From left, top row, Principal Candy Powers and DAR members Margaret Rollins, Nancy Larson, Stacy Kehoe, Marie Wingate, Susan Thomas, Elsie Owens, Lynn Adcock and Paula Sue Braden. Back row, students, Charnika Brown, Jonathan Green, Matthew Tierney, Matthew Bowlin, Gladys Sanchez, Andrew Bowlin, Madalyn Ownby, Madison Anderson, and Kirsten Sutton. Front row students, James Allen, Reece Rutledge, Chelsea Mayfield, Taylor Smith, Amber Davis, Oliva Shrum, Will Thomas, Jacob Riner, and Jonathan Dodd.
In honor of Presidents Day, the Judge David Campbell Chapter of NSDAR visited the South Pittsburg Elementary School Tuesday and presented a large framed portrait of a George Washington to the school.
The presentation was made to students in Ashley Thomas’s fourth grade class to celebrate Presidents Day and in conjunction with the fourth grade study of the American Revolution.
School Principal Candance Powers, fourth grade teacher Ashley Thomas and eight DAR chapter members participated in the presentation. Chapter members attending were Chapter Regent Stacy Kehoe, Second Vice Regent Marie Wingate, National Vice President General Susan Rogers Thomas, Lynn Adcock, Paula Sue Braden, Nancy Larson, Elsie Owens, and Margaret Rollins. Six of the Judge David Campbell attendees had connections to South Pittsburg Elementary School.
Each chapter member identified herself and told who their patriot was and explained what their connection to the school was. Ms. Rogers Thomas had attended school there when she was a child and gave encouraging words to the children to do their best in school. Ms. Wingate shared the story of how her mother was the secretary at the school for 22 years. Ms. Adcock had been the speech teacher and attended school there and her mother had been one of the teachers. Sisters Ms. Braden and Ms. Rollins' father was Principal Paul Braden, who led South Pittsburg Elementary for over 30 years. Their mother was the school music teacher. Ms. Owens’ children attended the school.
Ms. Larson, Community Classroom Committee chairperson, gave a short five minute American history lesson on George Washington’s life. Ms. Rogers Thomas told the children that the prints were donated to the chapter by Bitsy Riegel Gulbenk, a member of the Rachel Stockley Donelson Chapter in Nashville. Bitsy and her husband, Roupen, own the original of this portrait of George Washington. They graciously had enough prints made to present 10 copies at no charge to each of the 94 DAR chapters in Tennessee. The children wanted to know about her DAR ribbon and pins so Ms. Thomas explained what the pins were.
A gift of classroom library books was given to teacher Ashley Thomas for her students to enjoy U.S. Presidents: The Oval Office All Stars By: Dan Green, and three copies of Who Was George Washington? by Roberta Edwards. Red, white and blue cookies were served to the children after a photo was taken.
Principal Ms. Powers will be hanging the portrait of George Washington in their history hall.