DAR attends Celina Lake Festival parade

VW independent staff/submitted information

CELINA — The Isaac Van Wart Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution celebrated their patriotic heritage, with their beautiful DAR America 250 float at Saturday’s Celina Lake Festival parade.

DAR members can prove their lineage back 250 years to a family member who fought or otherwise served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Their float featured the National DAR official logo for the 250^th celebration and the members dressed in “Continental” costumes or official chapter 250th shirts. A DAR husband built and drove the float and a DAR grandchild who portrayed Isaac Van Wart was in the parade. In addition, two DAR grandchildren in Continental costumes including General George Washington and Elizabeth, Washington’s niece were in the parade, along with a DAR member who portrayed Betsy Ross sewing the first flag of the United States of America.

Of utmost historical value, the members carried the three recently acquired busts of American Revolutionary War Heroes John Paulding, David Williams and county/city namesake Isaac Van Wart. The busts are 3-D printed by permission of the John Henri Isaac Browere Collection, where the original bronze busts are housed in the Fenimore Museum in Cooperstown NY. The busts were commissioned in the early 1800’s and were the men’s “live” or life busts created by artist John Henri Isaac Browere using warm wax on living subjects.

These three Revolutionary War Heroes, as young militia men, captured the British spy Major John Andre who had just left West Point New York Colony, where he had conspired with American General Benedict Arnold to commit treason and hand over Fort West Point. The trio made the Andre strip down and found, in his boot, the incriminating documents. After a trial and conviction, Andre was later hung as a spy. Benedict Arnold got away and served the British for the rest of his life, but his name goes down in infamy.

Paulding, Van Wart and Williams were each rewarded with a farm, a $200 stipend yearly for life, and had a county named after each of them in the wild state of Ohio – Williams, Paulding and Van Wert counties. They each received the first every silver Fidelity Medal of Honor from the second Continental Congress and General George Washington himself.