staff.

This year’s Alamo employees’ recognition dinner was

held December 11th at Rita’s on the River. Attend-

ance was higher than last year and a lot noisier –

which tells me they had a good time! The French

Legation employees were given gift cards at the De-

cember committee meeting and the HQ employees

joined that Committee for lunch and a gift exchange

and also received gift cards.

Deadline for submitting 4th and 7th grade student es-

says as well as a nominee for 4th or 7th grade Texas

History teacher is approaching. Chapters must have

their submissions to their District Representative by

March 1st. The winners will be recognized at Histori-

cal Dinner at Convention. Look for more details in

this newsletter.

The French Legation and the Library committee

meetings always include reports from their directors.

The January reports are included in this newsletter

so you can see what wonderful things are going on

at each facility.

The Republic of Texas Museum Committee is spon-soring a Symposium on March 26th – “Women of the Republic of Texas.” Tickets can be purchased on the drtinfo.org\members site – Museum tab – bottom of the page. Credit card or PayPal accounts may be used when paying. Soon March and April will bring our beautiful Blue-

bonnets! The drive from Houston to Austin is so

much more fun then. Hope to see everyone at

Convention in San Antonio, May 14-16, 2015.

Ellen McCaffrey cont.

White House tree decorated with miniature buildings. Gingerbread White House in the State Dining Room.

Continued on next page...

Ellen

The President General’s Newsletter Page 3

Sights and Sounds cont.

First Row from left to right: Evelyn Reininger, HQ Committee & TX Lin-eage Research Prog.; Judy Sien, TX Lineage Research Prog.; Elisabet Ney Chapter members Marilyn Cates-Copeland & Lloyce West; Ellen McCaffrey, President General; Priscilla Roberts, Elisabet Ney Organ-izing President; Sarah Hardy, Elisabet Ney Organizing Registrar. Back Row from left to right: Esther Silva, CRT Registrar General; Alice Nowotny, HQ Committee; Carolyn Raney, 5th VPG; Dr. Betty Edwards, 1

st VPG and President General Elect;

Joyce Rodgers; Barbara Stevens, Registrar General; Melissa Goodrich, Recording Sec’y General; Elisabet Ney Chapter members Elaine Paine & Lucy Hardy.

Dinner Friday night at the Ft. Myers Officers Club, Arlington, VA.

Chartering of Elisabet Ney Chapter, DRT at the Army-Navy Country Club, Arlington, VA

Pictured L to R: Sarah Hardy, Or-ganizing Registrar and Vice-President; Lucy Hardy; Nella Neary; Kathryn Mur-ray; Jennifer Macdonald; Lloyce West, Registrar; Eleanor White; Ann High-tower; Carolyn Goins; Priscilla Roberts, Organizing President and President; Marilyn Cates-Copeland, Correspond-ing Secretary; Kitty Hoeck, Historian; Elaine Paine, Recording Secretary.

The President General’s Newsletter Page 4

DRT Historic Site Medallion Dedication

at Fannin’s Burial Site

On Sunday, October 19th, the Presidio La Bahia Chapter of the DRT held a historic site medallion unveil-ing. Under oak trees by the Fannin Monument, Scott McMahon, Interim Director of the Presidio spoke of the history of the Presidio. In attendance were 70 people, including members of the DRT BOM, the Republic of Texas Museum Committee and leaders of Goliad’s local government. The dedication was followed by refresh-ments within the walls of the Presidio La Bahia. Ex-cerpts from the dedication are:

“You stand on bloody ground! Lives lost here generation upon generation; Indians against Spanish; French against Spain; New Spain against Old Spain; Mexico against Texans; Texans against the Union. He-roes and cowards - men hungry for land and women crying over the loss of their families. We stand in a swirling wind of emotions here. Today we remember an army of men defeated and held captured then told they were going home or gathering firewood or getting food and they were walked out the South Gate of the Presidio and were shot.

We remember these men and that tumultuous time and we are thankful that others cared for our histo-ry and preserved it for us. Today we honor this loca-tion, this site of so much.” The ceremony closed with the sound of Taps.

DRT members pictured from left to right:

Cathy Lott, Julia Lopez, Martha Fleitas, Mary Ann Oli-ver and Judy Bode.

Texas History Essay and Outstanding Texas History Teacher Contests

The Education and Flag Committee conducts an annual Outstanding Fourth and Seventh Grade Texas History Es-say Contest for students and selects an Outstanding Fourth and Seventh

Grade Texas History Teacher.

The DRT Essay Contest for 2015 was announced last May in Lubbock. It can be found on the public DRT site (www.drtinfo.org ) >Education >Texas History Awards >Student Essay Contest or the member site (www.drtinfo.org/members) >About DRT >Texas History Awards >Student Essay Contest. The fourth grade topic is “The Runaway Scrape.” For the seventh grade, it is

“The Legend of Jim Bowie.”

The Texas History Teacher Awards are found on the tool bar below the essays. Teachers deserve the recogni-tion for going above and beyond pre-senting materials that intrigue our stu-dents creating a lasting interest in Tex-as history. There are many that inspire our students and as DRT members, we hope to encourage our schools to rec-

ognize them.

A monetary award for the students is $500, $750 for the teachers, and $1000 for the schools of the winning teachers. This is a small amount for

these deserving people. Donations for the Laura Lanigan Texas History Fund were collected at the workshops. Many chapters have changed their annual donation from the Alamo to the “essay contest” fund. A highlight of Convention is the recognition of the

winners at Historical Dinner.

If you have any questions, please con-tact Carolyn Raney, Fifth Vice Presi-dent General, (972) 690-6117, car-olynraney@sbcglobal.net , or 2413 Grandview Drive, Richardson, TX

75080.

BYLAWS & MANUAL

OF PROCEDURE

(MOP)

DRT Bylaws and the CRT

Manual of Procedure are both posted on the website.

They can be downloaded to your computer for viewing

and/or printing. Suggestion: save the files to a jump

drive, take it to a copying store and have it printed and

spiral bound. Printing it 8 ½ by 11 allows you to use a

larger font, the spiral binding lays flat or can be folded –

it is very user friendly. The cost was about $5 for the by-

laws. Printing it on both sides of the paper reduces the

thickness and the cost. And now you have some “light”

bedtime reading!

I am excited to announce the new Republic of Texas History Complex District Fundraising Challenge! A DRT member from a West Texas Chapter has chal-lenged each of our 10 Dis-tricts to match her gift of $25,000 by the 2015 Con-vention. If each of our districts matches the challenge, we will be $250,000 closer to achieving our vision of a

complex worthy of housing the many treasured artifacts and histories the Daughters have tirelessly collected for more than 100 years. The challenge is simple:

All gifts made by DRT Members and Chapters be-tween June 2014 & the 2015 Convention will automati-

cally count toward the challenge.

DRT Members and Chapters making gifts of $5,000 or more will receive premier recognition at the new Re-public of Texas History Complex.

Special recognition will be provided at the 2015 Convention to Chapters and Districts who meet the match, who have raised the most dollars within the time period, or have had the highest percentage participation. The Republic of Texas History Complex is our future and will preserve our rich history while serving as a beacon for future generations of Daughters to come. Please give generously -- we need each and every Daughter to support this project to make it a reality. Please make checks payable to: DRT Republic of Texas History Complex Fund Mail to: Daughters of the Republic of Texas 510 E. Anderson Ln. Austin, Texas 78752-1218

The President General’s Newsletter Page 5

Mirabeau B. Lamar is com-

monly known as the “Father

of Texas Education.” In

1838, he pushed for lands

to be set aside to fund public schools and

universities in Texas, and although he did

not attend college himself due to financial

reasons, he deeply appreciated education

and was a senator, journalist, poet, and sol-

dier as well as the second president of the

Republic of Texas!

The President General’s Newsletter Page 6

The Republic of Texas Museum Committee presents “Women of the Republic of Texas.” March 26, 2015 from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm Texas State Cemetery Gallery 909 Navasota St., Austin, TX 78702 Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, “Unflinching Courage: Pioneer-ing Women Who Shaped Texas” Dr. Paula Marks, “Turn Your Eyes Toward Texas, Pioneers Sam and Mary Maverick” James Haley, “The Texas Supreme Court: A Narrative History 1836-1986” Donation of $60 includes lunch. Afterwards, you are invited on a guided tour of the Texas State Cemetery.

Photo Credit: Lara Berendt http://laraberendt.com/texas-state-cemetery.html

December brought 985 peo-

ple to the museum grounds: 800 peo-ple attended the Festival of Carols, 100 toured the Historic House and Kitchen during the open houses and tours were given to 92 non-event visi-tors.

Several programs were held in December by Program Coordinator, Jenny Phillips with the help of staff and

committee members. Extensive plan-ning and marketing are crucial for a successful event, followed by a post event evaluation.

On December 13th, the Festival of Carols was a huge success. Eight elementary school choirs performed and there were activities, games, con-cessions and the historic house and de-tached kitchen were open for tours. The weather was great and about 800 people came and went during the af-ternoon. The program brought in $877; after expenses we cleared about $450. There were no group tours in December. Congratulations to Jenny for organizing this great and growing event.

The Classical Christmas concert on December 6th was the fourth with Spotlight Concerts. Held in the de-tached kitchen, the music was enjoyed by 20 visitors and refreshments were available from a station outside the kitchen. The event went very well and confirmed that the kitchen will provide a great space for lectures and small events of this size.

The first Members Open House was held on December 7. The weather and attendance were poor but we re-ceived very positive comments from those who did come.

We are planning two one-day camps during school holidays in Janu-ary & February: January 19th--small group--archeology activities February 16th--small group--19th cen-tury activities March 29th – Children’s Picnic ‐ An an-nual program with Edible Austin and the SANDE Youth Program, this is a large outdoor food & education event. April 7th - The Legislative Ladies asked to reschedule their event to this date. April TBD - Lecture with Patrick Foley, author of the biography “Missionary Bishop: Jean‐Marie Odin in Galveston & New Orleans”, it includes discussion of his time in Austin.

Facilities and Grounds: I am pleased to announce that we have received the first half of the rental fee

The French Legation Director’s Report December 2014

Continued on next page...

from the French group in Angers—AF83. They are renting the grounds for the whole of SXSW to provide oppor-tunities for the public to sample every-thing from French food to movies to music. The staff has met with represent-atives from all the involved parties and everyone is very excited and expects this to be a long-running arrangement.

The Carriage House is having problems with rodents so we will be upgrading our pest control to include rodents. This is will become very im-portant as the open fields around us become construction sites in early 2015. Animals currently living in these areas will be displaced and we want to be sure the FLM does not become their next home.

Operations and Personnel: New museum aide, Lauren Walz has started her training. The phone and internet systems are being worked on. We are attempting to simplify the number of lines we have while increas-ing internet speed and lowering costs. The 512-472-8180 number will not change, nor will the e-mail addresses.

Volunteers: From July through December, Jerry Withers volunteered 160 working on our computer up-grades. Eight stu-dents from the Austin High School French Club provided 32 hours of help with the Festival of Carols. Mary Braunagel-Brown continued doing her usual Tues-day tours and came in to do tours of the Historic House during the Festival. We will be looking for volunteers to help with cleaning, inventory, and up-dating PastPerfect (collection inventory software).

Grants: The French Legation has been invited to submit a full appli-

cation for the Texas Preservation Trust Fund administered by the Texas Histor-ical Commission. The application is for the Comprehensive Interpretive Master Plan and is due by February 27, 2015. I spoke with the THC project reviewer regard-ing the process and we will be moving forward as quickly as possible to com-plete the package. We will be work-ing with VOH Architects as the Historic Preservation Professionals to help pre-pare the general scope of work for the application. This is a reimbursable matching grant so by the proposal deadline (Feb. 27th) we must have the cash on hands to match whatever amount we request (estimated at $30,000).

The ACVB Historic Preservation Grant for the work on the north eleva-tion of the Historic House and the ac-cessible ramp has been moved through City Legal and to THC requesting their approval of the project. We are now waiting on the final vote from the City of Austin Historic Landmark Commission before the check will be cut. The ACVB Historic Preservation grant does not cover usually architect’s fees for the professional oversight required under the grant and by the THC. I will clarify this upon receipt of the grant paperwork. If the FLM needs to cover VOH Architect’s fee ($3500), there is $4,291 available in this year’s budget for preservation.

The NTLP grant request was approved by the BOM in their Novem-ber meeting. The $11,525 award will cover the staircase replacement, voice/data infrastructure, and sealing the floor in the carriage house. The voice/data infrastructure purchases have

been made and are being installed. This includes upgrades to PastPerfect, MS Operating System for 4 computers, and MS Office for all computers (several computers had copies that were obsolete). Hardware includes external hard drives for all computers (the old ones had failed), a universal power supply to protect the Hub com-puter in case of power outage, ether-net cables to improve data speed, and the equipment needed to run cables overhead. The final reimbursement has been received from the ACVB for the shutter project.

Conservation: The conservator continues to work on an additional 17 books that either date from the 1840s or belonged to the Robertson family; completion is ex-pected in early March. PastPer-fect v. 5 has been purchased under the NTLP grant and is being in-stalled. Once in place an updated inventory will pro-vide spot checks and add photographs as necessary. A new cleaning schedule and methods are being developed for the historic house and kitchen following research into current best practices. Any necessary equipment and supplies will be purchased from the $1,200 budgeted for Collections and Archives.

Staff is looking at increasing the our use of Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram to expand our social media

outreach. While Face-book is effective with a variety of de-

mographics, recent studies show that younger audiences are moving to other

platforms.

The President General’s Newsletter Page 7

The President General’s Newsletter Page 8

O n Friday, November 5th we hosted a book talk with Nick

Kotz, the author of The Harness Maker’s Dream: Nathan Kallison and the Rise of South Texas. The title of his talk was “American Family Histories: Lost, For-gotten, Found.” The topic suited our mission quite well in that he argued that family histories are an essential element for people to understand and appreciate American history.

At the December 6th First Sat-urday the Research Center had 638 visitors. Our exhibit theme was “Everyday Lives: Family History in the Big Picture,” which expanded on the theme of the book talk the day before. Our thanks to volunteer docents were Florence Dodington, Deana Dack, and

Kamala and Tim Lewis. On Wednesday, December

12th we hosted eight 7th grade stu-dents from St. Anthony’s School in

Columbus, Texas. Each student was assigned an individual from the Texas Revolution to study. After assisting them in their research, we showed them primary source material we have relat-ed to the Texas Revolution.

The January 3rd First Saturday exhibit’s theme was “Play Ball.” The majority of visitors were in town to at-tend the bowl games so the case was filled with football related items. We hosted 1,033 visitors during the day and the staff could not have accom-plished this without the assistance of volunteers Deana Dack, and Connie and Gerry Impelman. On Thursday, January 8th Jaime and I conducted a Google Hangout with 40 seventh-grade stu-dents from UT Permian Basin’s STEM

Academy in Odessa. The students were engaged and had excellent questions. One student even inquired about what level of education was needed to work at the Alamo. We may have been presenting to a future staff member.

The Alamo Research Center is open every First Saturday, giving us the opportunity to display part of the collection. Our upmost importance is protection of the collection, while al-lowing the public to enjoy the Collec-tion and spread awareness of its avail-ability. To do this we need volunteers – and they don’t have to be DRT mem-bers – husbands and neighbors have done great jobs! Bring a smile and enjoy meeting our visitors. If you would like to join us, please contact Leslie Stapleton, ARC Director at 210-2256-1071.

Report to DRT Library Collection Committee

Alamo Research Center Director, Leslie Stapleton

December & January activity

The convention registration and sales table forms are posted on the website – only 2 sales tables may be reserved by any chapter or committee – no exceptions. The block of rooms at the convention hotel (Omni San Antonio Hotel at the Colonnade) is full; the rollover hotel is Hyatt Place San Antonio NW/Medical Center – www.sanantonionorthwest.place.hyatt.com or call

888-492-8847. Group code is G-DROT.

The 124th DRT Annual Convention is hosted by the chapters of District I, but the convention committee members are from every district! There will be no

tours this year; instead we are planning seminars and presentations similar to what was done at last fall’s district meetings. Subjects being considered are: “DRT 101-How a Chapter Functions”, Chapter Treasurers, DRT Applications-Dos and Don’ts, Web-

sites and Facebook-How can they Work for you?

More information and registration for these will be coming soon along with the convention schedule. There will be small fees for some to help cover the costs of printing and/or jump drives loaded with

lots of information.