Wreaths Across America Certificate of Appeciation for 2024 Awarded to the Lord Craven Chapter Colonial Dames XVII Century Chapter

Dear Group Leader,

2024 was an exceptional year for Wreaths Across America – and the reason it was so successful is because of the thousands of dedicated volunteers like you!

Thanks to this collective effort, 7,408 sponsorship groups registered to bring the program to their communities, and 1,169 new groups signed up to support the mission. I've said it before, but I truly believe this mission resonates with many people. The National Wreaths Across America Day ceremony and wreath-laying event provides an opportunity for families, communities, and the country to set aside differences and join in acknowledging those who have championed our freedom. In 2024, because of joint efforts by volunteers, local businesses, and individuals like you, just over 3 million veterans' wreaths were sponsored and placed by more than 3 million volunteers.

I am humbled by the incredible dedication and commitment of our volunteers and the continued growth of our year-round mission. The wreath sponsorships afford us the opportunity to provide so many wonderful programs for free, some of these include the TEACH Program with free, downloadable lesson plans and service-based learning for youth of all ages; the Mobile Education Exhibit, a museum on wheels that travels the U.S. sharing the mission and serving as an official ‘Welcome Home' unit for Vietnam War veterans; our National Museum and Gold Star Family History & Hospitality House in Maine that offer guests an opportunity to learn about the many stories of service, sacrifice and success through personal memorabilia; our veteran outreach efforts including partnerships with VSOs nationwide that are supporting living veterans and their families; and Remembrance Tree Program which allows families to create a living memorial to loved ones who served; and Wreaths Across America Radio, A Voice for America's Veterans, this 24/7 internet radio station is sharing the stories of service, sacrifice and success from all across the country and now has 75 veteran-centric shows in the line up!

As a volunteer-based organization, none of our success would be possible without your effort. Thank you for making a difference in your community and for championing this important mission! Please know the staff is here to support your efforts, however we can.

I look forward to seeing how we can reach even more people in 2025!

With gratitude,

Karen Worcester

Executive Director, Volunteer

Thank you, Susan DeGroote, our Wreaths Across America chair, for sharing this information with our chapter. We appreciate all your hard work this past year. Our chapter has 58 wreaths purchased for 2025 due to participating in the 2 for 1 program. Members can continue to buy wreaths in 2025. They can give the treasurer a check made out to the Lord Craven Chapter or go to the WAA tab on our blog and follow the directions. 

The Lord Craven Chapter of the National Society of Colonial Dames XVII Century held a regularly scheduled meeting on Saturday, February 15, 2025

                                                
President Cindy Sellers at the First Meeting of 2025: National Society of North Carolina Colonial Dames 17th Century, Lord Craven Chapter, held at the Pender County Museum.

The National Society of North Carolina Colonial Dames 17th Century, Lord Craven Chapter, commenced its first meeting of 2025 on Saturday, February 15th. The gathering took place at the historic Pender County Museum in Burgaw, providing a setting for the society's focus on heritage and history.

The highlight of the meeting was the presentation by our esteemed speaker, Mike Taylor. An expert on local history, Taylor engaged the audience with a detailed discussion on the Palatine Settlement on Rock Fish Creek. His insights shed light on this fascinating chapter of North Carolina's colonial past.

The meeting was a resounding success, setting a positive tone for the year ahead. The members of the Lord Craven Chapter left with a renewed appreciation for their shared heritage and excitement for future gatherings.

                    Lord Craven's guest speaker was Mike Taylor, the Head of the Pender County Historical Society.

Kitsey Lackey introduced the guest speaker at the February Lord Craven meeting.

      Carol Jutte, Lord Craven Chapter Board Member

Chaplain Sally Spainour, reported on the sympathy and get well notes sent out to chapter members

Travelogue: Rebecca Chipman’s Trip Back in Time

My journey started on the 19th of June 2024, as I departed from Wilmington, NC, for a “trip back in time” to the place my 4th great-grandparents once lived, loved, and married, Laurens, New York, and the house where my 4th great-grandmother grew up. As I had looked for a place to stay nearby, I would never have thought I would be able to book a room in a bed and breakfast, the Brookside Inn, which was the very house that my 5th great-grandfather, William Comstock, had built and where his daughter, Rosepha Comstock Tripp, born 1804, grew up. (photos of the Brookside Inn by Rebecca Chipman)I have to pause and say I had in my possession the deed where Rosepha’s husband, James Tripp, had bought the property before they married, and the date on it was just a few days shy of exactly two hundred years since it was drawn. And now it was going back to where it came from. The deed describes Josepha’s father’s property, the lands of William Comstock, the brook running beside his house, and the creek on the other side. This was the very property William Comstock owned, and this was where I would stay! How surreal and cool is that! The moment I arrived at the house, my eyes panned the surrounding landscape and the hills in the distance. I found myself on the large porch, opening the door to the house. It was like part of me had come home. I felt nothing but warmth as if I was being hugged by my ancestors from centuries past, as if they were eager to meet me. It was as if I could feel their presence around me. The owner gave me a tour room by room, explaining the time period of each and what had been changed. My room was on the main floor with most of the rooms upstairs already occupied. I have to say I had the best night’s sleep! (Dining room below)The next morning, I had coffee on the front porch, after which it was off to the historical society in the small library run by two wonderful ladies whose families had been there for over a century. I shared family documents and deeds, and they shared what hey knew about my family. They also gave me a book written in the 1970s about the town and the early settlers. We talked for hours. I then made my way to the cemetery, where I found some of the family’s headstones and paid my respects. It was wonderful to visit my ancestors’ home and town! Travelogue: Rebecca Chipman’s Trip Back in Time, continued then I said goodbye to Laurens and made my way to Cooperstown, NY. You see, that was another reason I made this trip. I wanted to donate some correspondence and deeds and a handwritten cookbook to the Fenimore Art Museum’s Research Library. My family had kept and passed down many documents and letters from one generation to the next. I had become the keeper of the documents. After long discussions with my brother, we agreed that some of the documents and letters needed to return back “home.” Some were letters between Sarah Sabina Cooper Comstock, the niece of James Fenimore Cooper, the author of The Last of the Mohicans, and William Cooper, founder of Cooperstown and a politician. I’ll save that story for another installment of Travelogue.

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Wreaths Across America Sponsorship Group - The National Society North Carolina Colonial Dames 17th Century Lord Craven Chapter

                                     
 

         Wreaths Across America: Honoring Our Veterans

Each year, the National Society North Carolina Colonial Dames 17th Century Lord Craven Chapter passionately supports the Wreaths Across America initiative, a poignant and patriotic program dedicated to honoring and remembering our nation's veterans. This year, our chapter's efforts were particularly notable and heartfelt. Through a generous donation made during the 2-for-1 sale, the Lord Craven Chapter facilitated the purchase of 58 wreaths. This significant contribution aligns with our ongoing mission to ensure that every grave at the Wilmington National Cemetery in Wilmington, North Carolina, is honored with a wreath.

Our chapter earned back five dollars for half of the total wreaths sponsored. So, with 58 wreaths sponsored, the chapter would earn $5 times 29, which would be $145. For members who did not participate in the 2-for-1 sale, you have until November 27th to purchase additional wreaths to guarantee a wreath on all 5,126 graves at Wilmington National Cemetery. This program is among the best and easiest programs to help our chapter earn funds. So, ladies, “Keep on Buying Wreaths.”