DAR hosts genealogy workshop
Michael Hillegas Chapter hosted a District VII genealogy workshop in late March at Harrisburg District Library. It was combined with a New Horizons leadership training course. State DAR Chapter Development and Revitalization Committee members came from throughout the state to present the training session. They included Gloria Flathom, volunteer genealogist; Joy Upton, lineage research; Linda Wingstrom, state registrar; Donna Benshoff, state recording secretary; and Diane Eubanks, membership. Thirty DAR members from throughout Southern Illinois were in attendance.
<strong>All aboard!</strong>
Each year, all DAR chapters are asked to submit information to be published in American Spirit, the magazine of Daughters of the American Revolution. This year, the designated topic was train depots from Halcyon Days that were still standing. The only one in Saline County that is still in use is Stonefort Railroad Depot. Linda Blackman has restored the depot, and it is now a museum.
You may visit the old train depot in historic Stonefort, 14 miles southeast of Harrisburg on U.S. 45. The hours are limited and seasonal. From April 1 through Dec. 1, the museum is open from 1 to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. Alternate days and times may be arranged by appointment. Call 618-252-5112.
Features include the historic train depot, old school pictures, history of Bolton/Stonefort, historic local maps, history of local railroad and support services, and visual history of an old-time hardware store.
Railroads have provided a market for goods, grain and cattle in addition to mail and as a primary mode of transportation.
A stop for New York Central Railroad trains at Stonefort carried mules and other livestock, Sears prefab homes, coal, etc. Passengers on a northern route to the Windy City called it "the slow poke four" because it stopped at every little depot between here and Chicago!
<strong>Flag etiquette</strong>
Our flag symbolizes the freedoms that Americans enjoy every day. We should respect it, salute it and stand at attention whenever it is at a program, a parade, assembly or procession.
Following is a quote I found when I searched days to fly the flag. " If anyone, then, asks me the meaning of our flag, I say to him – it means just what Concord and Lexington meant; what Bunker Hill meant; which was, in short, the rising up of a valiant young people against an old tyranny to establish the most momentous doctrine that the world had ever known – the right of men to their own selves and to their liberties. ~Henry Ward Beecher
Membership in NSDAR is a unique opportunity to honor one's lineage and heritage as a descendant of a patriot of the American Revolution. An applicant must prove direct lineal bloodline descent from an ancestor who aided the fight for American independence. Please contact Michael Hillegas Registrar Janice Hall at 618-272-4091 or any other member for further information on how to join.