Historic Preservation

Historic Buildings

The Bend Chapter recently donated funds generated by direct donations of chapter members to purchase a chair in the historic Tower Theatre in downtown Bend. The Tower Theatre is a landmark building and former movie theater in the heart of downtown Bend which stood vacant for many years. Funds were raised in order to restore the building to its former Art Deco roots and to expand and refurbish the theater in a way which turned it into a performing arts center and community meeting place.

The Bend Chapter purchased a brick which was sold as part of the fund raising effort for the remodeling and preservation of the historic Reid School Building, which is also located in downtown Bend.  The Bend Chapter has also donated funds which were used to help fund  the current veteran’s display. The Reid School is the home of the Deschutes County Historic Society and Museum and is the regular meeting place of the Bend Chapter.

Genealogy Workshop

Every spring the Bend Chapter hosts a free Genealogy Workshop, which is open to the public for the purpose of helping those who wish to research their family histories. We assist people with where to start, research sources, documentation, and computer programs. We can also look up names in the DAR Patriot Index, which lists names of those who participated in the American Revolution and have already had family lineage records submitted by a descendant.

Volunteers

The Bend Chapter supports many of our local facilities which house historic records. Many of our members give of their time to volunteer at the various county historical societies and museums in our area. Our members can be found at the local LDS Family History Center, the Bend Genealogical Society Library, and the Family Finders Library in Madras.

Several members of the Bend Chapter recently worked on a project which created a database on a disc of thousands of records from the Redmond Cemetery in Redmond, Oregon. This information was only available on cards at the Redmond City Hall. This database is available to the public at the Bend Genealogical Society Library. All of the the other Deschutes County cemetery records have already been put on disc and are currently available for viewing.

Memorial Day Services

Every Memorial Day the Bend Chapter participates in the services led by the local VFW chapter which are held at Deschutes Memorial Gardens in Bend. We always present a beautiful wreath to honor our fallen servicemen and servicewomen.

Veteran's Day Parade

Each year the Bend Chapter participates in the Veteran's Day Parade in downtown Bend which is held on Veteran's Day. This parade was reestablished several years ago after a lengthy absence and has proven to be a very popular community event. The Bend Chapter shows its support with a small float, a banner, and several members riding or walking in the parade to honor our nation's veterans. The Bend Chapter plans to participate every year.

Veteran's Memorial

The Bend Chapter recently purchased a commemorative brick, which was placed at the Veteran's Memorial in Friendship Park in Madras. Several Chapter Officers and members attended the dedication of the Memorial, which was held last year on Veteran's Day.

Junior ROTC

The Bend Chapter has been presenting awards to the outstanding senior in the three Junior ROTC units in Central Oregon each spring for the past several years. These units are located at Crook County High School in Prineville, Madras High School in Madras, and the Bend High/Mountain View High School Unit in Bend. This year the new LaPine Unit which encompasses students at both LaPine High School and Gilchrist High School will be added.

Community Service

The Bend Chapter NSDAR supports many of Central Oregon's charitable organizations. We have especially chosen to donate to those organizations which handle issues and problems dealing with women and children.

Our chapter members have continually donated clothing, toiletries and bedding to COBRA-Central Oregon Battery and Rape Alliance which provides shelter for abused women and their children.

We have made cash donations to Ronald McDonald House and to the Sara Fisher Project for Breast Cancer Awareness at St. Charles Medical Center. Our members have also participated in the Women's "Heaven Can Wait" Breast Cancer 5K Walk/Run which supports breast cancer education projects in Central Oregon.

The Bend Chapter makes donations to local senior projects and recently purchased a brick in support of the new Bend Senior Center. The chapter has also made several donations to our local Hospice organizations.

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