WE'RE CELEBRATING CONSTITUTION WEEK

     Like many public libraries across the country, we are celebrating Constitution Week here at our library.  The event is being celebrated September 17th through the 23rd.  The week is designed to promote a revival of interest in the U. S. Constitution and its foundations of American freedoms. 
     According to the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Constitution is the oldest document still in active use that outlines the self-government of a people.  This landmark idea that men had the inalienable right as individuals to be free and live their lives under their own governance was the impetus of the American Revolution.  Today, the Constitution stands as an icon of freedom for people around the world.
     We are fortunate enough to have members of the John Benning Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution come in and decorate our library foyer table with colorful flags and handouts.  They have provided Constitution Week information for the past three years, and each year their display is informational and decorative.
     This time DAR members Margaret Griner, Pat Rentz and Barbara Thompson came to decorate the table and, when they were finished, the display turned out to be one of the cutest we've seen for Constitution Week. 
     Standing tall on a long patriotic scarf of stripes and stars is a doll with a white beard and a tophat.  He's dressed in red, white and blue with stripes and stars.  He's holding a bag of United States flags in one arm and hanging from the other arm is a drum with drumsticks.  Across the bottom of his long coat are stitched the words "Bless the USA."  Of course, you might think he resembles Santa Claus, but I really think he resembles Uncle Sam.
     All around the table are small flags representing different states of the USA, red and blue sparklers, and small red tophats with bands of red, white and blue stripes and stars.  The handouts provided by the DAR are Constitution Week bookmarks and an article, "George Mason and the Bill of Rights" by Marie Tunstall Lingo, with a copy of the Bill of Rights on the reverse side.
     The DAR has served America for 122 years as its foremost cheerleader, including the Moultrie chapter which is 102 years old this year.  In 1928, the Daughters began work on a building as a memorial to the Constitution.  John Russell Pope, architect of the Jefferson Memorial, was commissioned to design the performing arts center, known as the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC.  Today, the DAR Constitution Hall is the only structure erected in tribute to the Constitution of the United States of America.
     Known as the largest women's patriotic organization in the world, the DAR has more than 165,000 members with approximately 3,000 chapters in all 50 states and 11 foreign countries.  The DAR has long promoted patriotism through commemorative celebrations, memorials, scholarships and activities for children, and programs for new immigrants.
     We hope you'll stop by and view this lovely display.  And be sure to pick up some of the handouts, also.