The sun is setting on what turned out to be a lovely Decoration Day here in NY. I spent some part of the day on a genealogical quest at the farm. Ever since I was a little girl I longed to join the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Of course at that time I knew nothing of the group’s charitable mission, but I loved the history and the pride that I imagined went along with membership. Now, at long last — and with the help of the internet– it seems that I am close to realizing my dream.

I’ve been researching family history and sure enough, there is at least one “patriot” in my family tree who is “confirmed”. I have to work to connect the dots between he (who once served under Benedict Arnold before BA turned to the dark side) and I, but I can see my goal within reach.

This crawl through history has also revealed a relative who died in the Civil War (Harrison B. Dutcher). HBD was my great, great grandmother’s brother. From the regimental archives:

DUTCHER , HARRISON B.—Age, 27 years. Enlisted, January 1, 1864, at Independence; mustered in as private, Oo. B, January 1, 1864, to serve three years; died of disease, February 22, 1865, near Wilmington, N . C.

While excavating a large bin of pictures and other tidbits, I found this book, published in 1943: an illustrated children’s book on war. Wow. Talk about all hands-on deck.

I’ll not bore you with any more family history. But my modern Memorial Day/4th of July wall quilt is ready for quilting. My plan is to perform a simple “stitch in the ditch” maneuver, then get it up on the wall in my office so I can banish the embarrassing St. Patrick’s Day quilt that still hangs there.

Let the summer begin!