FARMINGTON – One hundred years ago, 46 women met in Farmington and formed the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Since those early days not a lot has changed, except the need to wear hats and gloves is over, said Joanne Page of the Colonial Daughter’s Chapter of Farmington. Now, some of the 60 members, ranging in age from 22 to 99, meet monthly to continue to preserve the memory and spirit of the patriots who achieved American independence.

The chapter will celebrate it’s 100th anniversary with an open house from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 28 in the South Dining Hall of the Student Center at the University of Maine at Farmington.

Exhibits and memorabilia will be displayed and at 1 p.m. models will participate in a “Vintage Bridal Show” presented by Norma Spurling of Bar Harbor. Thirty changes of dresses and hats will re-create the clothes of old fashioned weddings, she said.

Josh Hiltz will provide piano music.

The group’s charter was dated June 25, 1908, when at the first meeting an explanation of the role of DAR chapters was given. Along with marking places of historical interest, state and national groups also preserve historical artifacts, promote the study of national history and encourage patriotism, especially among schoolchildren.

The local chapter places flags on 51 patriots’ graves in 13 cemeteries before Memorial Day, Page said. They also hold an essay contest in the spring for graduating seniors. Monthly meetings feature a guest speaker whose topics, historical yet educational, center on anything patriotic, member Connie Hiltz added.

Women over 18 who can prove they are lineally descended from someone who aided in the cause of American Independence are eligible to join, according to DAR materials. A prospective member must provide documentation of her lineage, Page said.

“Sometimes it’s a puzzle to pull together and can be frustrating but don’t give up,” Page said, adding the local group has had 11 new members, one reinstated and five transfer into it since 2005. Several prospective members are working on their applications, she said.

One display planned for the June 28 celebration will highlight Elizabeth Dyar, one of three women who prepared and applied stains to white men to transform them into “Mohawk Indians” for the Boston Tea Party. Her husband was a leader of the “Indians” but Elizabeth has special significance to the Farmington DAR because the group received the deed to her burial plot in Freeman when the Kingfield DAR chapter dissolved in the 1960s.

One of Dyar’s children was the first settler in Freeman and she lived out her life there, Page said.

More information about DAR is available at www.dar.org