Statue to Be Restored in Texas

February 16, 2012

Soiree to help with statue repairs
By Heather Pilkington
Gainesville Daily Register
Feb 16, 2012

Gainesville — The Red River Rose Chapter No. 52 Order of the Confederate Rose and the Lee-Bourland Camp No. 1848 Sons of the Confederacy are hosting a Sweetheart Soiree at 6 p.m., Feb. 25 at the First State Bank Conference Center.

“The evening will include dinner, period music offered by Wes Hamilton of Abilene Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp and a silent auction,” said Angie Hare, president of the Red River Rose Chapter No. 52 Order of the Confederate Rose of Gainesville.

“This is not a ball,” Hare said. “It is a soiree, which is a dance that is not as large and formal as a ball. This is the first year to hold an event such as this,” Hare said.

She added the goal is to work in baby steps toward a ball of the magnitude of which was held in 1998, when the Red River Rose Chapter of the Order of the Confederate Rose held a Sweetheart Ball.

The ball was a “big deal and attended by more than 400 people,” she said. “It was a huge event.”

Hare said they are trying to start that tradition again, with the Sweetheart Soiree. But, the soiree serves two purposes, the second of which is that the proceeds will benefit the restoration efforts for the Confederate Memorial Statue in Leonard Park in Gainesville.

The Confederate Memorial Statue was erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The dedication ceremony was attended by hundreds and celebrated with a ball and parade, Hare said.

According to an original magazine article from the time of the unveiling, the memorial statue was erected in honor of the centennial birth of Jefferson Davis and was celebrated here in Gainesville by the unveiling of this monument by the Lou Dougherty Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy to honor the heroes from the South.

“It is a huge endeavor to try and restore the statue,” Hare said, adding the statue is missing a hand and the muskett.

“But the sisters of yesterday built it and its is our job as the sisters of today to restore it.”

The restoration of the monument is in conjunction with the 150 year anniversary of the Civil War, Hare said. “We are trying to bring this tradition back by starting off small with the Sweetheart Soiree.”

And,according to the invitation, “Period dress is favored but not required.”

“There will be just as many in everyday evening wear as those dressed in period attire,” Hare said.

It will blend with the flavor of the evening to have people dressed in that sort of attire, she added.

Advance tickets are $30 per person with a reservation deadline of noon Feb. 20.

For more information or to make a reservation call Angie Hare at (940) 634-9122.


http://www.gainesvilleregister.com/local/x960122867/Soiree-to-help-with-statue-repairs