As Lora Gervais pulled several books from a stuffed book bag, she explained her fascination with history and tracing her family tree.

"I always knew I had deep roots in my heritage, although I never really delved into it until somehow I obtained a book that my great aunt on the Fairbanks side and the Iams side had put together in the ’70s before there were computers," she said, placing the book on a table in a quiet corner of the Hayden Lake Country Club.

"She did this all by hand and then I just started really looking through it and it really piqued my curiosity, of course," she said. "Then I started going on Ancestry.com and just comparing notes and a lot of times, Ancestry didn’t have what she had but sometimes she was off on things too. Then I was like, ‘Wow,' all of these names and how far they went back and all the and various societies that even (my great aunt) was in and my great-grandmother and my great-great grandmother ... my great-great-grandmother Warren was even in Colonial Dames."

One of the books she set on the table was "The Fairbanks House: A History of the Oldest Timber-Frame Building in New England" by Abbott Lowell Cummings.

It's not just a book about an old house — it's about the house her ancestors built around 1637.

Gervais was born into the fifth generation of a Terre Haute, Ind., family and has been in Kootenai County for 17 years. She's an all-American girl — the Fourth of July is her favorite holiday, she is passionate about serving her country and community, and she has an unwavering respect for and dedication to the colonists who bravely fought for American independence.

"I get choked up talking about it," she said. "It really is important."

Gervais and other local ladies who are in the Daughters of the American Revolution — a lineage-based society for women who descend from ancestors who were active in Revolutionary battles and events — have just breathed new life into the local chapter of the Colonial Dames of the 17th Century.

Like DAR, Colonial Dames is based on lineage, but its bloodlines reach to the very earliest days of the original colonies, before 1701. It's one more way for American women to celebrate their heritage and take pride in the feats of their ancestors. The Colonial Dames meets quarterly and may host a state conference in North Idaho in October to charter the organization.

On top of her Dames affiliation, Gervais is working on joining societies of Civil War, War of 1812, Jamestown and Mayflower descendants. And on a more modern note, Gervais does her part by staying active in politics and knowing what is happening in today's government. She is serving as a delegate for the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this week.

"I felt that was just so important in my heritage. I feel like I want to pass on a legacy to my children and my grandchildren, if I ever have them," Gervais said.

And she has plenty of secrets of the past to uncover as she continues to research her lineage.

"There usually is one genealogist every generation or every other generation," she said with a smile. "You will find that, even if you ask your family."

For information about Colonial Dames of the 17th century, contact membership secretary Louisa Durkin, 818-2442 or leory1@earthlink.net.

• • •

You're the vice president of the local chapter of the Colonial Dames of the 17th Century. Why is this group being resurrected?

"A lot of us are already in the Daughters of the American Revolution, so we all realized we could do this. Once you get into genealogy, you realize, 'I could get into this (society) and that one and that one.' It's very interesting, it's captivating to think how far and how deep your roots could go ... If you're in DAR, typically you can get into this, so we started looking into it and realized there used to be one in Coeur d'Alene but it fizzled out in 1980. So rather than just starting a brand new society, we looked into how we could potentially reinstate. We had to go through the national society and ask them. Everything is through bylaws and things like that. They have a national convention where they vote on everything so we had to do it just the way they wanted it."

You've also been a member of DAR since 2009. Why do you think it's important that we recognize our American heritage?

"Because America is losing sight, currently, of what it all means."

Are there one or two things that you've discovered that really surprised you in your research about your family?

"There's so much. I guess knowing I go back as far as Charlemagne, which, to tell you the truth, you all probably do too. A lot of the people, 70 percent of the people, are a descendant of Charlemagne and they don't know it ... For the most part, if you descend from Charlemagne, typically you go into various royalty and nobility at that time. I just thought it was interesting. I researched my husband's lines, too. Once you get on Ancestry(.com) or any of the genealogical websites, it's addicting. Sometimes I'll be on for hours, especially in the winter on a rainy day, I'm just on there, 'Oh my gosh, I found another king,' and then I find things on my husband too, and he's a majority of King Robert the Bruce. Of course all guys want Robert the Bruce, Scottish nobility. We do go into some of the same lines and some of the same ancestors, which we found interesting. It's interesting when you realize how many people to whom you are related."

You're also the vice president of the Kootenai County Reagan Republicans and a delegate for the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. How are you feeling about representing Idaho on a national stage?

"Honored. I am certainly excited. Sometimes it's overwhelming to realize the responsibility that is on you. It's challenging."

What do you hope to accomplish while there?

"To ensure a Constitutional conservative becomes our Republican nominee."

Looking at our history and where we are now, what are your hopes for the future of our country?

"To bring back our Constitution. Politics and the government lately seemed to have abandoned our Constitution and if we don't hold true and dear to our Constitution, America as we know it is no longer."

If there was one thing that you wish was different about our country, what would you change?

"It falls back to the Constitution. If people would remember from where we came and not lose sight of that, it's so important."

If you could go back in time, who would you most enjoy visiting with? What would you want to talk to them about?

"My great-grandmother Helen Fairbanks. The more I find out about her, the more I realize I have so much in common with her ... I would like to talk to her about our heritage and also politics because it seems that we have the same things in common with that. I did know her, I met her, I was probably 10 when she died, but she'd already had a stroke and she wasn't really competent. I find that I even look like her lately. I have pictures of all of my ancestors too, which I maybe should have brought (laughs)."

Looking back on all the research you've done and forward to the secrets you have yet to discover, what's the fulfillment you get from knowing your lineage?

"To pass it down as a legacy, to pass it down to future generations. I'll tell my sons, and they say, 'OK, yeah Mom, that's cool,' but I think deep down they really like it. I say, 'James and Geoff, you have to start paying attention to this,' and they say, 'Why do we need to Mom when you're the one doing it?'" (laughs) Whenever they have children they might take a better approach to it."

Do you have any advice for people who want to start researching their family histories?

"At the Hayden Library, there are genealogists who actually are involved in our DAR and our Colonial Dames that are so happy to help you. Ancestry.com, everybody knows about it, it's on all of these genealogical television shows nowadays too. But there are other genealogical websites that one may delve into, or maybe some even would feel are more thorough or accurate. It's up to you, you just have to start doing the research. You would be amazed at the things you will find."