Constitution week begins with celebration at the Gordon House

Members of the Elizabeth Crockett Daughters of the American Revolution, joined by the Sons of the American Revolution and volunteers, invite the public to join them for Constitution Day, Sept. 17 falling this year on a Tuesday. The day is set aside to commemorate the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States.

On Sept. 17, 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention met for the last time to sign the document they had created.

This year’s celebration of that historic event takes place at the Gordon House at 307 E. Pearl St. in Granbury. Beginning at 2 p.m., patriotic revelers will enjoy a celebration tea hosted by Kim Locus. This will be followed by children’s story time, presented by “Women of the Revolution” DAR members and volunteers, at 2:30 p.m. Both events require an RSVP to constitutioncamp@gmail.com.

Following the tea and story time, patriots will hear the proclamation, pledges and preamble at 3 p.m. Next is the ringing of the bells at precisely 4 p.m., where residents will ring hand-held bells to recognize the historic moment as bells are rung across the nation to remember the signing of the Constitution.

Residents who cannot attend the ceremony are encouraged to go outside and ring a bell wherever they are.

Though the ceremony is brief, bringing a folding chair is recommended for someone for whom standing may be difficult as no seating is provided.

“It’s great to live where we can share history and the story of our Constitution with the schools and community,” Peggy Purser Freeman, chairperson of Constitution week for DAR, said.

Constitution Day, which is a federal observance day, begins the start of Constitution Week. Local members of the DAR will be sharing about the constitution at Acton Elementary, John and Lyn Brawner Elementary, STEAM Academy at Mambrino and Oak Woods School during the week of Sept. 17-23.

The national DAR organization petitioned Congress to set aside this week and it was signed into law Aug. 2, 1956. The purpose of the week is to commemorate the history and importance of the constitution and to bring attention to how it still serves us today.

More information about Constitution Day and week can be found at dar.org and constitutionday.com.