History of our Chapter

History of our Chapter Pymatuning Chapter, Sharon, Pennsylvania was organized February 25, 1920, when Mrs. Anthony Wayne Cook, Vice President General from Pennsylvania, came to install the officers.

The chapter's name is that of an authenticated Indian chieftain of the locality. The Lenni Lenape or Delaware Indians inhabited most of Pennsylvania when the white man came. Pymatuning is thought to have been a Delaware chief. Pymatuning or Pihmtomink means a place where the man with the crooked mouth lived.

In the early years of the chapter we always remembered Ellis Island at Christmas. We previously gave to Constitution Hall, Valley Forge, and to the Penny Pine. During World War II, Pymatuning Chapter contributed to Red Cross, Community, and War Fund drives. Our members also supported the war effort by serving as USO senior hostesses at Camp Reynolds and canteen hostesses at the local USO center. Daughters knitted needed articles for service members, spending many hours in the Red Cross sewing rooms. Some of our Daughters were in charge of the war stamp booth at Woolworth's, while others served at blood banks where they worked as aides as well as blood donors.

We also previously gave prizes for the best historical essays written in the valley schools.

The application for a charter was made on April 29, 1921, although our chapter was organized on February 25, 1920. This was due to the inability to secure parchment skins for the charters. Miss Helen Flemming Reed was the Organizing Regent. We have had seven members who were honored with fifty years of service. Our chapter gives to the Indian Scholarship Fund each year. Previously, Pymatuning Chapter made presentations of the DAR Manual for Citizenship and a small desk American flag with a stand to the Naturalization Court in Mercer, PA. However, the naturalization ceremonies are now conducted in Pittsburgh, PA.

In July 1981 a marker was placed on the grave of Anne Hartford Titus Blackstone, the daughter of an American Revolutionary soldier, Matthew Hartford, at the Oakland Cemetery in Sharon, PA. This was done in conjunction with Mrs. James Warren, a descendant of Matthew Hartford, who was Regent of Valley Forge Chapter at that time.

Pymatuning Chapter is active in the community upholding the DAR objectives of education, preservation, and patriotism. Each year the chapter presents twelve outstanding local high school seniors with DAR. The yearly recipients are our honored guests at a tea each November.

While Pymatuning Chapter is proud of its past, we look toward the future with delight and anticipation. Our regular meetings are held the first Saturday of each month from March through December at 1:00 PM. Please contact our Regent if you would like to join us. We welcome your inquiries.

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