DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'm gonna tell it to you. Now, some organizations take root on the first try. Others, well, they need a second chance to prove themselves.
The story of Port Lavaca's Eastern Star chapter is that second kind of story, and it's worth telling right. The first Port Lavaca Chapter of the Eastern Star, No. 171, got its start in 1894. It ran for five years, and then it was done.
Gone. Whether that felt like a defeat at the time, we can't say. But here's what we do know: the idea didn't die with it.
On May 10, 1907, a second dispensation was constituted, and Port Lavaca Chapter No. 373 came into being. Now, here's the part that gives you a little chill if you think about it. Among those 13 charter members who signed on to this new chapter, some of them were veterans of the original one.
The very people who had watched No. 171 fold up and go quiet came back, put their names down, and said: let's try this again. Bertie Best stepped into the role of first worthy matron, leading that new organization from the very beginning. And as the chapter grew across the years, its members made their mark beyond Port Lavaca too.
Annie Leggett rose to serve as Deputy Grand Matron of the Grand Chapter of Texas, which is about as high as the reach of a chapter's influence can go. All along the way, the organization led in the support of numerous charities and benevolences. That marker was put up in 1986, the year of the Texas Sesquicentennial, celebrating 1836 to 1986.
A fitting year to look back at the long, patient work of people who believed something worth doing was worth doing twice.
What the marker says
The first Port Lavaca Chapter of the Eastern Star, No. 171, began in 1894, but ended 5 years later. On May 10, 1907, a second dispensation was constituted for Port Lavaca Chapter No.373. Members of the earlier chapter were among the 13 charter members of the new group. Bertie Best served as the first worthy matron. A later member, Annie Leggett, served as Deputy Grand Matron of the Grand Chapter of Texas. Over the years, this organization has led in the support of numerous charities and benevolences. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986