At home, several members

honored the 10-year anniver-

sary of 9/11 with special cele-

brations and displays of com-

memorative flags. Gay Scott’s

church bell choir played a spe-

cial song. Valerie Jo Remley

sang for the Lafayette Flag Bri-

gade Memorial. Holly Stover

and daughters volunteered at

the District IV 9/11 Commemo-

ration Event Booth at the Ala-

meda County Fair. (see page 2

for photos and write-ups).

The October 11 meeting

agenda is in the final stages and

it promises to be packed with

great programs—including a

touching 9/11 video tribute and

an entertaining presentation by

Park Ranger/Tour Guide Rosie

Riveter—Betty Reid Soskin.

Just in: Veteran’s Committee

would like monetary donations

this year rather than clothing

items. The goal is to raise

$200—we are half way there

thanks to donations from two

very generous members.

I hope you plan on joining me

on the 11th in our new meeting

room. It will be great to see

you all after the long summer

break.

Cathy

Dear Daughters,

Prospective Mem-

bers, and Friends,

First, and foremost, it is an

honor to serve as your new Re-

gent for the next two years. How

exciting to be working with a

group of such talented, intelli-

gent and fun ladies!

The summer has flown by—jam

packed with DAR activities and

projects.

Shortly after our June meeting,

Gay Scott, Janet O’Connell

Mangham, Virginia Rood, and

your Regent jetted off to Wash-

ington DC to attend the 102nd

Continental Congress. The

entire event was unforgettable

but the tribute to September 11

on opening night at the beautiful

DAR headquarters was beyond

amazing. It reminded me why I

am so proud to be an American

and a dedicated Daughter of the

American Revolution!

A very early morning flight

across country on July 3rd in-

sured Gay Scott and your Re-

gent would be back in California

in time to march in the Danville

4th of July Parade with our

newly affiliated Captain Molly

Corbin Society CAR. Photos

from the parade and a full list

of participants can be found on

page 4.

In August a record number of

members—over 30—turned

out for the Board Meeting and

Genealogy workshop, which

was held in the new Creekside

Clubhouse. A special thank

you goes out to Registrar Vir-

ginia Rood for organizing this

annual event and to Anne

Loucks Chapter Lineage Re-

search Team for the great

training and help with ancestor

searches.

The board was so impressed

with the Creekside meeting

room’s bright new state-of-the-

art facilities that it was decided

to make the recommended

move from Vista to the Creek-

side Clubhouse Room 1 for our

regular monthly meetings. See

page 3—‖So we are moving

meeting rooms — Why ?” for

more details.

September found your Regent

in Europe giving her husband a

much needed break from

DAR—who forbid her to even

think about taking a computer

to work on projects!

From the desk of your Regent Cathy Olsen

October 2011 Volume 9 Issue 1

Mt. Diablo Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution

Special points of

interest:

New Meeting Room

Creekside Clubhouse

Room 1, 1010

Stanley Dollar Drive,

Rossmoor

Dues are due—

deadline Oct 31

RSVP for Oct 29 Heri-

tage Tea by Oct 21

Civil War Stamps

count for double

points

Revolutionary Tea

Party Fund Raiser

Nov 19 Fireside

Room RSVP by Nov 4

Inside this issue:

Note from a Devoted

Daughter

2

9/11 Commemora-

tive Events

2

The Tea Pot Won’t be

the Only One Singing

3

Civil War Stamps 2X

Why are we moving?

3

4th of July Danville

Parade

4

Meet your Regent

Prayers for Daughters

5

Upcoming Events 6

Photo by Robert Picker mtdiablophotos.com

Dear Cathy, I am sending you the photos of the 2011 Constitution Week Bulletin board that I did at the Country Club School in San Ramon this year. Hope this is acceptable. I do it early– so that it looks nice for the beginning of the school year. It will stay there through Constitution Week. Hope that I can attend a few meetings this year. I will try to get Mother to come too.

Enjoy this beautiful summer. Sincerely, Denise Dolan Yes, Denise—It is more than acceptable—it is beau-tiful! Thank you for putting to-gether such outstanding bulletin boards for Consti-tution Week every year!! We look forward to seeing you and your mom at a

meeting soon. - Cathy

lowing glowing quote in the

BRW News—―There was a

spectacular live singing per-

formance by Valerie Jo

Remley, and what a perform-

ance it was. Valerie Jo has a

beautiful voice, and it gives all

of our favorite patriotic songs

a whole new meaning.‖

Members through-

out the chapter

joined in the 9/11

Celebrations.

Valerie Jo Remley

(left), who partici-

pated in the Lafayette

Flag Brigade Memo-

rial, received the fol-

A special thanks to Holly

Stover and daughters Lau-

ren and Leah—Captain Molly

Corbin Society—for volun-

teering at District IV’s Com-

memoration Event Booth

9/11 Observance, Alameda

Fairgrounds, Pleasanton.

Note from A Devoted Daughter

9/11 Celebrations Didn’t Stop with Bells

Bells Ring for 9/11

San Francisco the next target? Fortunately, my fears never came to fruition. However, the lives lost and the tragedies ex-perienced have left permanent scars on this great country—and are a stark reminder of the many sacrifices our ancestors made defending our freedom. In remembrance of 9/11 and in honor of those who lost their lives, Parliamentarian and Past

Regent Gay Scott’s hand bell choir at the San Ramon Valley Methodist Church, Alamo, CA played ―Prayer of Peace‖ by Michael Hellman

on Sunday, 9/11/2011.

Ten years have passed and yet it seems like yesterday that I stood in my high rise office in downtown San Fran-cisco looking out onto the Bay—listening to the news on the radio as the tragic events of 9/11 unfolded. A plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. Tower one collapsed—then tower two—and then the Pentagon . It was not yet 8:30 a.m.—was

Page 2

Mt. Diablo Chapter

“It was not yet 8:30

a.m.—was San

Francisco to be the

next target?”

Attending the Religious Heri-

tage Tea for the first time last

year was indeed a day not to

be forgotten. Not only was

the setting beautiful and food

delicious but our State Chap-

lain Barbara Volker also is an

a b s o l u t e l y f a b u l o u s

speaker—she has a beautiful

voice to boot!

Hopefully, many of you will

take the opportunity to attend

the 4th annual Religious Heri-

tage Tea which will be held at

the Alameda Golf and Coun-

try Club, 6663 Hampton

Drive, San Jose, CA 95120

on Saturday, October 29th

from 1:00-3:00 PM.

The program will be "Singing

a New Song: Early American

Choral Music." It will be pre-

sented by St. Columba Angli-

can Church Choir octet and

will include Spirituals, Shaker

hymns, Shapenote music and

the compositions of William

Billings.

RSVP by October 21, 2011

Chaplain@Californiadar.org

Cost is $20 per person. Make

checks payable to CSSDAR

Treasurer and mail to:

Barbara Volker

State Chaplain

684 W. Stuart Ave.

Fresno, CA 93704

Also, the Vista Room is

scheduled to be remodeled in

the next few years—which

meant we would have to relo-

cate when that occurred.

Finally, our room costs were

increasing because of set up

time for the projector.

So why — you ask—are we

moving to the Creekside

Clubouse, Room 1 on 10/11?

Rossmoor Recreation Super-

visor Betsy Hocking felt we

were rapidly outstripping the

capacity of the Vista Room

with the Chapter’s continued

growth.

The new room has the projec-

tor built in. Internet is a bonus

as is the added light and an

ice maker in the kitchen.

However, the cost savings

was the real tipping point.

Feedback after the October

meeting is appreciated. Will

we be back to Vista in 2012?

The Tea Pot will not be the only one singing

So we are moving meeting rooms — why?

Civil War Stamps Count Double

were double stamp day. This

year, the Post Office is giving

DAR a ―Civil War Double

Stamp‖ opportunity.

If you purchase these beauti-

ful stamps, save the com-

memorative cover (left) and

any other of your cancelled

stamps; send or give them to

our Stamps for Veterans

Chairman Charlotte Ander-

son, 215 Britain Ct., Alamo,

CA 94507 for double credit on

our Chapter Achievement

Award: Veterans and History

Many of you may remember

when everyone collected

green stamps; Wednesdays

Page 3

Volume 9 Issue 1

Barbara Volker,

California State

Chaplain

Timely Dues are

Worth 40 Points

Dues are due and if

we are late, we will

loose 40 points on

our Chapter Achieve-

ment Award.

So please ladies,

pay those dues be-

fore the October 31

deadline!!

“This year the Post

Office is giving DAR a

“Civil War Double

Stamp” opportunity.”

Regent Cathy Olsen driving Past Regent Barbara Beratta & Gay’s grand-daughter Tess; Gay’s daughter Tracy alongside, marching behind is Past Re-

gent Gay Scott and Charlotte Anderson

The day was beautiful—but

hot— as the Mt. Diablo Chap-

ter and Captain Molly Corbin

Society gathered for the Dan-

ville 4th of July Parade.

Photographers (husbands)

Harvey Olsen and Bob Beratta

snapped shots of the 25 enthu-

siastic marchers decked out in

red, white, and blue with flags

flying high during their 1.2 mile

trek down Hartz Avenue.

Carrying the chapter banner

are Natalie and Elizabeth

Wolske from Captain Molly

Corbin Society. Following are

CAR members Lauren &

Leah Stover and Sierra

Gard. Mt. Diablo DAR march-

ers included Regent Cathy

Olsen, Vice Regent Geri

Willinger, Past Regents

Barbara Beratta & Gay

Scott, Marty Tunnell, Char-

lotte Anderson, Stacy Gie-

ber & daughter Katie, Whit-

ney Kirkendall & son, Holly

Stover and Jackie Waldon.

Also marching, Gay’s daugh-

ter Tracy Miller—LA Escoh-

soltzia Chapter– grandkids

Tess and Duncan, and son-

in-law Bruce Miller.

Affiliate Captain Molly Corbin CAR Members

March with Mt. Diablo Chapter in Fabulous

Danville 4th of July Parade

Page 4

Mt. Diablo Chapter

Natalie and Elizabeth

Wolske— prospective

members of the Captain

Molly Corbin Society.

Natalie & Elizabeth Wolske Barbara Beratta, Gay Scott, Charlotte Anderson, Stacy Gieber & Katie

Marty Tunnell driving 1st Vice Regent Geri Willinger

Banner Natalie & Elizabeth Wolske, Captain Molly Corbin Society CAR Society President Holly Stover, Lauren & Leah Stover, friend Sierra Gard; Mt. Diablo Chapter Members

Imagine having to spell Truth

or Consequences, New Mex-

ico when you are five years

old. Had I been born just a

few years earlier—say 1950

instead of 1953—my spelling

challenge would have been

merely Hot Springs.

In 1950, NBC television and

radio producer Ralph Ed-

wards, on the 10th anniver-

sary of the Truth or Conse-

quences radio program,

called his staff together and

said, ―I wish that some town

in the United States liked and

respected our show so much

that they would change its

name to ―Truth or Conse-

quences.‖ Upon hearing the

proposition, the New Mexico

Tourist Bureau notified the

manager of the Hot Springs

Chamber of Commerce.

The lure of an annual fiesta

with show hosts Ralph Ed-

wards, Bob Barker and some

―not so famous‖ movie stars,

in conjunction with the oppor-

tunity to eliminate the town’s

constant confusion with Hot

Springs, Arkansas, led the

1,290 town residents to vote

for the new name.

After graduating from Hot

Springs High School (no

name change there) in 1971

and then obtaining a BA in

Accounting from New Mexico

State University, I moved to

Los Angeles to join the FDIC

as the second female bank

examiner in the San Fran-

cisco Region (consisting of

the 11 western states).

In 1988 I obtained my CPA

certificate and in 1989 gradu-

ated from the University of

Washington’s Pacific Coast

Graduate School of Banking.

During my 31 years with the

FDIC I held various positions

from Regional Accountant to

Regional Manager of the Divi-

sion of Insurance and Re-

search; the position from

which I retired in 2006.

I have two daughters,

Heather and Crissy, with my

first husband and a step

daughter Lara and stepson

Ben with my current husband

of 20 years, Dr. Harvey Ol-

sen. Combined, Lara and

Ben have given us five won-

derful grandchildren.

Although Harvey closed his

private medical practice in

2008, he continues to work

part time doing locum tenens.

Fortunately, I can travel with

him—as long as he does not

accept any assignments dur-

ing the second week of the

month-October to June!

My qualifying ancestor, Ebe-

nezer Peck is from NH. He

served under Col. Jonathan

Chase—qualifying ancestor of

Louise Bisset and daughter

Denise Dolan.

her therapist. Her release

date from Kaiser is October

13th. Get well cards and vis-

its are welcomed.

Kaiser Foundation Rehabilita-

tion Center, 975 Sereno

Drive, Vallejo, CA 94589,

Room 3018. Telephone 707-

As many of you may know,

Natalie Griffin recently suf-

fered a stroke. The latest

news from her son David is

that Natalie’s feeding tube

has been removed. She is

beginning to walk with a

walker and lots of help from

651-3298

Please contact Chaplain

Margo Heltne immediately if

you know of a member who is

ill, who has lost a family mem-

ber, or if you hear about the

death of a member:

mt.diablo.chapter@gmail.com

Meet your Regent

Special Prayers for a Speedy Recovery

Page 5

Volume 9 Issue 1

Daughters Heather and Crissy

Phillips at Crissy’s graduation from

UCLA. Heather is the National

Sales Manager for AlliedPRA in

San Francisco. Crissy is a chemical

engineer for Johnson and Johnson

and is currently living in Puerto

Rico. Both daughters are pending

junior members of our Chapter.

Past Regent and

Veteran’s Chairman

Natalie Griffin

“..I moved to Los

Angeles in 1977 to

become the second

female bank examiner

in the San Francisco

Region (consisting of

the 11 western states)”

Catherine Phillips-Olsen

Regent

Mt. Diablo Chapter DAR

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

UPCOMING EVENTS

October 11 Mt. Diablo Chapter Meeting—11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Rossmoor,

Creekside Clubhouse Room 1, 1010 Stanley Dollar Drive, Walnut Creek, CA

October 18 San Ramon Genealogical Society Meeting—Preserving Your Family

Photographs—Family History Center, 2949 Stone Valley Rd., Alamo, CA

October 20 District IV Meeting—10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Pleasant View Church of

Christ, 11300 Dublin Canyon Rd, Pleasanton, CA

October 29 Heritage Tea—1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Alameda Golf & Country Club,

6663 Hampton Drive, San Jose, CA 95120

Mt. Diablo Chapter

The Mount Diablo Chapter daughters will

again not follow in the footsteps of their

Boston Tea Party Ancestors, who in 1773

dumped their tea into harbor waters. In-

stead, these Daughters will use their tea

to host a ―Revolutionary Tea Party‖ fund

raiser on Saturday, November 19th at

11:30 a.m. at the Fireside Room, 1001

Golden Rain Rd., Rossmoor.

The fund-raiser is a virtual insignia em-

blem to honor our Civil War, War of 1812,

and Revolutionary War ancestors. The

inscribed insignia - Bronze $25, Silver

$50, Gold $75, Platinum $100—will be

permanently posted on the Chapter’s new

Patriots web page. The Tea Program will

also list member and patriot donations.

Family and friends are invited to attend.

Tea cost is $25. Please send check to

Treasurer Janet O’Connell-Mangham,

1525 Bismarck Ln, Brentwood, CA 94513

Revolutionary Tea Party Fund Raiser—Reserve Now

Serving God, Home and Country through

historic preservation, education and patriotism

WWW.DAR-MTDIABLOCHAPTER.ORG