Above / Fort Payne Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution recently honored outstanding students, teachers and citizens during annual spring meeting. Dan Casey, pictured here with DAR member Bettye Wehrli, received the 2018 DAR Community Service Award.
Earlier this spring, the Fort Payne Chapter NSDAR held its annual awards ceremony. Awards were given for community service, good citizenship, outstanding work in American history, being the outstanding American history teacher, and outstanding junior member. Fort Payne also awarded its annual education scholarship.
Dan Casey, owner of Casey’s Foods, was recognized by Fort Payne with the 2018 DAR Community Service Award. Casey has championed many causes in Naperville, including serving on the boards of directors for Little Friends, Naperville Country Club, and the Naperville Heritage Society, as well as for two local banks.
Katherine Keenan won the chapter’s own scholarship, the Vera Walz Education Scholarship. Keenan is a senior at Neuqua Valley High School. In the fall, she will be enrolling at Brigham Young University in Utah.
The DAR Good Citizen Awards are selected by faculty at their respective schools. To receive this award, high school seniors must demonstrate qualities of dependability, service, leadership and patriotism in their homes, schools and communities.
This year’s honorees included Zainab Qureshi of Metea Valley High School, Devan Fischer of Neuqua Valley High School, Maya Benziger of Waubonsie Valley High School, and Dan Dorociak of Benet Academy. Dorociak also was recognized as the Fort Payne Chapter winner.
Eighth grade students from Kennedy Junior High School and Ss. Peter and Paul Schools were recognized for their outstanding work in American History. The DAR American History Essay Contest is open to all 5th through 8th grade students in the Naperville area schools. This year’s topic was “World War I: Remembering the War to End All Wars.” David Wang from Kennedy Junior High School was the overall chapter winner.
Ss. Peter and Paul student Patrick Aabram was recognized for his outstanding work.
Neuqua Valley’s Catherine Bishir was recognized for her outstanding work as an American history teacher. Bishir is known for her passion for teaching and a love of American history.
Fort Payne Chapter honored Jane McCague as their outstanding junior member. To qualify, recipients must be 35 years old or younger, they must be active in the chapter and demonstrate patriotism. McCague was a natural selection because of her active participation in the chapter and community.
In addition to being Vice Regent for the Fort Payne Chapter, McCague is chairperson for the Good Citizen Award Committee and heads the chapter’s adopt-a-park project. Fort Payne has adopted the entrance garden to Central Park in downtown Naperville. The chapter plants flowers several times a year at the park entrance.
Fort Payne congratulates all award recipients, celebrates first 90 years
Also this spring, Fort Payne daughters and guests gathered at Naperville Country Club to celebrate 90 years of service to NSDAR and Naperville. Sarah Dore, current Fort Payne regent, led the celebration recalling the chapter’s dedication to historic preservation, education and patriotism.
Forty-four members, including four past regents Linda Lee, Shirley Stinza, Jeannette Richmond and Lynne DeConti, joined in the celebration. Current State Regent Gloria Flathom and District Director Mary Helfrich also joined the festivities.
Bettye Wehrli presented the NSDAR history, including each decade of 90 years of service. Each table was decorated to recognize the decades. Cheerful hats and teapots adorned the tables. A chapter history table was set up. Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico’s proclamation was read to the attendees.
Since 1928, Chapter has been named for Captain Morgan L. Payne
Fort Payne Chapter got its name from Captain Morgan L. Payne. Captain Payne led a group of 50 men from Ottawa, Ill., to help settlers at the Naperville Settlement build a fort. During the Blackhawk War, these settlers had fled for their lives. They needed fortification upon their return. Captain Payne and his men ably provided the manpower. Captain Payne was so popular that the men named the fort in his honor.
In January 1927, a move to start the Hobson Mill Preservation Project developed into an interest in organizing a local DAR chapter in Naperville. Led by Mary Ball Coultrap, Fort Payne’s founding regent, and twelve members, the Fort Payne Chapter was organized on February 13, 1928. The NSDAR National Board confirmed the charter on May 19, 1928.
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote historic preservation, education and patriotism. Its members are descended from the patriots who won American independence during the Revolutionary War. With more than 177,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide, DAR is one of the world’s largest and most active service organizations. DAR members are committed to volunteer service having served more than 12.5 million hours in communities throughout the world during the past three years.
To learn more about the work of today’s DAR, visit www.DAR.org.
News and photos submitted by Sarah Dore and Sarah Adamson for Fort Payne Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.
