In celebration of Women's History Month, the Harrisburg Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) honored the late Dr. Ruth Matilda Freyberger, who resided in the local area.
Freyberger was born in Lancaster on Nov. 15, 1912. According to the Harrisburg Chapter of the DAR, Freyberger was the first woman to receive a doctorate in art education from Penn State. She taught in New Holland, Huntingdon, and Hershey and eventually was a professor at Illinois State University for 31 years until her retirement in 1983. Freyberger continued to focus on art education with her legacies, specifically children's art education, with endowments to include the Freyberger Gallery of Art at Penn State University - Berks County Campus and the Freyberger Children's Art Collection at Boise State University in Idaho.
On March 14, the Harrisburg Chapter of the DAR presented the award for Freyberger for Women in American History, with the assistance of Margaret Wasson, DAR Harrisburg Chapter member, and Marilyn Fox, representative from the Freyberger Gallery at Penn State University - Berks County Campus. Fox provided an overview of Freyberger's life and what her legacy endowment has been able to provide to the art gallery and community, as well as how it has provided various educational opportunities.
The DAR was founded in 1890 with the mission of promoting historic preservation, education, and patriotism. The Harrisburg Chapter was founded in 1894 and aims to locally continue to preserve the legacies of the Founding Fathers and the patriots who fought for the independence of the United States of America. In May, the chapter will celebrate its 125th year and the launch of a chapter history including biographies of more than 60 Revolutionary War patriots.
For additional information, readers may contact Jennifer Stratton at jennifer.m.stratton@outlook.com or visit http://www.harrisburgdar.org.
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