Longtime DAR member Holets honored
Mary Holets remembers the day she joined the Daughters of the American Revolution. Without hesitation, the 91-year-old resident of Carroll Township proudly proclaims Dec. 6, 1961, as the day she first became a DAR member.
“I joined primarily because my mother and two maternal aunts were members and were anxious to have younger women join,” she said.
Satisfying the requirement members be at least 18 years of age and able to document lineal, bloodline descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving American independence, Holets traces her genealogy back to the Revolution on her mother’s side.
“The Hargroves sold beef to the rebels, and the Winston branch of Hargroves is related to Patrick Henry,” she said with the charming Southern accent she’s retained from her early years as a resident of Richmond, Va., despite having lived in Southwestern Pennsylvania since 1955.
On her father’s side, she said the Brockenbroughs are equally distinguished to this day in Richmond society, but their involvement in the Revolution remains cloudy.
Once Holets joined the DAR, she decided to become actively involved in the organization founded in 1890. During her long 54-year commitment to DAR, she’s held a total of eight state and chapter offices, including that of Regent of the Mon Valley Chapter from 1989 to 1992. She also attended many state conferences, held at different sites across Pennsylvania, and attends almost every monthly chapter meeting..
“Going to the state conferences was a real pleasure,” she said. “I went to every one when I held office and continued afterward until my husband was physically unable to go with me.”
When asked to name the favorite project she worked on, she cites a number of restoration efforts to rejuvenate the Statue of the Madonna of the Trail near Beallsville.
“I was a member of the restoration committee for a number of years,” she said. “I also enjoyed my term as state corresponding secretary (from 1992 to 1995) and state pressbook chairman (from 1995 to 1998).”
To thank her for her many years of service, the Mon Valley Chapter honored her at its annual Flag Day luncheon and installation of officers at the Back Porch Restaurant in Speers on June 11. Vice Regent Leslie Yoder outlined Holets’ commitment to serving the goals of the DAR, and Regent Mica Van Fossen presented her with a beautiful corsage.
“I’ve known Mary for at least 25 years, both through the DAR and another lineage society – the Three Rivers Chapter of the Colonial Dames XVII Century,” said Nancy Racunas of Washington, a DAR member since 1976. “The first thing I noticed about her was her distinctive Southern accent. She’s a true Southern woman – so gracious, mannered, charming and graceful.”
Holets met her husband, Henry, while visiting a lifelong friend, Doris Bowman, who moved from Richmond to Pittsburgh shortly after graduating from high school. A student at what was then the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Bowman introduced her to fellow student and member of the school’s football team, Henry Holets.
The budding romance that developed had to be put on hold until Holets returned from active duty in the Army in World War II. Married July 21, 1945, the couple moved to Cincinnati soon after he got his army discharge in 1946.
After taking an industrial engineering position with U.S. Steel’s Donora Works, they moved to their home in Carroll Township in 1955, where Mrs. Holets, now widowed, continues to reside.
“The most important thing people should know about the DAR is that it’s the largest organization in the world totally supported by women,” she said. “It’s always been a patriotic organization with the motto of ‘God, Home and Country.’ In the past, we’ve helped immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, provided for the special needs of veterans, but more and more recently, we’ve emphasized helping out local communities.”
She said she feels that many people still see DAR as a formal group of women who wear hats and white gloves, but said things have changed and became less formal.
“I could never be an officer in today’s DAR,” she said. “It’s so computer-oriented, and I know nothing about computers. I’d be completely lost, but I’m still on the board as chapter parliamentarian.”