Lisa Lucas and Ruth Anderson, two of our DAR members, recently co-wrote an article about our potter's field service project that was featured in the July edition of the Senior Review, a newspaper that is printed and distributed by Rock County Council on Aging. You can read the article below or click on this link to read online (go to page 6 of the full edition).

I wanted to share with you a Facebook group I created for our Janesville Chapter DAR members. This is a closed group so only our chapter members can join, and those not in the group cannot see posts made in the group. If you are on Facebook, find the group at the link below and request to join; I'll get you added. Thought this might help us stay connected outside of meetings and provide an informal forum for Q&A and general sharing. ​ -Lisa Lucas, Webmaster

​https://www.facebook.com/groups/DARJanesville/ 

Members enjoyed a mid-summer social get-together on Sunday, July 2 at Northleaf Winery in Milton. Two DAR teams competed in trivia and enjoyed delicious wine. One of our teams even won third place and a $10 gift certificate to the winery. Way to go! Stay tuned for more social outings later this summer. 

​The Janesville Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the Wisconsin Society Colonial Dames 17th Century have combined forces to remember and honor those buried at the Rock County Health Care Center Cemetery, a.k.a. Rock County Poor Farm Cemetery #2, a “potter’s field,” located beside Sportsman’s Park at 3411 N. US Highway 51 in Janesville.
 
This simple field surrounded by beautiful pine trees and, rather incongruously, large residential homes, can easily be overlooked. However, it is the final resting place for 276 former Rock County residents. The field saw burials between 1894 and 1962. Most individuals buried here were either residents of the poor farm or patients at the Rock County [Tuberculosis] Sanitarium, or the Insane Asylum. Each burial plot is marked with a small concrete marker and a number. Sadly, the names of those buried are not listed on the plots or anywhere on the premises. However, through research conducted by members of the DAR and Colonial Dames, these names were recovered from the Charles Tallman Archives & Research Center.
 
After recovering these names, DAR and Colonial Dames members began collecting hundreds of silk flowers this spring, bundled them into small bouquets, and then wired them to painted stakes that were placed at each plot on May 21. Each bouquet includes a waterproof placard with the name of the individual buried there, their date of birth and death (when known), and a small epitaph. Through hours of research and bouquet preparation volunteered by DAR and Colonial Dames members, these “forgotten individuals” become known to the world again and their memories are honored.
 
Due to winter weather, these bouquets are only permitted to be placed in the summer months; bouquets are removed by DAR and Colonial Dames members later in the summer and stored over the winter. However, the DAR and Colonial Dames are considering how to make these installations more permanent with, perhaps, the addition of signage that would include the names and corresponding plot numbers of those buried there. This could be very useful, especially for people visiting the field to locate ancestors.
 
Be sure to stop by Rock County Health Care Center Cemetery this summer to view the sea of beautiful bouquets and to spend a few moments remembering those buried there. Thank you to the DAR and Colonial Dames for their hard work in bringing this project to fruition.

Click on any of the photos below for a larger view. 

Enjoy your retirement, Ruth Anderson! Read more about Ruth's years of service to the Rock County Historical Society in this Janesville Gazette article.

Outgoing Chapter Regent Nancy Zolidis (left) hands over the gavel to incoming Chapter Regent Leah Burrows at the April Janesville DAR meeting on April 8. The rest of the incoming officers are listed and pictured here.

State Regent Judy N. Mason visited the Janesville DAR Chapter on Sunday, March 12. She gave a motivating and impassioned speech about ways in which Daughters can become more involved in DAR. There are truly DAR interest areas for everyone, you just need to look! She also spoke about the importance of developing leaders in each chapter. Daughters in attendance really enjoyed her presentation and appreciated her taking the time to visit our chapter. Our own Anne Wanke was also presented with a certificate for her many years of involvement with DAR. Go, Anne! (Click on a pic below for a larger view.)