Swallow Cliff Chapter NSDAR

Swallow Cliff Chapter NSDAR Promoting Historic Preservation, Education & Patriotism in the Palos Heights, IL area for 40+ years.

Swallow Cliff Chapter NSDAR meets on the 3rd Saturday of each month. Are you in the south or southwest suburbs of Chicago and interested in joining us? Send us an e-mail at [email protected]; we look forward to meeting you and having you be a part of our chapter.

Swallow Cliff Chapter proudly participated in 5 Memorial Day events across the south suburbs. Starting with a wreath-lay...
05/29/2026

Swallow Cliff Chapter proudly participated in 5 Memorial Day events across the south suburbs. Starting with a wreath-laying in Worth, members attended services in Oak Lawn, Palos Heights, Palos Park, and at Oak Hill Cemetery. Boy Scout Troop #699 was in attendance at Palos Park and at Oak Hill Cemetery. Photos are in the order mentioned above.

At its spring luncheon, Swallow Cliff Chapter welcomed new member Chloe Remson by having Chaplain Linda Laciak administe...
05/18/2026

At its spring luncheon, Swallow Cliff Chapter welcomed new member Chloe Remson by having Chaplain Linda Laciak administer the oath of membership and by having Registrar Gloria Flathom present her with a small DAR pin. Regent Audra Gray presented Chloe with a pair of white gloves for those official occasions.

Members enjoyed a DAR Museum Correspondent program entitled, “Obsolete, Odd, and Absolutely Ooky Stuff.” Docents Lucinda Lawrence, Debra McCall, and Julie Woller from Alliance Chapter brought examples of items that could be described by the program’s title and explained their use - and some definitely fit in the “ooky” category.

At spring JROTC awards programs, Swallow Cliff presented DAR JROTC medals and certificates to outstanding District #218...
05/18/2026

At spring JROTC awards programs, Swallow Cliff presented DAR JROTC medals and certificates to outstanding District #218 cadets at Richards High School in Oak Lawn and at Shepard High School in Palos Heights. A medal and certificate were also sent to Eisenhower High School for their awards program.

The top photo is from Richard’s High School (K to R): Lynn Gray, Audra Gray, Cadet Silva-Rios, Linda Michaels, and Jan Corbett. The bottom photo is from Shepard High School (L to R): Kate Schneider, Linda Michaels, Cadet Garfias, Gale Shafer, Kathy Bennett, and Jan Corbett.

This past weekend saw over 390 attendees at the 130th Illinois State Organization State Conference held in Bloomington, ...
04/28/2026

This past weekend saw over 390 attendees at the 130th Illinois State Organization State Conference held in Bloomington, IL. Swallow Cliff had 10 members present, including Marria Blinn in her role as State Regent and presiding officer and Chapter Registrar Gloria Flathom in her role as Honorary State Regent. Chapter Regent Audra Gray played an important role as Marshal Chairman and also gave her report as State Historic Preservation Chairman. Chapter Recording Secretary Lynn Gray gave her report as State DAR Good Citizens Chairman and announced the State Good Citizens winner at the Youth Awards luncheon. National Defense Chairman Ginny Narsete was on hand to introduce the Friday evening speaker, Major General John Borling. Sarah Dore served as Registration Co-Chair to check attendees in for the conference. Elise Blinn served as a personal page to the State Regent.

Swallow Cliff Chapter served as host for the State Regent’s hospitality room on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings after the close of events. The Chapter and its members contributed all of the food and drink for the room. Members volunteering to work in the room donned Liberty Bell aprons and graciously welcomed those who came to enjoy the food and camaraderie. Thanks go to Audra Gray, Lynn Gray, Jeannette Huber, Linda Laciak, Sarah Dore, Kathy Bennett, Diana McAleenan, Gloria Flathom, Elise Blinn, and Gale Shafer.

Swallow Cliff Chapter was honored to be the first recipient of the new Conservation Award. Regent Audra Gray proudly accepted the award, and member Kathy Bennett, a leader of one of the Girl Scout troops involved in the sorting of all the bottle caps collected for the bench project, enjoyed a moment with the award.

At Sunday’s Memorial Service, chapter members who had passed away in the last year were remembered. Member Sybil Garver and founding Chapter Regent Marilyn Earnest were acknowledged from this chapter.

The State Conference had a full agenda. It is something that all DAR members are encouraged to attend!

National Defense Night at State Conference was one to remember and will most likely be spoken about for years with awe. ...
04/27/2026

National Defense Night at State Conference was one to remember and will most likely be spoken about for years with awe. National Defense Chairman - and member - Ginny Narsete was able to secure the most incredible speaker who has only been spoken about in glowing terms. Retired Air Force Maj. General John Borling spent 6 1/2 years at the "Hanoi Hilton" with the late John McCain. During his "stay" at the "Hilton," Borling wrote and memorized poetry, which he later published in a book called "Taps on the Wall: Poems from the Hanoi Hilton." After his presentation, he was presented with the DAR Distinguished Citizen award. Thank you, Ginny, for giving us such an inspiring speaker.

Three years of collecting plastic caps and lids culminated in a park bench being placed at Girl Scout camp Camp Juniper....
04/27/2026

Three years of collecting plastic caps and lids culminated in a park bench being placed at Girl Scout camp Camp Juniper. This year a new award - the Illinois DAR Conservation Award - was introduced with Swallow Cliff being the first recipient for their work on the creation of that bench in conjunction with at least five extra DAR chapters contributing caps and three Girl Scout troops and a C.A.R. Society helping sort. Congratulations, Swallow Cliff for all of your hard work. Regent Audra Gray is pictured with State Board Members Marria Blinn (Regent) and Lori Hill (Librarian/Conservation liaison)

At Saturday’s meeting, Swallow Cliff Chapter was pleased to welcome as its speaker noted Illinois historian Dr. Larry A....
04/23/2026

At Saturday’s meeting, Swallow Cliff Chapter was pleased to welcome as its speaker noted Illinois historian Dr. Larry A. McClellan. His program on the Underground Railroad highlighted not only background about the events that led to the movement of “Freedom Seekers,” a more appropriate term instead of fugitive slaves, but also the location of safe houses found in our suburban areas, Indiana, and Michigan.
Dr. McClellan is the author of 25 articles for the Encyclopedia of Chicago (2005) and has written 3 books. His book, Onward to Chicago: Freedom Seekers and the Underground Railroad in Northeastern Illinois, received the national 2023 Memorial Prize for the Advancement of Knowledge from the Underground Railroad Free Press and a book award from the Newberry Library in 2025. Dr.McClellan serves as the president of the Midwest Underground Railroad Network (MURN) and has worked on the Underground Railroad Task Force for the state legislature .

Today Vice Regent Gale Shafer was privileged to attend the April meeting of the Aloha Chapter in Honolulu, HI, where she...
04/11/2026

Today Vice Regent Gale Shafer was privileged to attend the April meeting of the Aloha Chapter in Honolulu, HI, where she was warmly welcomed. The meeting was held at the chapter-owned house. In front is a marker to honor Revolutionary War patriots. Due to recent floods and the recovery work still going on, a number of members were unable to attend in person, instead focusing on damage done to their own properties, and watched on a Zoom connection. The most recent day of heavy rain didn’t help.

At March’s chapter meeting, attendees enjoyed a program about quilting presented by Susan Snow, past chapter regent for ...
03/26/2026

At March’s chapter meeting, attendees enjoyed a program about quilting presented by Susan Snow, past chapter regent for Swallow Cliff and Founders Crossing. A retired Associate Judge for the Circuit Court of Cook County, Susan has also served DAR as District IV Director, State Parliamentarian, State Committee chairman, and a North Central Division chairman.
Susan shared some of the history of the origins of quilting from a means to comfort and warmth to becoming an art form nowadays. She brought several quilt of her own creations, plus one from the 1930’s that she found and loved for its finished edges. At times, Susan likes to take traditional patterns and add her own touches and interpretation, while at other times, she will use the unusual designs in a fabric to create something unique.
Susan’s unusual quilt made from family t-shirts and another using a photo technique inspired attendees to think about preserving their own memories in fabric.

For the past few years, member Linda Laciak has been invited to speak about the Revolutionary War to the 7th grade socia...
03/14/2026

For the past few years, member Linda Laciak has been invited to speak about the Revolutionary War to the 7th grade social studies class at Independence Junior High. Daughter and fellow member Jeannette Huber joined a year or so later and helped put together a slide presentation . This year, Jeannette's daughter - and Knoll Springs Society member - Mackenzie helped out as did her cousin Kylie (Linda's grand niece). In past years, Linda's grandsons and nephews have been helpers. So the American Revolution has become a proud family affair.

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