Strawberry River Chapter DAR met Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, in a zoom meeting. There were 15 members in attendance. 

Members were up-dated on the 2022 Valentine’s Project; we delivered Valentines and candy to all 395 residents of the six nursing/rehab centers within the tri-county area. Also, special chocolate heart candy was made by one of our members for city police officers which said “Thank you for putting your HEART into your work!”. We appreciate your service to our communities.

Members selected delegates to represent the chapter at the Arkansas State Conference which will be March 17-19 in Little Rock. A nominating committee was also elected who will present a slate of nominees at the April meeting to serve as chapter officers during the 2022-2024 year. 

250th Anniversary of the Committees Correspondence

The February program was the Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of Committees Correspondence.  In 1772 a new Boston Committee of Correspondence was organized, to communicate with all of the towns in the province and “the world”. Later following a suggestion by the Virginia House of Burgesses, nearly all the provinces appointed committees leading to the spread of Revolutionary War information and fervor.  The committees were an early and key element of the Patriots’ ability to unite the Colonies toward independence. (dar.org)

The function of the committees was to alert the residents of a given colony of the actions taken by the British Crown, and to disseminate information from cities to the countryside. The news was typically spread via hand-written letters or printed pamphlets, which would be carried by couriers on horseback or aboard ships. 

 A total of about 7,000 to 8,000 Patriots served on these committees at the colonial and local levels. Though George Washington was never a member of a committee of correspondence, he did interact with them regularly. In 1774 he signed the House of Burgesses’ statement ordering their committee of correspondence to call for the First Continental Congress.

In late 1774 and early 1775, they supervised the elections of provincial conventions, which began the operation of a true colonial government. With the outbreak of war on April 19, 1775, at Lexington and Concord, the committees of correspondence became the de facto government of the rebellious colonies.  Though replaced by provincial congresses during the conflict, they continued to function at the local level.