The room had a certain energy to it. People talking, catching up, smiling. It didn’t feel like just another event.
Lisa Parks was right in the middle of it, making sure everything ran the way it should. As Missouri State Regent for the Daughters of the American Revolution, she knows how important the details are.
“There’s a lot of protocol,” Parks said. “You want to make sure it’s done right.”
This event mattered. The new First Ladies Chapter in Marshfield hosted it, and the turnout showed just how much. People came from all over Missouri, some driving hours, all tied together by a shared connection to history.
That’s really what DAR is built on. Members trace their family lines back to those who supported the American Revolution. For Parks, it’s something she’s been part of since 2007, starting at the local level and working her way up.
“It’s about knowing where you come from,” she said.
The day also brought in some unique guests. One of them was Ulysses Grant Dietz, a great-great-grandson of President Ulysses S. Grant.
He’s been coming to Marshfield for about a decade now.
“I look forward to it every year,” he said.
Dietz said events like this give people a different way to connect with history. Not just reading it, but hearing it, talking about it, and seeing how it still connects today.
A retired museum curator, he’s comfortable telling those stories. But he admits his own connection to history didn’t really sink in until later in life.
“I didn’t grow up talking about it,” he said.
That changed over time, especially after getting involved in efforts to preserve Grant’s Tomb in New York. From there, his interest deepened.
These days, he travels and speaks when invited, helping keep those stories alive.
Back in Marshfield, that fits right in.
The festival isn’t just about the setting. It’s about the people. The stories. And the chance to see history as something still very much alive.
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