[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 22956]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO LADIES OF THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC NATIONAL PRESIDENT 
                             BARBARA KNOPKE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Saturday, September 27, 2008

  Mr. MOORE of Kansas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Barbara Knopke, who elected to the office of National President of the 
Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic (LGAR) at their National 
Encampment in Peabody, MA, and installed on August 9, 2008. President 
Knopke has been instrumental in the Department of Kansas maintaining 
its vitality.
  Barb Knopke joined the LGAR in 2001. Recently, she, along with her 
daughter, Jennifer Knopke, were the driving force in organizing the new 
Ercelle Speaks Circle in Johnson County, KS, to which she now belongs. 
She held various positions within the Emma Edmond Circle and Department 
of Kansas. Barb has a great love for genealogy and has done extensive 
research on both her husband's and her heritage. She has direct lines 
going back to colonial times and has had direct ancestors who 
participated in all wars and conflicts except WWI and the Korean 
Conflict. Her great-great grandfather, George Washington Dittemore, 
served during the Civil War as a private in Company A, 13th Kansas 
Infantry, from 1862-65. Another great-great grandfather, Frederick 
Samuel Moser, also served as a private in Company C, 13th Kansas 
Infantry, during the same period.
  President Knopke was born and bred on Long Island, NY, but has called 
Kansas her home since 1981. She states that, ``I feel blessed with my 
wonderful husband, Jim, who is a member of the SUVCW, and our daughter, 
Jennifer, who is also a member of LGAR.'' She is also active in the 
Daughters of the American Revolution: ``I am in awe of my heritage and 
what my ancestors achieved. I feel it is my duty to keep their memory 
and that of all patriots of this great country alive.'' Barb is the 
wife of Department of Kansas Junior Vice Department Commander Jim 
Knopke, PDC.
  The Ladies of the G.A.R. is the oldest Women's hereditary 
organization in the United States. We are one of the five groups in the 
allied orders; the others being the Sons of the Union Veterans of the 
Civil War, The Daughters of the Union Veterans of the Civil War, the 
Women's Relief Corp and the Auxiliary to the Sons of the Union Veterans 
of the Civil War. The Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic was 
charted by the Congress of the United States under Public Law 86-47 in 
1959, and remains dedicated to their mission today and we remain a 
national nonprofit organization deeply rooted in history. The Kansas 
Department was formed in 1885 and today we have a circle that 
celebrated its 113th birthday this July. There are very few that are 
older today.
  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to pay tribute 
to Barb Knopke, and I know that all Members of this House join with me 
in commending her for her election to this prestigious position.

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