2024-2025 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

Constitution Day

September 17, 2023

Vietnam Veteran’s Day

September 24, 2023

NDAR Day of Prayer

October 9, 2023

NSDAR & Day of Service Anniversary

October 11, 2023

Mayflower Compact Anniversary

November 11, 2023

Wreath’s Across America

December 16, 2023

National Day of Prayer

May 2, 2024

Victory in Europe Anniversary

May 8, 2024

D-Day Anniversary

June 6, 2024

Days to Display the American Flag

Labor Day (First Monday)

September 2, 2024

Patriot’s Day (Flag at 1/2 staff)

September 11, 2024

Constitution Day

September 17, 2024

DAR Day of Service

October 11, 2024

Indigenous Peoples’ Day

October 14, 2024

Election Day

November 5, 2024

Veterans Day

November 11, 2024

Thanksgiving Day

November 28, 2024

Pearl Harbor Remembrance (1/2 staff)

December 7, 2024

Christmas Day

December 25, 2024

New Year’s Day

January 1, 2025

Martin Luther King’s Birthday

January 20, 2025

Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday

February 12, 2025

President’s Day

February 17, 2025

George Washington’s Birthday

February 22, 2025

Mother’s Day

May 11, 2025

Armed Forces Day

May 18, 2025

Memorial Day (Flag at 1/2 staff)

May 26, 2025

Flag Day

June 14, 2025

Juneteenth.

June 19, 2025

Independence Day

July 4, 2025

2023 Bitter Root Program Schedule & Local Events

August 2-3, 2024 – Stevensville Creamery Picnic, Stevensville, MT. Friday, Saturday 2nd, at 6 PM will be the parade, to start off the weekend of fun filled activities. To learn more about the Stevensville Creamery Days visit: https://www.creamerypicnic.com

August 8, 2024 – America 250! Patriot Marker Dedication, @ 2:00 PM Location: Rocky Mountain Museum of Military History (3400 B Rd, Missoula, MT 59804)

August 15, 2024 – Some of our members will be welcoming new citizens on August 15th. There are two ceremonies: 11:00 am and 1:30 pm. If you are interested in attending the next Naturalization ceremony, please let Deb Tomell know. Deb’s contact is mdtomx2@msn.com.

September 14, 2024. Chapter Business Meeting followed by our Program: Sparkle in Service – a celebration of membership. Come to celebrate all that DAR members have accomplished and plans for the upcoming year. We will welcome new members and present certificates for those who have achieved 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 years of membership. Certificates of service will be presented for accomplishments during 2023-2024.

October 12, 2024.  Chapter Business Meeting followed by our Program: 596 Nice People, A Montanan’s Story of Service and Perseverance. Our presenter grew up on a farm in north central Montana, attended a one-room country school where grades 1 through 8 learned together. He graduated from Rudyard High school in 1965 and attended Montana State University before joining the Navy in 1966. After his deployment to Vietnam and honorable discharge from the Navy, he returned to college, eventually earning a business degree from Alaska Pacific University. For many years he worked in the construction industry including oil fields of Prudhoe Bay and other locations in Alaska. In 1997, he returned from Alaska to work for his brother’s Taco Bell franchise, headquartered in Missoula, where he still works today.   Join us as we celebrate DAR’s National Day of Service.

November 9, 2024. Chapter Business Meeting followed by our Program: Veteran’s Luncheon Fundraiser. During this Veteran’s Day month, the Bitter Root Daughters will honor our veterans by hosting a private luncheon. Luncheon Program: Transformational Leadership, the Women’s Army Corps, 1942-1945. Our presenter retired in June 2018, as a Staff Judge Advocate, US Army Forces Command, Fort Bragg, NC. She received her commission from the ROTC program at the University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, in 1990. She served as a Department of Justice Fellow in the Civil Division. She is a graduate of the Military Judge’s Course; Command and General Staff College; the Judge Advocate General’s Graduate Course; and the Combined Arms and Service Staff School. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture from Washington State University, Pullman, Washington; a Juris Doctorate from the University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho; an LLM from the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School, Charlottesville, Virginia; and a Master of Arts in Military History from the Command and General Staff College, Leavenworth, Kansas. Her awards include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

December 7, 2024.  An Old Fashion Christmas. Celebrating our holiday season. This is our traditional holiday potluck.  Bring a special dish to share and bring a tree ornament, family antique or memory from the season! We will put each ornament on a tree or antique under the tree as we share stories of our cherished holidays past and our lineage.

January 11, 2025.  Chapter Business Meeting via ZOOM. Program: Surrogate First Ladies. Enjoy this overview of the First Ladies compiled by a DAR member from the Irondequoit Chapter, in New York.

February 8, 2025.  Chapter Business Meeting followed by our Program: American History Awards. Our chapter will be awarding certificates and pins to our winners of the American History Essay Contest. The winners will present their essays to the chapter. This year’s essay theme is “Enjoying a New Kind of Tea Party,” open to grades 5-8 and “Patriots of the American Revolution” for our High School Students.

March 15, 2025. Chapter Business Meeting followed by our Program: Steam Laundries to Chop Suey: Western Montana’s Chinese History, 1870-1940. Our presenter is a public historian with focus areas in local Montana History and the American West. She specializes in research that concentrates on the history of Montana’s red-light districts and the development of minority communities within the Western Montana region. In September 2023 she presented her research “Forgotten Souls: The Lost Voices of Western Montana’s Restricted Districts” at the Montana History Conference. In March 2024, she presented “Lost Montana: The Path from Remembrance to Inclusive Heritage” at the University of Montana Wester Ted Talk Conference. She also is a lead guide for the Unseen Missoula Heritage tour program, curating and managing the ‘Carnal Enterprises’ restricted district tour.

April 12, 2025.  Chapter Business Meeting followed by our program: 100 Things to Do in Montana Before You Die, Historical Highlights. Our presenter writes from her home in Missoula, Montana. Her writing and photography have appeared in many state and national publications. Her boundless curiosity has led her to write about a variety of topics from food to farming to scat identification, but her favorite subjects continue to be the captivating people and places of Montana.

May 17, 2025. Chapter Business Meeting followed by our Program: Just a Pinch of Murder: A Montana writer clues you in. Our presenter writes the Spice Shop mysteries set in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, along with the Food Lovers’ Village series and historical short mysteries set in Montana. She also writes standalone suspense. A three time Agatha-Award winner, past president of Sisters in Crime, and former board member of Mystery Writers of America, she live in Big Fork, Montana.

June 14, 2025. Chapter Business Meeting followed by our Program: Mallory’s Through History. Our presenter was born in Polson, Montana, a fourth generation descendent of Polson pioneers. She also lived in Missoula, Great Falls, and Helena. Her family moved to the Chicago area where she lived for a time. She returned to Montana in 1998 when her parents moved back to Polson. She has her AA degree from Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri. She received her BA degree in Elementary Education from the University of Montana, Missoula, Montana. She has worked in a variety of preschools and schools for children with and without disabilities. She is now the Assistant Director of the North Lake County Public Library in Polson.

Want to learn more?