John B. Denton, NSDAR

Our chapter year runs May 1 through April 30, and what a wonderful year it has been, full of service, friendship, and fun. We are proud of what we accomplished in our Wise County communities. Please enjoy our annual report, beautifully prepared by our very talented Amy Evans!

The DAR's mission is to promote education, historic preservation, and patriotism. Our very own Judge Dana Manoushagian exemplifies this with her work in our schools.

APRIL 19, 1775, DAWN

American Revolution Opening Day



The British were not expecting a fight in Lexington, they simply wanted to seize military supplies, destroy colonial weapons and arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock whom they believed were in Lexington at the time. Delayed by a lack of boats, 700 regulars began a slow, noisy march after midnight on the 18 April 1775 for 3-4 hours encountering patriot alarms along the way. It was raining. Roads were muddy. The troops wearing their distinctive coats and heavy gear arrived in Lexington around 5:00 a.m. There they met 70-80 local militiamen. A “shot” fired, leading to a 15-20 minute chaotic fight that killed eight colonists before them British continued to Concord.

Mystery. Who fired that shot? The Regulars claimed militiamen fired. The militiamen claimed the Regulars fired. Someone said a nervous man on the Green fired. Another said it was a spectator sitting behind a stone wall near Buckman Tavern did. Regardless, that shot became the known as the opening engagement of the American Revolutionary War, galvanizing colonial resistance.

The colonists on the Green scrambled. The British marched on to Concord. Another shot! This one was ordered. The Concord battle lasted all day both sides doing a running battle for 16 miles. By 6:00 that night, the British had retreated to Charlestown.



Our rebels shocked the British leaving them dismayed by the events. Colonial resistance was unexpected. It was disorderly and an act of rebellion. It was not even a “legitimate” fight. Early reports were dismissed as propaganda but truth was heavy casualties were suffered by the British during their retreat to Boston (273 total). This forced them to recognize the serious, armed defiance of the colonists.

Wise County America 250 Wise County America 250 County Judge J.D. Clark letter One Nation Under God Wise County Faith and Freedom Wise County Texas America 250 worship event Texas Wise County churches unity event April 12 20

Our next Gravestone Cleaning Workshop is this Saturday, March 28 at 9:00 a.m. at Oak Lawn Cemetery, 465 Cemetery Rd. Decatur, TX 76234, and you are invited!

So far, we have 20 adults and one child signed up. This is a great turnout for us! Some are local community members, and we will also have Daughters visiting us from Captain Nathaniel Mills in Hurst, Mary Isham Keith in Fort Worth, and John Abston in McKinney.

I attached the flyer in case you want to invite anyone else. RSVPs are not mandatory, but we do like to get a headcount: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C044EA4A92DA4FEC52-61919277-gravestone. The weather is supposed to be beautiful, and this is a hands-on workshop, so wear your comfy clothes and sneakers (no sandals) and come on out this Saturday! If your family/friends can join us, we'd love to see them as well.

As one of our Cherry Blossom Chapter activities, Jennifer McSpadden, Regent, presented an online program, "Death in Colonial and Early America" on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. This program fulfilled the requirements for an activity involving multiple chapters, as well as an activity for members who cannot attend meetings.

Participants explored the courage that shaped our nation through colonial hardships, soldiers’ sacrifices, and the Founding Fathers' views on death, all recounted through a blend of data and storytelling. The 45-minute program included a short video on archaeological finds in Jamestown, Virginia along with a pop quiz at the end of the presentation.

At least 66 Daughters from across the state attended. Because some chapters participated through shared screens in group viewings, total individual participation may have exceeded the recorded attendance. 32 chapters were represented, and 7 participants stated that they were unable to attend their local chapter meetings, confirming that virtual programs expand engagement for Daughters.

Wreaths Across America is TODAY and you are invited! The ceremony is at Wise County Veterans Park at 405 N. Trinity St., Decatur, TX at 11:00.

Please attend the ceremony and following the ceremony we break out to the cemeteries. Once the location coordinators get back to their cemeteries from attending the ceremony, wreaths will then be placed. No wreaths placement will happen until location coordinators arrive at their cemeteries. So, if you are wanting to go directly to one of our five cemeteries to help place the wreaths, please arrive around 11:30 -11:45 am Saturday, December 13, 2025.

Locations to choose from for wreath placement is below:

Aurora Cemetery: 507 Cemetery Rd, Aurora, TX 76078
Oak Lawn Cemetery: 465 Cemetery Rd, Decatur, TX 76234
Paradise Cemetery: Pecan Street, Paradise, Texas 76073
Pleasant Grove #01 Cemetery: 4789 S FM 730, Decatur, TX 76234
Sweetwater Church: 104 Private Rd 2312, Decatur, TX 76234

We will need volunteers at 9 am at the Oaklawn Cemetery to move 52 40lb wreath boxes from a trailer to the pavilion.

We have over 1,400 wreaths to place, so volunteers are welcome. If you have any questions, please contact Mary Smith at [email protected]

We got our wreaths today! Thank you to all the volunteers that showed up to transfer the wreaths from our US foods tractor trailer to our designated location coordinators for our five Cemeteries that we are sponsoring wreaths at this year. Our driver for US foods was Russell Reynolds again this year. He is such a blessing. A veteran, thank you for your service, sir. He’s a driver with US foods to deliver our wreaths safely from Maine to Texas.
Please join us on Wreaths Across America day this Saturday, December 13 at 11 AM. We will have a ceremony at the Wise Veterans Park in Decatur, Texas and following the ceremony we will be putting the wreaths on locally buried Veterans graves at five Wise County cemeteries. Aurora Cemetery, Oaklawn Cemetery, Paradise Cemetery, Pleasant Grove One Cemetery, and Sweetwater Cemetery.