Ska-Hase-Ga-O Chapter members in front of their annual Veterans Flag Display in Lima. Photo by Stephanie Dempsey
The Ska-Hase-Ga-O Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) from Lima, NY recently celebrated their 116th anniversary. The chapter held their first meeting in February 1908 and was officially recorded by the National DAR on November 11, 1908. Other DAR chapters have formed in Livingston County over the years, but the Ska-Hase-Ga-O Chapter is the only one that remains.
The DAR is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from both men and women who aided in the cause of the American Revolution, known as Patriots. Any woman 18 years of age, regardless of race, religion, or ethnic background, who can prove lineal decent from patriots of the American Revolution is eligible for membership. The DAR proudly promotes historical preservation, education and patriotism.
Since the start, the Ska-Hase-Ga-O Chapter has actively been involved in its community. In the early days, chapter members donated books from their own personal collections to help form Lima’s first library, donated relics to help form the Lima Historical Museum and hosted Memorial Day lunches to honor Civil War and WWI Veterans.
Today, the Ska-Hase-Ga-O chapter sponsors an annual Good Citizen essay contest to honor local high school seniors, cleans and records data from headstones at area cemeteries and proudly honors Veterans and active men and women with an annual flag display on the lawn of the Lima Town Hall. To date, close to 400 soldiers have been honored since the program began in 2018.
For more information about the DAR, the Ska-Hase-Ga-O chapter or membership eligibility, please visit http://www.facebook/skahasegaoDAR/ or send your inquires to skahasegao@gmail.com.
