Three Holliston sisters are members of the first Children of the American Revolution Society in Massachusetts to be named one of the top three CAR societies in the nation by the National Society of Children of the American Revolution. Morgan (16), Reese and Taryn (12) Holmes belong to the Jack Russell Society of the Children of the American Revolution. In the spring, they attended the 2018 National Convention, where they were one of 17 societies to receive the Gold Merit Award (out of possible Gold, Blue, Red, Honorable Mention and Certificate of Participation). Of those gold societies, the top three are honored with a National Merit Award.
“Theirs is the first CAR society in Massachusetts ever that anybody has won this high – the best showing of any society in Massachusetts’ history,” says Jim Holmes, father of the three and member of the Sons of the American Revolution.
“I was pretty shocked,” said Morgan, who has served as President of the Massachusetts Children of the American Revolution and then as New England Regional Vice President for the organization. In total, Massachusetts has eight societies of Children of the American Revolution. There are 564 active CAR societies across the nation.
Jackie Holmes, the girls’ Mom and member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, added, “They’re a small society, and they were competing with gold societies that have more than 30 members.”
Morgan’s sister, Reese, said,
“I was very surprised, because we didn’t win any contests this year and I was kind of worried. When I heard our society name, it took a while to get up and register in my head.” Her twin sister, Taryn, was thrilled, and said, “We’re going to go for it again!”
Each year the National CAR president composes a packet of contests that challenge local societies to get active. What made the Jack Russell Society stand out, says Jackie Holmes, was is the members’ excitement for national project. The group raised money for “James Monroe Online,” a free online service that has transcripts of documents related to James Monroe to be available to the public for free,” says Jackie Holmes. In their effort, the children learned about the Louisiana purchase and literally toured many of the northern states where James Monroe made a mark. One of the projects the group did, along with member Sarah Borgatti, was a rap video about the Louisiana Purchase.
In addition to meeting the national project’s challenges and traveling to the historic sites, the local group helped local veterans in the Dressing of the Flags for Memorial Day, attended a pow wow in Framingham, and marched in three parades (two in Holliston),
Currently, Reese Holmes is president of the James Russell CAR Society, while Morgan is society registrar and Taryn is society chaplain. Morgan will be traveling with the National Board of the Children of the American Revolution this summer. The New England Regional group will meet in South Portland, Maine on June 26th and 27th.
“They had fun and joy in doing it,” says Jackie Holmes, who says the children’s enthusiasm must have been felt by the judges. “It wasn’t just one thing that did it,” she says.
Issue Date:
June, 2018
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