2025-2026 Calendar of Events
The Bitter Root Chapter, NSDAR, meets monthly from September to June.
For location and other information please contact us.
Special & Commemorative Dates
| George Washington’s Birthday | February 22, 2026 | |||||||||||
| National Day of Prayer | May 7, 2026 | |||||||||||
| Victory Day in Europe Anniversary | May 8, 2026 | |||||||||||
| D-Day Anniversary | June 6, 2026 | |||||||||||
| Constitution Day | September 17, 2026 | |||||||||||
| Vietnam Veterans Day | September 24, 2026 | |||||||||||
| NSADAR Day of Prayer | October 9, 2026 | |||||||||||
| NSDAR Anniversary & National Day of Service | October 11, 2026 | |||||||||||
| Mayflower Compact Anniversary | November 11, 2026 | |||||||||||
| Wreaths Across America Day | December 19, 2026 |
Days to Display the American Flag
| Labor Day (First Monday) | September 1, 2025 | |||||||||||
| Patriot’s Day (Flag at 1/2 staff) | September 11, 2025 | |||||||||||
| Constitution Day | September 17, 2025 | |||||||||||
| DAR Day of Service | October 11, 2025 | |||||||||||
| Indigenous Peoples’ Day | October 13, 2025 | |||||||||||
| Election Day | November 5, 2025 | |||||||||||
| Veterans Day | November 11, 2025 | |||||||||||
| Thanksgiving Day | November 27, 2025 | |||||||||||
| Pearl Harbor Remembrance (1/2 staff) | December 7, 2025 | |||||||||||
| Christmas Day | December 25, 2025 | |||||||||||
| New Year’s Day | January 1, 2026 | |||||||||||
| Martin Luther King’s Birthday | January 19, 2026 | |||||||||||
| Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday | February 12, 2026 | |||||||||||
| President’s Day | February 16, 2026 | |||||||||||
| George Washington’s Birthday | February 22, 2026 | |||||||||||
| Mother’s Day | May 10, 2026 | |||||||||||
| Armed Forces Day | May 16, 2026 | |||||||||||
| Memorial Day (Flag at 1/2 staff) | May 25, 2026 | |||||||||||
| Flag Day | June 14, 2026 | |||||||||||
| Juneteenth. | June 19, 2026 | |||||||||||
| Independence Day | July 4, 2026 |
2025-2026 Bitter Root Program Schedule & Special Events
September 13, 2025, 1:00 PM: Program: Illuminate Service – a celebration of membership. Come to celebrate all that Bitter Root DAR members have accomplished this past year and help plan for the upcoming year. We will welcome members and present certificates to those who have achieved landmark membership. We’ll also welcome special guest speaker, Janice Hand, our new State Regent, who will share her plans for Montana State Society DAR (MSSDAR) for the next three years. Hostess: Cindy Haines |
October 11, 2025, 1:00 PM: Program: Northern Pacific 1356, Stories from the Historic Northern Pacific Engine 1356, an Icon of Missoula’s Railroad History. Presenter: Jeannine Nixon. Jeannine Nixon received her BA from the University of Montana in Poetry. She also studied western writers, and women’s writing extensively. She earned her MA in fiction writing from Ohio University in Athens. Jeannine returned to Missoula, and taught English at the University of Montana for many years. Jeannine was happily retired until the neglect of NP Engine 1356, and its stories inspired her to do something about it. Jeannine’s father was wire chief and photographer for the Northern Pacific Railway and was instrumental in having the engine donated to the city of Missoula. Hostess: Susan Hansen, and Peggy Annin |
November 8, 2025, 1:00 PM: Program: A Slow Fuse Leading to Revolution. Presenter: Nancy Schmitz. Nancy Schmitz received her BS degree in Education and her doctorate from Temple University in Philadelphia and her MFA from the University of Utah. She served as Chair of the Arts in Education Department at Columbia University’s Teacher College, and on the faculties of the University of Montana, Temple University, University of Guam, and the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. Since grade school, she has been passionate about history. Examine the events that slowly led to the Revolutionary War. Beginning with the Stamp Act in 1765, colonists began to see and feel a growing difference between themselves and the British Parliament and King. This presentation explores the circumstances and beliefs that changed colonists into Americans especially in the years 1774-1776. We will look at how a growing mechanic and artisan class became instigators of change. Hostess: Janet Loran & Susan Stone |
December 13, 2025, 1:00 PM: Program: An Old-Fashioned Christmas! Come Celebrate our holiday traditions. This is our traditional holiday potluck. Bring a special dish to share and bring a tree ornament, a family antique, or a memory from the season! We will put each ornament on a tree or place an antique under the tree as we share stories of our cherished holidays past and our lineage. |
January 10, 2026, 1:00 PM: Zoom Only. Catch up via Zoom and discuss all current business. |
February 14, 2026, 1:00 PM: Program: Celebrating Youth and Community. This year we will celebrate our young scholars as well as those volunteers in the community who make a difference. Come celebrate those young and old within our community who stretch their talents and provide special services! Hostess: Sara Tempel, Kathleen Ward, Mary Doughtery, and Patrice Schwenk |
March 14, 2026, 1:00 PM: Program: Mike and Maureen Mansfield’s Legacy of Patriotic Statesmanship. Presenter: Deena Mansour Executive Director of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center of the University of Montana. Deena’s work focuses on bolstering democracy at home and abroad in support of high school, higher education, and community audiences. Deena has previously served as a diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in Indonesia. She has also worked for a Dow Jones community newspaper in Michigan and at an international education non-profit in Washington, DC. She earned her master’s degree in public administration at UM, and a bachelor’s degree in international relations and economics at American University in Washington, DC. Deena and her husband Brian raised two children in Missoula. Hostess: Mary Pheifer, Betty Hilmo and Betty Tingley |
April 11, 2026, 1:00 PM: The business meeting will focus on the election of new officers. Program: Help us prepare for hosting our State Convention! Hostess: Vanessa Buzgheia |
April 23-25, 2026, Montana DAR State Conference, Doubletree-Hilton Edgewater, Missoula, MT. Hosted by Bitter Root Chapter, NSDAR. |
May 9, 2026, 1:00 PM: Program: Teaching and Learning the Declaration of Independence: A Short History of Civic Education in the United States, 1776-2026. Presenter: Claire Arcenas. Dr. Claire Rydell Arcenas is Associate Professor of History at the University of Montana and an expert on the history of American thought, culture, politics, and education. She is author of the prize-winning book America’s Philosopher: John Locke in American Intellectual Life (Chicago, 2022) as well as numerous essays and articles on topics such as the Federalist Papers and humanities education during WWII. Her current research focuses on the Declaration of Independence, American democracy, and civic education in the United States, 1776-present. Hostess: Kate Laney and Carol Gordon |
June 13, 2026, 1:00 PM: Program: Montana Tapestry: People and Places from 1776 to Today. Presenter: Molly Stockdale, Executive Director of Travelers’ Rest Connection, the nonprofit partner of Travelers’ Rest State Park. Molly Stockdale has held a variety of positions in nonprofit management, primarily in museums, for 30 years. Molly has worked with Mister Rogers on a children’s museum exhibit, raised funds to purchase new works for the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and created exhibits on the Lewis & Clark Expedition and Selis Qlispe cultural history. Molly received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her Master of Public Management from Carnegie Mellon University. She is President of the Destination Missoula Board of Directors, a member of the Montana250 Commission for the commemoration of the semi quincentennial of the Declaration of Independence and serves as Montana’s Advocate Leader for the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance. Molly is a proud member of the Bitter Root Chapter of the NSDAR. Hostess: Susan Reneau |
June 24-28, 2026, 135th Continental Congress, Washington, D.C. |
Fourth of July at Fort Missoula. Volunteer to help with our two booths at the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula and at the SAR/DAR encampment at the Rocky Mountain Museum of Military History. Help recruit new members through providing information about DAR and Bitter Root Chapter as well as support understanding of American History and Government. |
August 4-9, 2026, Western Montana Fair (Missoula County-August) Volunteer to help our chapter raise funds for ongoing service projects by assisting setting up the display of entries in Creative Arts, Industrial Arts, and Hobbies and Crafts prior to the fair and then ensuring visitors have a safe and enjoyable experience within the Commercial Building by serving as Ambassadors to the community visiting the building. |
Book Club meets on the 3rd Tuesday of the month during September, November, January, March, and May. Meetings start at 1:00 PM and are held at different member’s homes. The first meeting will be September 16, 2025 at the home of Betty Hilmo, 13600 Turah Road, Clinton, MT. Our book selection for this session will be “The Remarkable Cause: A Novel of James Lovell and the Crucible of the Revolution” by Jean C. O’Conner. Additional book selections for the year 2025 -2026 will be chosen from the DAR Library Book Club Reading List which includes the following: “African Founders: How Enslaved people expanded American Ideals” by David Hackett Fischer; “Alexander Hamilton” by Ron Chernow, “The Great Divide: The Conflict between Washington and Jefferson That Defined America, Then and Now” by Thomas Flemming; “The Forgotten Founding Father: Webster’s Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture” by Joshua Kendall; “First Ladies of the Republic: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolly Madison, and the Creation of an Iconic American Role” by Jeanne E. Abrams; “Revolution Song: A Story of American Freedom” by Russell Shorto; “Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy” by Ian Toll; “This Fierce People: The Untold Story of America’s Revolutionary War in the South” by Alan Pell Crawford; “The Founder’s Fortunes: How Money Shaped the Birth of America” by William Sterne Randall; and “The Loyal Son: The War in Ben Franklin’s House” by Daniel Mark Epstein. |
NOTE: For a more detailed program description with Hostess information please visit our Members site.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Book Club meets on the 3rd Tuesday of the month during September, November, January, March, and May. Meetings start at 1:00 PM and are held at different member’s homes. Contact us for more information.
Want to learn more?