Looking Glass Prairie Chapter NSDAR

O'Fallon, Illinois

Did You Know

DAR Headquarters
Due to its elegance and resemblance to the White House, many popular TV shows, movies, and documentaries have been filmed at the DAR's headquarters Memorial Continental Hall in Washington, D.C. The interior and exterior of Memorial Continental Hall have often been used as a stand-in for the real thing. Veep may have shown its final episode in May 2019, but DVDs of its episodes (and other TV shows) are still popular. Do you remember the dramatic opening scene of National Treasure? Filmed in front of our building in 2004.  The West Wing, a popular political drama in the early 2000s, filmed parts of many episodes at the DAR site.

Are you a fan of the TV show Jeopardy? Several of its special tournaments are filmed each year at the DAR's Constitution Hall. Several episodes of Who Do You Think You Are? have been filmed in the DAR Library. Just like actors Rob Lowe, Bill Paxton and Scott Foley, you too can visit DAR's library to do genealogy research.

The next time you re-watch National Treasurer, Parks and Recreation, The West Wing, and even the movie Salt starring Angelina Jolie, look closely to see our DAR headquarters in its 'starring' role.

Madonna of the Trail Monuments
Madonna of the Trail

There are 12 Madonna of the Trail monuments dedicated to the spirit of pioneer women. The monuments, commissioned by the DAR, are located in each of the 12 states along the National Old Trails Road, extending from Cumberland, Maryland, to Upland, California. They were dedicated in 1928 and 1929.

Sculptor August Leimbach of St. Louis, Missouri. created the design. He described his work:
"The idea I had when I modeled the design was this: The pioneer mother with her children was waiting for the father at her blockhouse in the wild West, for the father did not come home as he had promised. She, believing him in danger, put her little child in a blanket, grasped the gun and with the boy ran out in the field to look for the father."

"The gun is sketched from the gun of Daniel Boone, with his carvings on the shaft". "On the ground is prairie grass and cactus brushes, also arrow heads, and on one side in the shadows is a rattlesnake partly covered by grass".

"The bust is of an uncle of mine whose grandfather came over to this country from Germany and landed at a spot in Ohio where there were 6 to 8 houses. This place today is called Cleveland".

"When a school boy in the old country, the American history of the pioneer days made an impression on me. I often thought of those who had left the old home and all that was dear to them and had come to this country to find a field for their ambition. When I came to America I often saw these pioneer types, strong and brave and always prepared to protect themselves against any danger. Asked to make a sketch model of a monument of a woman of pioneer days, I was inspired by my own impression of these people I had met, and the Madonna of the Trail is the result".

The monuments are about 18 feet (5.5 m) high. The monument shown is located in Vandalia, Illinois.

Bronze Eagle Lectern
Members of the nonpartisan Inaugural Committee spotted DAR's bronze eagle lectern during a visit to DAR headquarters in 2005. They thought it would be perfect to use at the Presidential Inauguration luncheon, held following the oath of office ceremony. We agreed, and our cherished lectern was seen during the luncheon for President George W. Bush in 2005, President Barack Obama in 2009, and 2013, and President Donald W. Trump in 2017.

The lectern was presented to the DAR by the now-disbanded Rhode Island Flintlock and Powder Horn Chapter in 1905, as a pledge of "loyalty to the organization, and in the interest of purity, patriotism and peace." When asked why they would have to borrow a lectern from outside of the United States Capitol Building when it is so historic and elegant in its own right, the Inaugural Committee replied that, surprisingly, the Capitol does not have as nice a lectern as the DAR and they are so pleased to borrow our eagle lectern which better fits the importance of the occasion than the less attractive lecterns they had to use in the past.



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Last updated March 4, 2024.