tributor to this newsletter– re-

minds us that the Tuesday, De-

cember 13th, meeting is packed

with exciting presentations- in-

cluding guest speaker Gail Sny-

der, 2011 Thomas Jefferson

Award Winner (see page 2—

December Meeting Goes to the

Dogs) and Lana Patterson, who

will share ―Lesser Known

Lady—Elizabeth Monroe.

Barbara Beratta will present. a

Woman’s Issue story and com-

memorate a member’s ancestor

who fought in the War of 1812.

Hope to see you on Tuesday,

Dec 13th!

Cathy

Dear Daughters,

Prospective Mem-

bers, and Friends,

The year started out fabulously!

The new state-of-the-art meet-

ing room at Creekside was a hit

with everyone.

In October, the meeting room

was literally overflowing with

members and guests. We were

especially excited to see so

many prospective members –

including several from the Pied-

mont Chapter.

Our speaker, 90 year-old Betty

Reid Soskin—the country’s old-

est National Park Ranger- was

an inspiration to us all. Who

among us can say they started

a new career at the age of 75?

And what an entertaining and

articulate speaker for our first

meeting of the year! A special

thank you to our 1st Vice Re-

gent Geri Willinger for arrang-

ing such outstanding speakers

this year.

The November Tea Fund

Raiser/Meeting was wonderful

thanks to the generosity of

local businesses and devoted

daughters. See page 4 for

photos and details.

Corresponding Secretary Bar-

bara Beratta—a major con-

From the desk of your Regent Cathy Olsen

December 2011 Volume 9 Issue 2

Mt. Diablo Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution

Special points of

interest:

Project Patriot

adopts Bay Area

Soldier SFC Kathy

Vargas

Thomas Jefferson

Award Winner Gail

Snyder speaks at

December meeting

Three great new

members join Chap-

ter

Mt. Diablo Beacon—

WWII ceremony

Wed, Dec 7

Inside this issue:

50 Years and Count-

ing—Mary Nygreen

2

December Meeting

goes to the Dogs

2

Lesser Known Ladies—

Louisa Adams

3

Revolutionary Tea Party

-A Smashing Success

4

Meet new members

Elaine, Stephanie, Holly

5

Sunshine Report 5

Troops Search for Hair-

spray in Afghanistan

6

Photo by Robert Picker mtdiablophotos.com

Last but not least, if you cannot

attend but would like to contrib-

ute decorated sugarless cookies

and small muffins—no nuts or

other choking threats—food

donations are appreciated.

To sign up or for more informa-

tion, please contact Christy

C a m p b e l l a t c l c a m p -

bell14@aol.com. Please let

Christy know if you can partici-

pate or contribute to in any or all

of the Livermore Veteran's Holi-

day festivities.

On the 10th, orientation at the

Community Living Center

(CLC) for decorating starts at

9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. for

serving and veterans

assistance volunteers. The

event will conclude at 1:30

p.m.

Only available for an hour and

love to make crafts? Come at

9:00 and, in addition to

decorating, volunteers will be

making individual ―take away‖

decorations for the veterans.

Contributor: Joy Montgomery

Time—which is free yet pre-

cious—is a gift we can all give.

This month, the Veterans Com-

mittee has several ―no or low

cost‖ opportunities to let our

veterans know they are loved

and appreciated this holiday

season.

Volunteers are needed to help

serve, bring food and work on

crafts for the December 10 Liv-

ermore Veterans Holiday Party.

Holiday Giving Without Spending

Page 2

Dear DAR Members, Thank you for honoring my 50 year membership in such a memorable way. What a pleasant surprise to receive my 50 year pin. Also, the beautiful dozen roses are still fresh looking. The colorful cake was delicious. Thanks so much. Sincerely,

Mary S. Nygreen

Mary Noyes (Sizer) Nygreen

was born in Bloomington,

Illinois although she actually

lived in Mansfield.

Mary obtained an under-

graduate degree in Institution

Management and Home Eco-

nomics from Iowa State,

Ames, Iowa and a master’s

degree from the University of

Washington, Seattle.

During her professional ca-

reer, Mary managed restau-

rants, served as an Assistant

Director at the U of W

Women’s Resident Hall and

50 Years and Counting

–Mary Nygreen

December Meeting Goes to the Dogs

many years as a volunteer sup-

porting our Military Working

Dogs (MWD).

Patriotic dogs are not new to

the service of our country.

Man’s best friend has served in

our military as sentries, scouts,

explosive detectors, and search

and rescue workers in every

U.S. war for the past 90 years.

It is estimated that each MWD

has saved the lives of 150 sol-

diers during their career. During

the Vietnam War, these dogs

saved more than 10,000 sol-

diers.

Gail Snyder has made it her life

work to ship care packages to

MWD in military outposts over-

seas from the post office in

Pinole. In recognition of her

selfless and tireless efforts, Gail

was awarded the 2011 Thomas

Jefferson Award.

Contributor: Jennifer Langan

Is man’s best friend also a

patriot? Gail Snyder thinks

he is. Gail recognizes that

the soldier’s best friend is

man’s best friend, the dog.

Throughout the years, DAR

daughters have spent count-

less hours and donated mil-

lions of dollars to support the

men and women who serve

our country. However, it

takes a true dog lover to un-

derstand that supporting and

protecting our troops also

includes keeping our coun-

try’s special military working

dogs in top shape.

Please join us on Tuesday,

December 13, to hear our not

-to-be-missed special guest

speaker and outstanding pa-

triot Gail Snyder, share heart

warming stories about her

Mt. Diablo Chapter

“In recognition of her

selfless and tireless

efforts, Gail was

awarded the 2011

Thomas Jefferson

Award”

managed food service in the

FBI Headquarters, WA DC.

Mary and Paul Nygreen, her

husband of 61 years, raised

two children and lived in sev-

eral exotic foreign countries

as they followed Paul’s career

in the oil industry. Mary and

Paul have one grandchild.

Mary served twice as Regent

for the Chapter during her 50

years in DAR. Mary we are

proud to have you as a mem-

ber of our Chapter and thank

you for your dedication and

service over those years.

Gail Snyder

Lakeshia Dennis and EDD

“Roony”

Mary Nygreen

Page 3

What First Lady suffered such

misery during her husband’s

unpopular presidency that

she spent many long, iso-

lated evenings reading,

sketching, cultivating silk-

worms and gorging on choco-

lates?

Louisa Catherine Johnson

Adams, wife of our sixth

president, John Quincy Ad-

ams.

Born in London, on February

12, 1775, Louisa was the only

foreign-born First Lady. She

was the daughter of Joshua

Johnson, an American mer-

chant, and Catherine Nuth-

Johnson, an Englishwoman.

Louisa grew up in London

and Nante, France, where her

family took refuge during the

American Revolution.

She met her future husband

in London where her father

had been appointed Ameri-

can consul. Adams at first

showed interest in her older

sister, but soon settle down

Louisa. John Quincy Adams,

aged 30, married Louisa aged

22, in 1797, in London. Ad-

ams’ father, John Adams,

then President of the United

States, overcame his initial

objections to his son marrying

a foreigner and welcomed his

daughter-in-law into the fam-

ily.

Together, John Quincy Ad-

ams and Louise had

Four children. Louisa was

sickly, plagued by migraine

headaches and frequent faint-

ing spells. She had seven

miscarriages over the course

of their marriage.

When John Quincy Adams

was appointed James Mon-

roe’s U.S. Secretary of State

the family moved to Washing-

ton D.C., in 1817 where

Louisa’s drawing room be-

came a center for the diplo-

matic corps and other nota-

bles. Music enhanced her

Tuesday evenings at home,

and theater parties contrib-

uted to her reputation as an

outstanding hostess.

The pleasures of moving into

the White House in 1825

were dimmed by the bitter

politics of the election, paired

with her deep depression.

Though she continued her

weekly ―drawing rooms‖, she

preferred quiet evenings of

reading, composing music

and verse and playing her

harp.

In his diary for June 23, 1828,

her husband records her

―winding silk from several

hundred silkworms that she

had been rearing‖, evidently

in the White House.

When Adams lost his bid for

re-election, Louisa thought

she would be retiring to Mas-

sachusetts permanently, but

in 1831 her husband began

seventeen years of service in

the United States House of

Representatives. The un-

timely deaths of her two old-

est sons added to her bur-

dens.

―Our union has not been with-

out its trials,‖ John Quincy

Adams conceded. He ac-

k n o w l e d g e d m a n y

―differences of sentiment, of

tastes, and of opinions in re-

gard to domestic economy,

and to the education of chil-

dren between us.‖ But, he

added, ―she always has been

a faithful and affectionate

wife, and a careful, tender,

indulgent and watchful

mother to our children.‖

He died at the United States

Capitol in 1848; after which,

she remained in Washington

until her death in 1852, at the

age of 77.

Lessor Known Lady—Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams

Volume 9 Issue 2

Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams

Written and Presented by: Gay Scott at October Meeting

Gay Scott—Presenter

““Our union has

not been without

its trials,” John

Quincy Adams

conceded.”

A special thanks goes out

to our award winning au-

thor Dr. Ruth Rymer—

Chairman of the American

History Committee—for

coordinating these out-

standing talks. If you are

interested in reading Dr.

Ruth’s 2010 award winning

essay—”Growing Up in a

Nut House” please send an

e - m a i l t o

mt.diablo.chapter@gmail.c

om.

Page 4

Contributor: Barbara Beratta

Thanks to the generosity of

several local businesses and

our outstanding dedicated

daughters and their friends, the

November Revolutionary Tea

Party Fund Raiser was a

smashing success.

The November Meeting/Tea,

which was catered by Regent

Cathy Olsen, sisters Alma and

Velma, daughter Heather, sis-

ter-in-law Nancy and friend

Darlene, was held in the beau-

tiful Fireside Room in Ross-

moor. It was such an elegant

affair with beautiful tablecloths,

shiny sterling silverware, and

china.

The finger sandwiches and

desserts were the most delec-

table, including tea, coffee, and

even champagne!

Regent Cathy Olsen attrib-

utes the delicious food in

large part to excellent ingredi-

ents. Bread for the sand-

wiches—which was beyond

wonderful—was generously

contr ibuted by Diablo

Foods—Lafayette as was the

English Clotted Cream for the

scones. The manager of

Peets Coffee in Lafayette

also donated the outstanding

tea and coffee—despite hav-

ing already reached his dona-

tion quota for the month!

Regent Cathy and Vice Re-

gent Geri discovered that the

manager of the Concord

Costco has a very active sis-

ter in DAR. They were unable

to get her to join our Chapter

but Concord Costco did con-

tribute toward the wonderful

smoked salmon, black forest

ham and a few dozen eggs

for the egg salad sandwiches.

Classically trained Concert

Pianist Nadia Blank enthralled

guests for over an hour on

the room’s beautiful grand

piano—compliments of Past

Regent Gay Scott.

We had an attendance of

over 75 people, quite a crowd

for this year’s annual fund-

raiser! Thank you to all for

your generous support. A

special thank you Geri Willin-

ger for sponsoring a table and

to several members who

could not attend but gener-

ously contributed to this

worthwhile fund raiser!

REVOLUTINARTY TEA PARTY FUND RAISER—

STANDING ROOM ONLY!

Mt. Diablo Chapter

Page 5

E laine Stevens, born in Brooklyn, NY (the

home of her patriot relative, Peter Wyckoff), was raised in Bethlehem, PA. However, she has resided in California for almost 40 years, the last 25 in Danville. Elaine obtained a BS from Kent State and an MA from Cal State Long Beach. After graduation, she became a public school administrator of vocational programs in Or-ange County California. Fol-lowing this, she worked for 15 years in Human Resources at the Lawrence Livermore Na-tional Laboratory. Elaine is married and has one cat. Her hobbies are travel-

ing, downhill skiing, making movies on her Apple, and knitting. In February she and her hus-band are moving to The Vil-lages in Florida, where all their retired family plan to live.

W hitney was born in Washington, DC,

and grew up in Falls Church, Virginia. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BS in Geology, and from Colorado School of Mines with an MSc in Geo-physics. Whitney lives in Danville with her husband, and two daugh-

ters. She likes to cycle, and travel, and is an avid sup-porter of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Whitney became a member of our chapter in October 2011 with her ancestor George

Poage of VA.

HOLLY STOVER

H olly was born in King-ston, New York. It is a little town next to

Woodstock NY. After gradu-ating from Poughkeepsie High School, she attend East-ern Kentucky University where she obtained a BS in Criminal Justice. Prior to embarking on her current career as a Human Resource professional, Holly was an active duty Army Offi-cer and a Federal Agent. Holly and her husband have two daughters. Lauren (age 13) is the CA State Society Children of American Revolu-tion (CSSCAR) state Re-cording Sec. Leah (age 11) is CSSCAR state organization secretary. Holly is the Senior Society President of Captain Molly Corbin CSSCAR group which Mt. Diablo sponsors.

Our Veteran’s Chairman

Natalie Griffin is well on the

road to recovery!

She was able to attend our

annual TEA with the help of

her caretaker. Congratula-

tions Natalie! You have ac-

complished so much! .

We were excited that Valerie

Jo Remley, who continues

Contributor: Barbara Beretta

Stefani Miller, devoted

daughter both to our Chapter

and Dr. Ruth Rymer, is re-

covering from a recent stay in

the hospital. We missed her,

her mom, and her Aunt Sally

at the TEA . We wish her a

speedy recovery and hope to

see them all next year.

her battle with breast cancer,

was well enough to attend the

TEA and lead us in an A+

performance of the Star

Spangle Banner!

Well wishes to Vice Regent

Jean Brown’s husband – out

of hospital - moved to rehab.

Prayers and get well wishes

continue to be sent your way!

Meet three New Members

Sunshine Report

Volume 9 Issue 2

Please contact

Chaplain Margo

Heltne if you know

of a member who is

ill, has lost a family

member, or if you

hear about the

death of a member:

mt.diablo.chapter@

gmail.com

”In February Elaine

and her husband

are moving to The

Villages in Florida,

where all their retired

family plan to live”

Elaine Stevens

Whitney Kirkendall

Holly Stover

Page 6

October 2011

Hi Ladies,

Just wanted to let you all know how good

we have it at home...

If you ever woke up in the middle of the

night half asleep, and had to go to the

bathroom, just remember you did not

have to grab your gun, toilet paper and a

flash light and walk about 2 blocks to use

a porta potty. Now think about this in

about a month or so it will be below freez-

ing and there will be snow on the

ground...

If you ever went to your local store to pick

up some personnel hygiene items, and

3/4 of the shelves were empty and if there

were any products i.e. shampoo, deodor-

ant, tampons, pads, you have one choice.

Lets see, Hair Spray must be the "Crank

Cocaine" of this country because they

never have any, females actually talk

about this in passing, wondering if they

forgot that there are lots of civilians and

female service members in this country

Troops Search for Hairspray in Afghanistan

Serving God, Home and Country

through historic preservation,

education and patriotism

December Upcoming Events

December 7 World War II—Mt. Diablo Light Beacon meeting at 2:15 p.m.

Countrywood Shopping Center Treat Blvd sallyholcombe@mac.com

December 10 Christmas in the Parlor Tea—Glendora State House, Glendora, CA

December 10 Livermore Veterans Holiday Party, 9:00 a.m.—1:30 a.m. 4951 Arroya

Rd, Livermore, CA 94550

December 13 Chapter Meeting—11:30 a.m.—2:30 p.m. 1010 Creekside Clubhouse

Rossmoor, Stanley Dollar Drive, Walnut Creek, CA 94595

Hostesses: Geri Willinger, Nancy McConnell, Judy Norris, Ella

Jones, Eleanor Tucker

Mt. Diablo Chapter

that do not want to cut there hair off just

so that they can minimize the need for

hair care products.

Let's see, if the military was a "for Profit"

organization I would think they owned

stock in Dove and Pert, because those

are the 2 shampoos they always have.

They sell no products that I would con-

sider for face care except some generic

brand of 80 proof sun screen.

I brought my make-up and after 2 days, I

gave up. This place is so dusty that you

can physically sometimes see dust on

your eye lashes, non-gloss SPH Chap

Stick, and a moisturizing sunscreen is all

you need. It's funny because the Ger-

mans and Swedish women get "Dolled"

up every day. Not the U.S. solders, cuz

we live in tents and have porta-potties;

they live in buildings with indoor showers

and toilets, and have a saloon over in the

living area, Yes, perms, coloring, mani-

cures, pedicure, massages, we can use

Their facilities if there are appointments

Catherine Phillips-Olsen, Regent

Mt. Diablo Chapter DAR

E-mail: mt.diablo.chapter@gmail.com

WWW.DAR-MTDIABLOCHAPTER.ORG

available when we can get away.

Our laundry service is HORRIBLE at best!

Your clothes almost smell worse when

you get them back, then when you turned

them in. One of my American roommates

told me a trick to put a laundry detergent

sheet in one of your pockets and the work-

ers don’t check you pockets so at least

you know soap was used on your clothes.

I have not gotten any strangers clothes

back yet, and I am pretty sure all my stuff

has came back to me, but I have only

turned in laundry twice now.

Not to replace any of my friends back

home but I now have a few new friends

here they are called; baby wipes, hand

sanitizer, fabreeze, : )

Miss each and every one of you,

Remember even if there is a day you can't

afford to buy that new item at your favorite

store, you still are in a much better situa-

tion than each and every service member

here in this beautiful country. Hugs, Kathy

SFC Kathy Vargas

Imagine heading off to your local drug store to pick up a can of hairspray. When you get there you

find—well NOTHING—and learn that this particular item is not only out-of-stock but will most likely

never be on the shelf. SFC Kathy Vargas, one of our newly adopted Project Patriot soldiers,

shares her experiences searching for feminine hygiene items in Afghanistan with best friend—new

Chapter member Holly Stover (see page 5). SFC Vargas is affectionately known as ―Aunt Kathy‖

to Holly’s girls. Below is contact information to send a package or a warm holiday hello to Kathy:

SFC Kathy Vargas, RC-N Fusion Center, IC Marmal, APO AE 09368. You can also donate to our

Project Patriot care package fund at www.dar-mtdiablochapter.org or send a check to Treasurer

Janet O’Connell-Mangham, 1525 Bismark Lane, Brentwood, CA 94513-6904