Negley Elementary School 5th-grader Avery Cruz affixes her signature as a witness to Navigator Principal Will Webber’s (seated) signed proclamation declaring Sept. 17-23 “Constitution Week.” Joining Cruz as a witness was 5th-grader Jamison Eddleman and the group was encouraged by teacher Joy Young and visiting speaker Sandy Fortenberry (in colonial dress) of the Jacob’s Well Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. (Photo by Kathy Feldt)
by JIM CULLEN
Plum Creek resident – and Jacob’s Well Chapter member of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution – Sandy Fortenberry joined other members of the active group recently to bring the Colonial period of American history to life. In the process, Fortenberry and others in her DAR chapter reminded students at Negley Elementary School and across Hays County about the ongoing significance of the U.S. Constitution and what it means to every American.
It was all part of Constitution Week and member Patricia Haney received official proclamations specifiying Sept. 17-23 as Constitution Week from mayors Lucy Johnson of Kyle, Sarah Mangham of Buda, Rick Tarr of Mountain City, Bob Flocke of Wimberley, Bill Foulds of Dripping Springs and Eric Eskelund of Woodcreek.
Kyle’s Marilyn Beasley dressed in colonial costume and trekked to Wimberley’s Jacob’s Well Elementary to read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “The Ride of Paul Revere” to fifth graders there.
At Negley, Fortenberry explained the process by which the U.S. Constitution was written, replacing the nation’s initial, ineffective framework, the Articles of Confederation. Negley Principal Will Webber signed a school proclamation in the Navigator library on Monday, Sept. 19, in commemoration of the 224th anniversary of the Constitution’s signing.
The designation, Fortenberry and her fellow DAR members explained, was originally campaigned for in 1955, with then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower signing it into law. Fortenberry assured her audiences that the Constitution “isn’t written in stone” and that U.S. Supreme Court justices are charged with interpreting the two-century-old document.
On behalf of their DAR chapter, Fortenberry and Beasley presented each student a bookmark containing the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution and books for their libraries were later presented to Negley Principal Webber and Jacob’s Well Principal Linda Land.
