Author: Gigi Hickey

The Lake Minnetonka Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is proud to announce the deserving winners of its 2023 student essay competition. The DAR honors top students with awards that recognize their potential as future leaders through their writing skills and passion for American history.

Students were invited this year to imagine themselves as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress during the Revolutionary War and write about their experience shaping the direction of the new United States of America.

Wayzata West Middle School eighth grader, Shriya Singh, is the winner of the DAR Student Excellence in History Award. Shriya’s essay explores how the unity of the thirteen colonies around the ideas of equality and liberty was key to earning their independence from Great Britain. She also enjoyed learning about the role of women in the American Revolution. “Women,” she says, “spearheaded volunteer organizations to sew uniforms, make bullets, and raise funds for the war efforts.” In addition to being a talented writer, Shriya is a student athlete and musician who loves to play tennis and the flute.

Wayzata West Middle School student, Anish Kommalapati, is the Lake Minnetonka Chapter DAR’s first-place essay winner at the 7^th grade level. Anish believes, “there were many brilliant people working behind the scenes during the history of the American Revolution and it is important to give these people the credit they deserve.” He also believes that America “has thrived because it learned from the past and must continue to do so in order to grow.” This well-rounded student competes in both Science Bowl and Math Counts. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball and Xbox.

North Woods Elementary student, Madelyn Checketts, is the Lake Minnetonka Chapter DAR and Minnesota State DAR’s first-place essay winner at the 5^th grade level. Madelyn believes studying America’s history is important “because every one of us should know what and who came before us. We know not to repeat all the wrong things we did, but we know that we can repeat the good deeds we learn about.” In addition to being an avid reader, Madelyn enjoys playing piano and soccer. She also loves snuggling with her two dogs, Bruno and Duke. “Duke,” she adds, “was supposed to be a mini Bernedoodle, but ended up being an 80-pound Bernese!”

The Lake Minnetonka Chapter DAR is also proud to honor St. Michael Albertville Middle School Teacher, Blair Huggins, with an Outstanding American History Teacher award. Mr. Huggins teaches 7th grade Social Studies and is a self-described “history geek.” He is well-known and treasured by students and parents alike for the creative ways he brings history to life. His engaging classroom is decorated with fascinating American history objects and his lessons are animated by creative technology. Perhaps the highlight of the school year is when Mr. Huggins dresses up as Abraham Lincoln to teach his students about leadership during the American Civil War. “The DAR admires the talents of history teachers like Mr. Huggins who are able to excite students about American history,” says Lake Minnetonka Chapter DAR American History Chair, Terry Anderson. In addition to his award, the chapter has purchased books for Mr. Huggins’s classroom.

The Lake Minnetonka Chapter DAR congratulates these students and teacher on their well-earned awards.

The Lake Minnetonka Chapter DAR was first organized by energetic leader and enthusiastic women’s advocate, Sandra-Faith “Sandie” Lamb. As both a pioneering scientist and an artist skilled in needle work, Sandie stitched together a life characterized by big dreams, hard work, and impactful achievements. She was a woman of faith, who found strength and joy in prayer. She also had faith in people and believed it was her obligation as a leader to help women discover their talents and pursue bold goals.

Career

A natural leader and driven achiever, Sandie earned a scholarship to St. Scholastica College where she majored in Chemistry and Math. She was the first in her family to attend college, inspiring her sisters to pursue higher educations as well. She began her career as a chemist at the world-renowned Mayo Clinic and continued her work as a chemist at Archer Daniels Midland. Ever the visionary and pioneer, Sandie observed the burgeoning computer industry with interest and took a position as a computer programmer with Univac. She went on to work in this field for Memorex and Control Data. While working at Control Data, this life-long learner earned an MBA from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.

Military Service

Sandie’s first husband, Eldon Hayes Bunker, served in the United States Army during WWII and continued serving in the Army Reserve after the war. When the Army began digitizing its work in the 1970s, officers at the Army Reserve took notice of Sandie’s unique computer skills and actively recruited her to join. She served in the Army Reserve as a computer scientist for over 25 years while earning a master’s degree at Command and General Staff College. She retired as a Lieutenant Colonel and is now buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

Lake Minnetonka Chapter DAR  

Sandie’s own military experience sparked her interest in her ancestors’ military service. She learned from her aunt that she was descended from Revolutionary War Patriot, Isaac Freese. Freese served in the Massachusetts Militia from August 1777 to January 1778 and was stationed at Penobscot River in Maine as part of the Northern Campaign. Following this discovery, Sandie joined the DAR in 1973. With her trademark enthusiasm and boundless energy, Sandie held numerous leadership roles in the DAR, serving as Regent of the Captain John Holmes Chapter, State Registrar, and State Organizing Secretary.

While faithfully serving in these roles, Sandie joined other visionary leaders who saw an even bigger opportunity. Inspired to reach women in the western suburbs of Minneapolis, Sandie became a founding member of the Lake Minnetonka Chapter DAR in 2005 and was chosen to be its Organizing Regent. She served in this role until tragically developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Endowment

While Sandie’s academic, professional, and military accomplishments are impressive, they are matched by her generosity and enthusiastic advocacy for women. Her estate plan included a generous gift to the DAR chapter she helped to launch. In honor of Sandie’s pioneering spirit, this gift has been used to found something new: an endowment fund from which awards that advance the DAR’s mission of education, patriotism, and historic preservation can be made. Sandie’s generous legacy gift now enables our chapter to inspire future generations to reach their potential, just as she did. When asked what Sandie might have said to inspire and encourage future award recipients, her sister, Liz, fittingly replied, “Be bold and follow your dreams.”

Lake Minnetonka (MN) Chapter members invested over 100 hours during June-September to restore grave markers at Shorewood’s historic Woodside Cemetery. Woodside is the resting place of approximately 120 veterans, including soldiers from the Civil War, World Wars I & II, Vietnam and other conflicts. The cemetery also includes the gravesites of numerous pioneer families who settled the area in the 1800s.

Chapter volunteers completed edging all veterans’ gravestones and cleaning those markers that were badly discolored. The gravestones of pioneers buried before 1910 were also edged and cleaned. In total, 110+ Woodside markers were restored.

Notable historical discoveries regarding the people buried here include:

• George W. Gideon (1844-1862) – Gideon was an 18-year-old soldier in Capt. Richard Strout’s Company B of the Ninth Minnesota Regiment. He was killed on September 3, 1862 in the U.S. Dakota War.

• Frank M. Worth (1840-1927) – Worth was a soldier in the 23d Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. He is a veteran of the Battle of Gettysburg.

• J.W. (Joshua) Howe (1845-1904) – Howe enlisted in Company F of the 11th Minnesota Regiment on November 11, 1864. His company earned the nickname “The Buffers” by guarding an important 30-mile stretch of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad used to move Union Army troops and supplies.

During their last work day in 2021, chapter members identified additional markers needing attention so they will be back at Woodside at least one more day in the spring. The chapter expects to identify another historic cemetery to restore next year as part of DAR’s state-wide effort to preserve history through cemetery renewal.

Kris Sittler and Barbara Schneider cleaning historic marker at Woodside.

Photo courtesy of Jason Jenkins, Sun Sailor.

The Lake Minnetonka Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution proudly presented its annual Community Service Award to the Lake Minnetonka Garden Club at a ceremony on June 17. The Community Service Award is designed to recognize those who have contributed to their communities in an outstanding voluntary, heroic, civil, or benevolent manner. This award is given in recognition of the Club’s outstanding contribution to the Wayzata community through the “Depot Garden.”

The Lake Minnetonka Garden Club was founded in 1927 with the purpose of stimulating the knowledge and love of gardening, while restoring, improving, and protecting the environment through conservation. The “Depot Garden” is one of the club’s notable contributions toward this mission.

Located between the historic Wayzata Depot and Lake Minnetonka, the “Depot Garden” was originally planted in 1989. The Lake Minnetonka Garden Club has re-designed the garden twice and has now taken over its maintenance in perpetuity, donating this service as a gift to the Wayzata community. The garden displays a combination of perennials, annuals and bulbs that are both native plants and cultivars of those varieties that grow well in Minnesota. In addition to enhancing the enjoyment of lakeside walks, the “Depot Garden” plays host to numerous summer concerts and weddings.

“Establishing and caring for the Depot Garden has been a project that our members have enjoyed working on since the ’90s, providing both a venue for educating the community on native plants so important to our ecosystem and helping to enhance a historical landmark,” says Lake Minnetonka Garden Club President, Mitzi Magid. “The garden is always evolving but it continues to be a source of pride for us and our community. We are thrilled to receive this award!”

“The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution is committed to historic preservation, education and patriotism. Lake Minnetonka Chapter members are ardent supporters of historic preservation projects in our community,” states DAR Chapter Regent, Gigi Hickey. “We deeply appreciate what the Lake Minnetonka Garden Club has done to beautify the grounds of the historic Wayzata Depot, where plantings enhance our experience when we visit. We’re pleased to recognize the club’s dedicated and tireless service to the community.”