Board of Management Meeting Held on August 3, 2012

Lord Craven Chapter President Bonnie Becmer

The State Board of Management meeting under the direction of State Presient Lollie Holland was held at the High Point Women's Club   in High Point, NC on August 3, 2012.  Bonnie Becmer, Lord Craven Chapter Presisdent picked up the Yearbook Supplements and will have them for distribution at the September 15th Colonials Dames meeting. There will be more information to come. Bonnie was proud to report at the meeting that Lord Craven now has 50 memmbers, thanks to our great Registrar, Nora Hickam for all of her hard work. Please contact Lord Craven President Bonnie Becmer at bbecmer@seatrail.net or by phone 910-575-0921 for additional inforamtion.
submitted by President Bonnie Becmer

May 19th Colonial Dames Meeting

 The May 19, 2012 Colonial Dames meeting was held in  The Reserve main dining room at St. James Plantation in Southport, NC. Colonial Dames member, Vesta Burroughs presented a very unusual and fascinating program, “Victorian Calling Card & Calling Card Cases.”

The “Victorian Era,” is generally considered the years during which Queen Victoria reigned - 1837 to 1901.

Calling Cards were popular in America from about the time of the Civil War until just after WWI. Prior to telephone, people could not call ahead to schedule visits. They would arrive unannounced and present their calling card to the servant, or else place it in the calling card receiver near the front door.

Calling Card Cases came in a variety of styles, and were used by both men and women to protect their cards.

Sample of a calling card...

May Tu Szalankiewicz and President Bonnie Becmer chat at the Colonial Dames meeting.

Diane Kuebert looks at samples of the calling cards and cases with Ruth-Ann Boltz.

Helen Taylor and Mary Lackey look over the display of calling cards and cases.

Lord Craven Chapter chaplain, Doris E. Thompson offered a prayer at the memorial service for Melisande Kopp on May 19, 2012 at The Colonial Dames Meeting held at The Reserve Golf Club at St. James Plantation.

                

                               

May 19th Meeting for Colonial Dames

The next Lord Craven Chapter of Colonial Dames meeting will be held on May 19th at The Reserve Golf Club in St. James Plantation in Southport, North Carolina in the Library. The meeting will start at 11:00. There will be a luncheon following the meeting.


The Reserve Golf Club at St. James Plantation

Please e-mail Phyllis Wilson at golfwilson@ec.rr.com  to let her know if you are come or not coming. Tell her who will be driving the car. You will need a guest pass. Let the security guard know you are attending a Colonial Dames meeting that day. If you need to contact Phyllis for additional information call 910-367-1775.
Directions:

· St. James Plantation is located on Route 211 in Southport.Turn into the main entrance at St. James. Stop at the gate to get a pass for the day.
· Stay on St. James Drive and make your first right turn onto Ridge Crest Drive. Drive at 30 mph for about 5 minutes.
· Make a leftturn at the end of Ridge Crest Drive onto Wyndmere Drive. The speed limit changes to 25 mph.
· Stay on Wyndmere and turn into the parking lot. You can park anywhere you want.
The Reserve Club House is on the left.

Lord Craven Chapter Celebrates 50 Years

From left are Dottie Fiddleman, First State Vice-President; Brenda Hamilton, State Chaplain; Doris Thompson, Lord Craven Chapter Chaplain; Lollie Holland, State President; Bonnie Becmer, Lord Craven Chapter President; Bobbie Lou Ray, President of Sir Richard Grenville Chapter; Diana Seals Wood, Chapter President of Samuel Swann Chapter; and Beth Dawson, President of Ann Marwood Durant Chapter.

Members of The National Society North Carolina Colonial Dames 17th Century, including State President Lollie Holland and other officers, traveled from Greensboro and other areas of North Carolina to help the Lord Craven Chapter celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the chapter.

The Lord Craven chapter was organized by Jeannette Cox St Amand on Dec. 30, 1961, in Wilmington. Many of its programs highlight colonial heritage, research, and records.The luncheon meeting was held Jan. 21 at the Madeline Suite at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Chris Johns, a cellist from Wilmington, entertained before the luncheon. Ann Hutteman and her technical assistant, Elaine Hensen, prepared a PowerPoint presentation covering the past 50 years of The Lord Craven Chapter. The Lord Craven Committee Chair Undine Longo and her committee coordinated all of the arrangements for the event.

Visit the Lord Craven blog to get more details about the chapter and what they have been doing this year at http://thelordcravenchapter.blogspot.com.

There was reference to how this chapter came to be named after Lord Craven. Lord Craven, one of the Lords Proprietors, for whom this section of North Carolina was originally named, was voted the first choice by the chapter in the fall of 1962. Having a membership of 21 ladies enabled the first coastal chapter of Colonial Dames to be formed.

To become a member of Colonial Dames you need to prove lineage back to 1650 in the United States. President Bonnie Becmer circulated a journal and invited everyone present to write their thoughts and wishes to leave for posterity. This journal will be kept by the chapter historian to hopefully inspire future members when planning the 75th anniversary for Lord Craven.

Mary Earp was sworn in as Curator of the chapter  by chaplain, Doris Thompson at the November 19th meeting of The Lord Craven Chapter of Colonial Dames. The meeting took place at The Carolina Bar B-Q in Wilmington, NC.

 

Pierced Tombstones

The speaker at the Nov.19th Colonial Dames meeting was member, Barbara Lewis.
The program was “Pierced Tombstones,” "Carved by 19th century German cabinetmakers, the unique pierced tombstones in Davidson County transformed soapstone grave markers into extraordinary works of art. ( Info by Shannon Failow from Our State  May 2006) Soapstone is found throughout the mountains and Piedmont of North Carolina. To learn more about the pierced tombstones, contact the Davidson County Historical Museum. Location:
Old Davidson County Court House
in Historic Uptown Lexington
Two South Main Street
Lexington, NC
(336) 242-2729
http://www.slusher.org/Stone%20Foundation.pdf  ( Click on web site for more information on Pierced Tombstones.)

Elabaorately carved motifs embellish centuries-old soapstone grave markers at Abbot's Creek Primitive Church in Thomasville,  NC.

Gifts for the Veterans

Pat Elsaesser and Bonnie Becmerc

At the November 19, 2011 Colonial Dames meeting, President Bonnie Becmer and Pat Elsaesser, displayed all of the gifts donated by the members.  As you can see from the photograph that the veterans at Fayetteville will receive sweat shirts, pants, v-necked sweaters, personal hygiene items, tee shirts, writing supplies, cards, puzzle books and a variety of other items. Fran Carlsen, Veteran's committe chair will make sure all ofo these gift get to The Veteran's Hospital in Fayetteville, NC before Christmas.