Seated on the front row (from left to right): Dorothy Waugh Watson, Court of Adventure, 1936 (ex-Duchess of the Armed Forces); Paula Johnson (provided the gowns and train); Jeanie Travis, Speaker on Fiesta history; Linda P. Beard, Division 7 Vice-Chair PR; Lynn Forney Young, Texas State DAR State Regent; Sudie Pool, Division 7 ChairRita Schimpff, Speaker and 1994 Court Artist; and Marilyn Alefsen, Court of Beauty, 1963 (ex-Duchess of the Armed Forces).

The Daughters of the American Revolution Spring Event drew record crowds at the Witte Museum in San Antonio April 18.

“More than 100 members and guests from 15 chapters in 10 cities attended the Spring Event,” said Linda P. Beard, organizer of the Event and Division 7 vice-chair. “This event drew members from as far away as Houston.”

“The Spring Event is a wonderful opportunity for our members to support the arts community as well as meet the main DAR goals of historic preservation, education and promote patriotism,” said Lynn Forney Young, Texas State DAR State Regent.

Program speakers were Michael Haynes, curator of the Witte Museum, Jeanie Travis, Fiesta historian and Rita Schimpff, 1994 Court Artist.

Haynes discussed preservation of the gowns and other artifacts from the 1920s and 1930s on display in the exhibit “80 Years of Fiesta Tradition.” Travis, a member of Alamo Chapter and the Battle of Flowers Association, traced the history of Fiesta from its early beginnings to today.

Schimpff, also a member of Alamo Chapter, showed a slide presentation detailing the three-year process required to design and produce a gown and train. Among the behind-the-scenes tidbits revealed:

- One train can weigh between 50 and 70 pounds.

- It requires two to three men to carry a train.

- The girls practice with weights for months to prepare walking and bowing gracefully in the heavy gowns and even heavier trains.

- Trains are either 12 feet long (for duchesses) or 15 feet long (for the queen and princess).

- It takes six to eight months to construct one gown.

- All the jewels and stones are sewn by hand and with the use of pliers.

Displayed on the stage was the gown and train worn by Paula Rainey Johnson when she was Order of the Alamo Queen of the Treasures of Africa. Also displayed was a second gown worn by Rainey when she was Duchess Derosin de Cavilier.

Self-guided tours of the exhibit “80 Years of Fiesta Tradition” and a tea followed.

Ex-Duchesses of the Armed Forces mixed and mingled with the crowd during the tour and the tea. The visiting ex-Duchesses were: Dorothy Waugh Watson, Court of Adventure, 1936; Marilyn Whaley Alefsen Court of Beauty, 1963 and Beth Amen O’Brien, Court of Gardens, 1971.

At the conclusion of the tea and in keeping with the practice established by Ol’ Shavano Chapter, extra refreshments were taken to the women and men at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston.

The DAR is a non-profit, service organization founded in 1890. Membership is open to any woman 18 years or older who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution. More information about the DAR can be obtained on the National Web site www.dar.org or the State Web site www.texasdar.org.