DAR rings in Constitution Week at Old Courthouse Museum

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On Tuesday, Sept. 17, chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution across the nation will ring bells to usher in Constitution Week in the U.S., celebrated from Sept. 17 through Sept. 23.

In Vicksburg, the Ashmead DAR Chapter and the Sarah Randolph Boone Society Children of the American Revolution will host the annual event on the steps of the Old Courthouse Museum.

“We will have Alderman Michael Mayfield representing Mayor George Flaggs’ office, Lt. Col. Adrienne Ruggles Eckstein (Ret.) representing our veterans, Lorelei Bookstore owner, Kelle Banks Barfield, and State Insurance Commissioner and Fire Marshall Mike Chaney each speak briefly,” wrote Janis Koestler, Ashmead Chapter DAR Constitution Week co-chair, in an email.

“We gather at 3:30 p.m. on the 17th, Tuesday next, to commemorate this wonderful document that allows us to have the freedoms we so greatly cherish,” Koestler wrote.

Across the country DAR members will ring bells at 4 p.m.

Constitution Week was started by the Daughters of the American Revolution. In 1955, DAR petitioned Congress to set aside Sept. 17 through Sept. 23 annually to be dedicated for the observance of Constitution Week. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the resolution into law Aug. 2, 1956.

The aims of the Constitution Week celebration are to:

• Emphasize citizens’ responsibilities for protecting and defending the Constitution.
• Inform people that the Constitution is the basis for America’s great heritage and the foundation for our way of life.
• Encourage the study of the historical events which led to the framing of the Constitution in September 1787.

For more information, visit the DAR national website or email the Vicksburg Ashmead Chapter.