In the Potawatomi language, midewin (pronounced Mih-Day-win) means “the healing grasses.” Fields of grasses and prairies were in abundance when the American Indians inhabited the prairie.
Our chapter is one of over 100 Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) chapters in the state of Illinois.
The DAR is a non-profit, non-political volunteer women's service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing America's future through better education.
The Midewin Prairie Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, was organized on November 16, 1996, with fifteen charter members. We are located in the area adjacent to the nation's designated “tall grass prairie.”
A bill to create the Midewin National Tall Grass Prairie was signed by President Bill Clinton on February 10, 1996. This action transferred almost 19,000 acres of land formally controlled by the Joliet Arsenal to the United States Forest Service.
The name Midewin Prairie was chosen because plans called for the restoration of this land (thus healed) to conditions similar to those present in the early 1800s.
Although a young chapter, the Midewin Prairie Chapter has always supported the National Society objectives: to promote historical preservation, education, and patriotism. Chapter members are true to our national motto: God, Home, and Country.
| Regent | Stacy Plese |
| Vice Regent | Ellen Silkey |
| Chaplain | Sharon Willson |
| Recording Secretary | Edna Droz |
| Treasurer | Barbara Rossi |
| Registrar | Rebecca Sipple |
| Historian/Librarian | Ellen Silkey |
Member Serving the National Society | |
| VAVS Advisory Committee Deputy Representative | Sharon Martin Willson |
Midewin Prairie Chapter continues to focus on service to veterans. Our members are on advisory and support committees for the Manteno Veterans Home.
Meetings are held the second Saturday of the month unless otherwise stated.
| September 10, 2022 | CONSTITUTION The writing of the Constitution through Abagail Adams’s eyes Presented by Roberta Neumann |
| October 8, 2022 | AMERICAN INDIANS Native Americans aiding the British in the Revolutionary War Presented by Edna Droz |
| November 12, 2022 | HISTORICAL The Poppy Lady Presented by Sharon Willson |
| December 10, 2022 | CITIZENSHIP DAR Good Citizen Essays |
| February 12, 2023 | HISTORICAL How Do You Connect with the Founding of Our Country? Presented by Susan Snow, Illinois State Organization District IV Director |
| March 11, 2023 | WOMEN’S ISSUES We the Women — the fight for the ERA Presented by Carol Frazier |
| April 15, 2023 | CONSERVATION Audubon The Pioneer American Naturalist Presented by Stacey Plese |
| May 13, 2023 | HISTORICAL & NATIONAL DEFENSE My Grandmother’s DAR Presented by State Regent Debra Ross Coe Wreath Laying at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery Flag presentation Wesley Honor Roll |
Balliet, Leonard
Beck, George
Bugh, Peter
Cody, Joseph
Crandall, Peter
Garrison, Richard
Henry, John
Koons, Nicholas
McConkey, Daniel
Moore, John
Ogilvie, Kimbrough Tinsley
Pratt, Samuel
Quigley, Isaac
Riddle, James
Roll, Isaac
Sherer, John Jacob
Simpson, William
Smith, Frederick
Stebbins, Abner Sr.
Swift, John
Toney, Jesse
VanCleave, William
Walker, Gabriel
Waugh, Joseph
