On November 20, the Eunice Sterling Chapter of the Wichita Daughters of the American Revolution, or DAR, came to Old Cowtown Museum for a community service day.

I was in contact with Mary Ayers, the Vice Regent of their chapter, who reached out to see if anything needed attention with our Munger House. Her chapter of the DAR had originally deeded the building to Cowtown in 1951. It was even one of the original four buildings of Cowtown.

Because of this history with the Munger House specifically, the DAR wanted to use their community service day to address any needs for the building. After some discussions, we decided the DAR group would provide two services. First, the group would make some new curtains for the house and hang them; the five windows on the main floor would now have new and matching curtains. Second, the flowerbeds needed addressing, so the DAR offered to purchase and plant flower bulbs; since Mrs. Munger liked peonies, this was the flower chosen.

Eight women arrived to execute this vision, along with two of their sons. Half of the women hung the new curtains while the rest cleared the beds and planted the flower bulbs. Additionally, a few women also helped clean the interior.

Once complete, the group conducted a short meeting and dedication ceremony.

For more information on the history of the Munger House and the DAR’s involvement in its rescue, the book The Munger House: A History of Wichita’s Oldest House is available in Cowtown’s gift shop.

*Special thanks to Anthony Horsch for his assistance in this project.