Chapter Projects
Our chapter does many things such as collecting flags, helping people find their ancestors, helping the veterans at the local hospital, and supporting projects through the NSDAR. However, the projects listed here are above and beyond our normal service activities. We are very proud of the members who stepped up to organize and make these projects possible. Please read through our accomplishments which are listed in no particular order. Wayne Chapter is the "Little Chapter Who Could". We look forward to a bright and productive future.
Historical Preservation Project- First Baptist Church Records of Damascus, Wayne County, PA
Coordinator, Karlyn Shedlowski
The National Society DAR celebrated its 125 Anniversary on Oct. 11, 2015. All chapters were called upon to complete a service project as part of this celebration. Karlyn Leslie Shedlowski, Chapter Registrar, suggested a Historic Preservation Project for the Wayne Chapter that would involve preserving the earliest church records of Wayne County, PA. These were from the First Baptist Church of Damascus, which was chartered in 1821. Upon approval, Karlyn contacted the Church Historian, Eliece Rybak. Together they copied over 1,000 pages of church records that covered the time period. The First Baptist Church donated the funds to digitize the record set and assemble them into five books, which were then donated to Wayne County Historical Society, Equinunk Historical Society and Sullivan County Historical Society, Narrowsburg, NY.
After the record books were distributed, Carol Dunn, Director of the Wayne County Historical Society suggested indexing the records. Kaylyn Shedlowski and Eliece Rybak were requested to support this indexing project which began in 2015. Many members of the Wayne Chapter, and two other DAR chapters assisted in indexing the Covenant Book 1. Wayne Chapter and the Wayne County Historical Society continued to index the remaining books. When Covid began and the historical society had to close, Karlyn, on behalf of the Wayne Chapter, volunteered to complete the project, indexing almost 2,000 names and finishing in May 2021. Although Karlyn now resides in Florida, she supported Wayne Chapter's project for 6 years, and received a DAR Certificate of Recognition in Historic Preservation for her efforts.
This project demonstrates the energy, cooperation and leadership that can result when three vibrant organizations work together, Wayne Chapter, First Baptist Church of Damascus and Wayne County Historical Society. The motto of DAR is God, Home and Country, this project exemplifies the motto by preserving the records of Wayne County's past, its people and its first and oldest church.
Jennie Brownscomb's childhood Home Historical Marker - Cliff Street, Honesdale, PA
Coordinator, Carol Cipriano
In 1991 Wayne Chapter erected a plaque at the residence of one of our charter members, Jennie Brownscomb, a renowned artist, famous for painting "The First Thanksgiving". In 2018, after attending a lecture on Jennie Brownscomb given by Sally Talaga from Wayne County Historical Society, Carol Cipriano learned that the house where the marker was placed was not Jennie's birthplace but rather her childhood home. Carol brought the subject up to the chapter, urging the members that we needed to correct the mistake so that history will be correctly presented.
Carol contacted the Wayne County Historical Society to get the documentation in the form of a letter written by Jennie Brownscomb stating the home on Cliff Street was not where she was born, but rather where she moved at the age of 8.
Carol then proceeded to get the proper approval from NSDAR to start the project to replace the marker. Once the paperwork was filed in Washington, Carol sent a form to the current homeowner explaining what the chapter proposed to do and getting her approval to replace the marker and have a dedication on her property. Once approval was received from the resident, Carol interviewed several companies to get prices and illustrations of what the marker would look like. Finally, the marker was made and the press contacted so the Wayne Chapter could put the new, correct marker on the property and have a dedication on September 25, 2019.
If any member would like to see the marker, please contact Carol Cipriano
Digitizing All The Wayne Chapter Records To Store In Our Cloud For The Future.
Coordinator, Nichole Heiser
In September, 2019, Nichole Heiser started a project of digitizing all the records of Wayne Chapter. She first obtained the boxes of records and items that were being kept at the Wayne County Historical Society. In those boxes were minutes of previous meetings, articles collected over the years, such as awards and different items used by the chapter in the past.
Nichole is taking pictures of everything to store in our cloud. Once the project is finished, we will have a permanent copy of the history of Wayne Chapter for the future. This daunting task is ongoing, but once it is finished, we will return the boxes to Wayne County Historical Society for safekeeping.
We are very grateful to Nichole Heiser for undertaking this project.
All the information that Nichole has put in the cloud is available to any member. If you want to view the documents, please contact Nichole.
Daughters' Awesome Recipes Cookbook With Recipes From Our Chapter Members
Coordinator, Carol Cipriano
Carol Cipriano started collecting recipes from members to create a cookbook for Wayne Chapter and published it on Amazon.
This cookbook, named Daughters' Awesome Recipes, is available on Amazon and proceeds will go to the chapter to help finance our various community projects. The writing of the cookbook started in 2020 and was just recently published in May, 2021
You may purchase our cookbooks at .https://www.amazon.com/s?k=daughters+awesome+recipes&crid=395X0R5CJ3DJH&sprefix=daughters+awesom%2Cbeauty%2C153&ref=nb_sb_ss_fb_1_16_ts-doa-p
Interviews With Patriots
Coordinator, Carol Cipriano
Carol Cipriano has been interviewing veterans from different wars and saving the interviews in our cloud for posterity. She has spoken to soldiers from WWII, Korean, Vietnam wars as well as a nurse from the Vietnam war. Carol has also done members recollections of days gone by and a few other interesting people who have contributed to patriotism. This is an ongoing project and as long as Carol can find people to interview, she will add to the collection.
If a member wants to see the interviews, contact Carol Cipriano.
Last Updated December 12, 2022