It was Lisa Wood Shapiro’s first time at a Daughters of the American Revolution meeting, which is not surprising, considering that the 34-year-old was reared on Hebrew school, Jewish sleep-away camps and Young Judea.

"I had wrongly assumed that because I was Jewish, I couldn’t join," said the 5-foot-9 blonde.

In order to join the D.A.R., a woman needs to prove lineal bloodline descent from a patriot of the American Revolution. Notable members have included Clara Barton, Grandma Moses, Susan B. Anthony and almost all the First Ladies of the land, including, in recent times, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush and Laura Bush (but not Hillary Clinton).

After doing some genealogical research, Ms. Shapiro, author of the upcoming memoir How My Breasts Saved the World: Misadventures of a Nursing Mother, learned that she qualified for D.A.R. membership on both sides of her family tree.

The chapter’s temporary regent, Lisa Brown, a very pregnant woman in her 30’s wearing a headband and smock dress, called the meeting to order. The group rose to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and then a D.A.R. oath, "The American’s Creed," which was written in 1919 by William Tyler Page, a clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. It goes like this:

"I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect Union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes. I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it; to support its Constitution; to obey its laws; to respect its flag; and to defend it against all enemies."

While a few ladies of a certain age were in attendance, the meeting’s most vocal members were women in their early 30’s who worked in new media, publishing and film.

"I think the biggest misconception is that the D.A.R. is composed entirely of wealthy Episcopalian, Republican women, and that it’s some sort of faux aristocracy," said Molly Ker Hawn, 32, a past chapter regent who works in children’s publishing. "In fact, the majority of the members aren’t very wealthy. Goodness knows that I’m Catholic and half-Italian, and we didn’t have much money when I was growing up." In addition to the 30 D.A.R. pins displayed on the lapel of her black suit jacket, Ms. Hawn wore a diamond cross around her neck.

Thanks in large part to Ms. Hawn’s determination to revamp the D.A.R.’s stodgy image, the Peter Minuit Chapter has attracted a younger, more diverse generation of women. The chapter now has more than 100 members, nearly a 400 percent increase since January 2000. Thirty-five percent are under 40; Meredith Roscoe, an investment banker who is taking over as chapter regent from Ms. Brown, is 27. The dues for the chapter are negligible: $37 a year.

"Membership is shrinking since the majority of our members are quite old," said Ms. Hawn, who heads the membership committee. "To keep the organization going, we’ve got to bring in younger women. The only way to remain viable is for people to understand that we welcome people of all races and religions."

It’s a radical notion for the D.A.R., which for many years was etched into the American consciousness as a right-wing organization comprised of blue-blood dowagers who opposed the United Nations, the Peace Corps, UNICEF Christmas cards, rock ’n’ roll, water fluoridization and integration, and who refused to let Marian Anderson and later Joan Baez perform at Constitution Hall, the D.A.R.’s landmark concert hall in Washington, D.C.

"People assume that when you say you can trace your heritage back to the 18th century, you mean you can trace yourself back to someone very important," said Ms. Hawn. "I come from a long line of Pennsylvania peasants who kept good records, but not one of them did anything important. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having pride in your particular heritage. It’s the same reason I’m a member of the National Organization of Italian American Women."

The group’s objectives have remained consistent since it was founded in 1890: to promote historic preservation, education and patriotism. In addition to raising money for D.A.R.-sponsored schools and scholarship funds, they publish the D.A.R. Manual for Citizenship and a pamphlet about the flag code.

"Suddenly, after 9/11, patriotism was cool again, when the D.A.R. was patriotic from the get-go. People were suddenly wondering, ‘Where do you get flags, and how do you hang them properly?’" said Ms. Hawn, who is also a member of the Junior League of Brooklyn.

Although 9/11 made it more acceptable for liberal downtowners to express patriotism, the D.A.R. is still far from cool.

"It may be hip in the way rodeo is hip or a cotillion is hip, by virtue of its antiquity and retro-wow, but you’re never going to change the essential tradition of it," said writer and former stripper Lily Burana, author of Strip City: A Stripper’s Farewell Journey Across America. Although her mother’s family has been in the country since the 1600’s, Ms. Burana said she never considered joining the D.A.R. until recently.

"I always thought, ‘Why on God’s green earth would we need an organization like that nowadays?’" said Ms. Burana, who’s working on her application. "It’s sort of a rebellion for a former punk-rock kid like me to join the D.A.R., but at some point in your life you reach this milestone of maturity where you think maybe the next level of development is about looking back at who the hell you are."

Ms. Hawn said her friends occasionally make fun of her for being in the D.A.R. "My husband teases me for owning white gloves, which we wear for receiving lines at formal events. But I make fun of him for going to Burning Man," she said.

The meeting closed with the induction of three new junior members, who were solemnly instructed, "As you wear the Insignia, may you be reminded that it is the emblem not only of the sacred heritage of your forefathers, but of the patriotic citizenship which you undertake as a member of the Society."

"Amen," the group declared in unison.

"The meeting gave me a great sense of naches, or joy. The inner patriot woke up in me. I don’t think I’ve done the Pledge of Allegiance in 25 years," said Ms. Shapiro. "There were aspects of the meeting that were part Saturday Night Live send-up and part Brownies meeting gone awry, but nobody took themselves too seriously." (A few days after the meeting, Ms. Shapiro put the finishing touches on her application—it can take quite a while, since applicants have to document their ancestors—just prior to heading out to a klezmer concert.)

Among the last of the women to stream out of the meeting was Jane Fulton, a district director for the D.A.R. in New York City. Ms. Fulton, who looks uncannily like the late Ruth Gordon, displayed a wicker handbag with an etching of the Boston Tea Party on top.

"I’m glad to see all these young people joining the D.A.R. We want our society to perpetuate," said Ms. Fulton. She added that there are many more professional women in the organization than when she joined in 1970.

"Times have changed," she said. "We used to meet on Thursdays, because it was maids’ day off."