Taylor honored for Historic Preservation work

By Judith Forrest
Special to the Observer

The Warren Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) hosted a luncheon for Diana Wood, State DAR Regent on Saturday, May 17 at Person’s Ordinary. During the luncheon Janie Temple, Chairperson, American Heritage Committee, presented an award for Historic Preservation to Mary Elizabeth Taylor, Warren Chapter, DAR. Mary “Lib” as she is known, has been very active in preserving and writing about local history. She is currently collaborating on a program to identify all grave sites in Warren County. A couple of these grave sites date back to Revolutionary times.

“Standing Up. Fighting Back” was the theme of the message that Diana brought to the assembled guests. She explained that Roy Cooper, Attorney General, NC Department of Justice had provided a list of scams targeted at senior citizens. The list included telemarketing, sweepstakes, living trust and annuity fraud, health care and home construction and repair scams. The bottom line was that “if it is too good to be true, it probably is a scam.” Some of the advice was “Hang up on pushy telemarketers. Join the DO NOT CALL REGISTRY for free, online at www.ncdoj.gov or call 1-888-382-1222. Report suspicious calls to the Department of Justice.  Never send money for a free prize, loan or credit card. Don’t be pressured to buy something to enter a sweepstakes. Buying doesn’t increase your chances to win. Never buy anything you don’t understand. Avoid products marketed as miracle cures, scientific breakthroughs or having a secret ingredient. Avoid products that offer a “no-risk, money-back guarantee.” Never make a final payment until work is complete. After a disaster of any kind, beware of scammers.

Sue Skinner, Littleton resident and Warren Chapter DAR member, assisted by several volunteers, served a lovely meal, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Representatives from various DAR chapters from the area were present. Sue had organized the luncheon at the Ordinary because she thought it most appropriate that the DAR luncheon site be at Person’s Ordinary here in Littleton. Person’s Ordinary was built in the 1700’s and is the last remaining pre-Revolutionary stage coach inn on its original site in North Carolina. Because of extensive restoration under the direction of the Littleton Woman’s Club, Person’s Ordinary is “ready to receive guests.” Future plans are to include the Ordinary in events such as the Littleton Home, Garden and Church Tour on May 31 and Open House events during holidays.

Diana mentioned that the DAR is actively looking for new members. Diana encouraged all members to actively recruit additional potential members. She explained that the computer age made it much easier to research your ancestry and often a few keystrokes would provide qualifying information which had in years past required long and involved research. Diana talked abou the DAR website, www.dar.org, which she said was very informative and interesting.

Diana emphasized that some major objectives of the DAR are Historic Preservation, American History and Patriotic Endeavors. Diana said that every year the DAR presents citizenship awards and scholarships to high school seniors.