Mayor Jim Auxer signs the proclamation for Constitution Week with DAR members Connie Clonch and Patricia Toffling. Courtesy photo

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Mayor Jim Auxer recently signed a proclamation declaring Constitution Week as Sept. 17-23, 2023, and that Sept. 17 marked the 236th anniversary of the drafting of the Constitution of the United States of America by the Constitutional Convention.

To commemorate the week-long observance, members of the Pack Horse Ford Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution distributed booklets of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence to Jefferson County schools. Students were given the booklets to take home and to share with their families. The preamble and several notable signers of the Constitution are on display in the window of Dickinson and Wait Craft Gallery in Shepherdstown.

Members on the Constitution Committee included Connie Clonch, chair; Susan Benson; Tara Fritz; Ann Hunter; Judi Yost; Amy Elmore; Meredith Wait; and Patricia Toffling.

September 17 is designated as Constitution Day and commemorates the signing of the U.S. Constitution by 39 courageous men on Sept. 17, 1787. A few of the well-known “Founding Fathers” include George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.