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Author: Pam
I have been a member since 2016 and I am currently the Treasurer and on the VIS Committee for the Lake Minnetonka DAR Chapter. As a member of the VIS Committee, I created the Chapter website and continue to maintain it. I am also on the Minnesota State DAR team as MVAVS Deputy Representative and as the VIS Co-Chair.
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New Board Inducted at April Meeting
Our chapter congratulates Michelle White as she accepts and performs the role of Chapter Regent for the 2023-2025 term. The Lake Minnetonka Chapter is very fortunate to have her as our chapter leader and she brings a lot of experience and dedication to our chapter.
We would also like to recognize our outgoing and new Honorary Regent Gigi Hickey and thank her for the dedication she gave to our chapter during her two terms.
We would also like to thank our outgoing board members and welcome all new board members to the Lake Minnetonka Executive Board. Our chapter is for is fortunate to have you and appreciates your dedication to making our chapter one of the best in Minnesota.
Purple Heart Veterans Honored with Quilts of Valor
In honor of Veterans Day, members of the Lake Minnetonka Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution presented hand-crafted Quilts of Valor to three deserving Twin Cities veterans of the Vietnam War.
Each Quilt of Valor recipient is a member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. The Purple Heart Medal is awarded to members of the United States military who have been wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy. The 2022 Quilt of Valor recipients are East Bethel resident, Philip Perron; Edina businessman, John J. Sorich III of Minneapolis; and Woodbury resident, Joseph L. Coopet, Jr. The quilts were presented to each veteran in a private ceremony.
Mr. Perron volunteered for service in 1968 and served with both the 1-11 Infantry, 1st Brigade, 5th Mechanized Infantry Division and 3rd Platoon, C Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army. He participated in the horrific Battle of Hamburger Hill, so called by the press when a sergeant responded to a reporter’s question saying, “Have you ever been inside a hamburger machine? We just got cut to pieces by extremely accurate machine gun fire.” Perron ran up and down the 937-meter-high jungle mountain every day of the ten-day battle. He was wounded on his last run, but still had the strength to carry his lifeless medic back down the hill. Mr. Perron’s experience is recorded at West Point’s Center for Oral History.
Mr. Sorich and Mr. Coopet first met in 1969 when they served together in the 11th Armored Cavalry “Black Horse” Regiment (ACR) of the United States Army. This famous regiment was established on February 2, 1901 and has a history of valorous service in both World Wars as well as Vietnam. The two veterans reunited in the 1980s and have become good friends.
Mr. Sorich hails from a dedicated military family and is part of “over 100 years of ‘John Sorichs’ serving the country.” His grandfather, John, served in WWI, his father, John Jr., served in WWII, and his son, John IV, served in the Iraq War and has served in the Army Reserve for the past 20 years, achieving the rank of captain. In Vietnam, Sorich III served under the command of Colonel George S. Patton, Jr. Mr. Sorich’s unit sustained heavy combat losses. Of the 120 men in his Alpha Unit, he says “21 were killed and 60 were severely wounded,” and adds, “I am lucky to be alive.” After returning home, he was called with his unit to guard the White House during Vietnam War protests on May 10, 1970. Among other decorations, Mr. Sorich was awarded the Purple Heart with One Cluster, the Vietnamese Cross for Gallantry, and the Bronze Star with Valor. His insightful reflections on his Vietnam service are recorded as part of Minnesota PBS’s “Minnesota Remembers Vietnam” project.
Mr. Coopet served as a gunner on an Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle for several months before becoming track commander of the vehicle and leading a crew of four soldiers. He participated in numerous battles in 1969, including an attack on January 11 near Quan Loi when his column of armored vehicles was completely surrounded in an enemy ambush. After withstanding heavy crossfire and despite being significantly outnumbered, the ACR soldiers were successful in repelling and routing the enemy. Mr. Coopet was promoted to Sergeant E5 during his tenth month of service and is the recipient of three Purple Heart medals. Today he wears golf shirts with “Black Horse” insignia year-round and is proud when he is recognized and “told of the valor of our 11th ACR troopers going to the rescue of other units when they were under heavy combat.”
Each Quilt of Valor is awarded to its recipient with this heartfelt expression of gratitude: “We honor you for your service, for leaving all you held dear, for standing in harm’s way in a time of crisis, and for protecting us from the effects of war. We know freedom is not free. The cost of freedom is the dedication of men and women like you. This Quilt of Valor is our way to say thank you for your service, sacrifice, and valor.”
Quilts of Valor are carefully sewn by members of the Lake Minnetonka Chapter DAR and are rich with meaning. Lake Minnetonka Regent Gigi Hickey explains, “The many colors and shapes on the top of the quilt represent the diverse individuals we are. The warm batting in the center of the quilt represents our hope that this quilt will bring comfort, peace, and healing to the individual who receives it. The backing is the strength that supports the other layers, representing the strength of the recipient and the support of our communities and our nation.” Hickey adds, “Every stitch holding the layers together represents our gratitude.”
Explaining why many veterans choose not to talk about their experience, Mr. Sorich states, “As Vietnam Vets there has always been a good deal of futility and frustration in our experience and lives.” He reflects, “In my personal journey towards understanding, we Vietnam vets have made it known that you can hate war, but respect the soldiers.” Upon receiving his Quilt of Valor he said, “Thank you for planting flowers over the garbage of our memories.”
Spring Park Centenarian Joins Lake Minnetonka DAR Chapter
One-hundred-year-old Marjorie Brinkley and her daughter, Leilani Peck, turned their pandemic isolation months into a genealogical adventure.
While serving as President of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Auxiliary, Peck set out to find new ways to involve members when they were not able to get together in person. One idea the Auxiliary pursued was to create a genealogy interest group, organized with assistance from Lake Minnetonka Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Regent and Arboretum Auxiliary Volunteer, Gigi Hickey.
Peck and another DAR member, Margie Nash, joined the group. Peck recalls, “As stories of our family’s genealogical journeys came out, Gigi and Margie were convinced we would find a Revolutionary War Patriot somewhere in our family background.”
“We had one other invaluable resource, something that few families are lucky enough to find among their attic treasures: more than 70 letters written by my three-times great-grandmother, Hannah Hayden,” says Peck. The letters had been written between 1806 and 1823, and were discovered 150 years later in a ledger book of the family’s mill business in Tecumseh, Michigan.
Since Hannah and her husband, Hezekiah, were born during the American Revolution, Peck and Brinkley reasoned that their parents may have been involved in the war. A Hayden family genealogy book written in 1888 stated that Hezekiah’s father, Levi, had indeed served as a soldier during the Revolution. Lake Minnetonka Chapter DAR Registrar, Sarah Martin, helped Peck and Brinkley verify Levi’s war service in official records from colonial Connecticut. Once Levi’s service and the family’s genealogy were established, mother and daughter successfully submitted their applications to the DAR.
Peck and Brinkley learned that three patriotic Hayden brothers served during the American Revolution. Their ancestor, Levi, was drafted twice for short terms during the Revolutionary War. Levi’s brothers, Nathaniel and Hezekiah, fought with General George Washington in the Battle of Long Island during the summer of 1776. After heavy fighting, Nathaniel was safely evacuated as the badly outnumbered Continental Army retreated under the cover of fog. Hezekiah, was not so fortunate. Hezekiah’s company was cut off during the retreat and was captured by the British. He, along with all the men in his company except the captain, tragically starved to death while imprisoned.
Mother and daughter’s applications to the DAR were approved just in time for a family reunion celebrating Brinkley’s 100th birthday. Marjorie Jeanne Hayden Brinkley was born in her grandfather’s farmhouse on March 21, 1922, in Kent County, Michigan. She graduated from Michigan State University and went on to receive a master’s degree from Rollins College. She had a career as an educator, serving as a classroom teacher, a county and state administrator, and a teacher trainer for Florida State University. She even authored several textbooks which earned her a spot in Who’s Who of American Women.
Throughout her life, this remarkable woman has traveled to five continents, more than 30 countries, and all 50 states. She reads the newspaper every morning to stay current with national and world affairs, and keeps her mind sharp with weekly bridge games, crossword puzzles, cryptograms, and the daily Isaac Asimov quiz.
Inspired by her ancestor’s letters, the ambitious Brinkley decided to use the pandemic lockdown to record memories of her own life and times to pass along to future generations. “A fellow resident at Lake Minnetonka Shores began typing my mother’s handwritten notes and passing them along to me,” says Peck. “We decided to turn these writings into a 100-page book to celebrate her 100th birthday.”
“Marjorie’s story proves that it’s never too late to join the DAR,” says Hickey. “Not only will you honor your Patriot and discover fascinating stories about your family history, your research may help others seeking membership.”
Peck and Brinkley are looking forward to meeting other members of the Lake Minnetonka Chapter DAR and hearing the stories of their family histories. Peck appreciates the DAR leaders who helped trace her genealogy back to a Patriot of the American Revolution, saying, “I am very grateful to them for their help in establishing my family’s link to this seminal event in the nation’s history.”
Marjorie Brinkley and Lani Peck
Lake Minnetonka DAR Sews Masks for Essential Workers
Hospitals across the country have issued pleas for donations as they face severe shortages of facemasks due to the COVID-19 crisis. Talented home sewers from the Lake Minnetonka Chapter DAR have risen to the challenge.
When the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Medical Center requested handcrafted fabric masks, Lake Minnetonka DAR members eagerly responded with nearly 200 colorful fabric masks to donate to the Hospital’s frontline workers. “We already donate hand-knitted scarves to the veterans through this facility so we were more than happy to help with their request for masks as well,” says Chapter Regent, Gigi Hickey. The chapter’s masks have also been donated elsewhere, including to essential workers at the Minnesota Children’s Hospital and local pharmacists.
The sewers quickly ran out of supplies. “We have completely exhausted personal and local store supplies of elastic and bias tape,” says Hickey. The sewers were undaunted by this supply shortage. “We got creative and used seam binding, ribbons, and homemade binding to keep sewing. Now we are eagerly awaiting our online supply orders and will keep sewing when they arrive.”
Nationwide, more than 700 chapters of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution from all 50 states have participated in the effort to contribute handcrafted facemasks. As of May 23, members have sewn more than 400,000 facemasks nationally to donate to essential workers and others in need.
“I am so proud of what our DAR members are accomplishing as part of a proud tradition of service that dates to our 1890 founding,” says Denise Doring VanBuren, DAR President General. She adds, “In difficult times like these, I like to remember that it is not the emergency that defines us, but how we respond to it.”
Wayzata Students Win Lake Minnetonka DAR Essay Contest
The Lake Minnetonka Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution proudly announces the winners of its 2019 essay competition. This year’s competition invited middle school students to submit essays inspired by “The Women’s Suffrage Campaign” in honor of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution passed on June 4, 1919. This amendment granted all American women the right to vote and hold elective office.
Wayzata East Middle School student, Sadie Meisenheimer, won the 6th grade competition. In her essay, Sadie creatively wrote from the perspective of the daughter of Charlotte Woodward. Charlotte attended the pivotal 1848 Seneca Falls Convention organized to fight for women’s right to vote. Of the sixty-eight women who signed the convention’s “Declaration of Sentiments” outlining women’s rights, Charlotte was the only woman who lived to see the final ratification of the 19th Amendment.
Wayzata West Middle School student, Emmeline Wang, won the 7th grade competition. Emmeline’s innovative essay was written as though she was vocal women’s rights leader, Alice Paul, making entries in her diary. As Alice, Emmeline explained how she and Lucy Burns founded the National Women’s Party to fight for women’s rights at the national level in Congress, unlike the National American Women’s Suffrage Association, which concentrated on suffrage at the state level. Emmeline also described Alice’s courageous hunger strike which tragically resulted in her abusive forced feeding.
The Daughters of the American Revolution congratulate these students and commend them for their efforts to educate our community on the historical importance and impact of the women’s suffrage campaign.
2018 Constitution Week Events
Explaining to students how the Constitution defines the balance of powers
Every year the week of September 17-23 is important to the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) as we celebrate Constitution Week. Constitution Celebration Week is a commemoration of America’s most important document – the Constitution. The document was signed on September 17, 1787. In 1955, the DAR initiated the Constitution Celebration Week and Congress signed it into law in 1956. Each year all NSDAR Chapters conduct events to promote this week and our chapter has traditionally supported it by building awareness in the community. Some events involve getting local city/town Mayoral Proclamations, local church bell ringing and the placement of Constitution Week posters in prominent locations. Last year, Constitution Committee Chair Pam Petersen created overviews to be presented by Lake Minnetonka DAR Chapter members to second and third graders in several local elementary schools. This year we continued the effort and are excited to share our experiences.
Pictured here are the winners of our Constitution Week pencil pouches, Thora Binsfeld and Zeke Schwehr
Educating students on DAR and Constitution Week
with Pam Petersen and Kari Winning who presented the Constitution Week Overview to four Delano Elementary School Third Grade Classes with committee members Kari Winning and Pam Petersen presenting to the classes. The presentations were given to the classrooms from Marissa Ekness, Jackson Lindquist, Leah Petersen and Charlene Warne. The winners were selected by the teachers as the students who were most attentive and actively participated in
Third Grader Zeke Schwehr with his prize
the presentation. We would like to thank the Delano Elementary School and these outstanding teachers for allowing the Lake Minnetonka DAR Chapter to come in and educate the students on the United States Constitution. The beginning of school is always so hectic and we truly appreciate them taking time out of their busy schedules to support us.
Educating Delano third graders on the Constitution during Constitution Week.