Donations help Veterans with their needs
TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
The Members of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 1638 and Auxiliary will distribute Buddy Poppies at locations around Merrill beginning the week of May 22-May 31. Mayor Derek Woellner signed a City of Merrill Proclamation dedicating the week as the annual Buddy Poppy Campaign. Veterans and Auxiliary members will be distributing Buddy Poppies, or you can find a display board with Buddy Poppies and information and instructions where you can take one and make a donation … at Westside Market, Dave’s County Market, First Street Coffee Station (at the Park City Credit Union location), and Jokin’ Joe’s Bait and Tackle. You can also stop by the “new” VFW Post, 601 Johnson Street, during normal business hours to pick up a Buddy Poppy.
The Buddy Poppy Kick Off will include a Scavenger Hunt on Saturday, May 22, at 1:00 p.m. at the VFW Post. Sign up at the Northwoods Veteran’s Post (NVP) prior to the event and get the rules. Cost is $10 for a team of two or $15 for a team of four. Prizes will be awarded for the most items found or discovered, and DJ Coyote Karaoke will provide entertainment at the NVP with the event going until 7:00 p.m.
All donations for Buddy Poppies go to benefit the needs of area veterans and are used to help disabled veterans and those veterans who are in some way in need, as well as the family members and orphans of deceased veterans. Services made possible through these donations are available to ALL needy veterans, active service members, and their families, not just those who are members of the VFW. Each year, hundreds of thousands of non-members get help with disability claims and are served in hospitals. Dropping a donation into a poppy canister locally enables contributions to the VFW National Home for children of deceased or disabled veterans at Eaton Rapids, Michigan; to the National VFW Rehabilitation Service in Washington, D.C.; and to the VFW Rehabilitation Service here in Wisconsin.
“What better way to help our veterans in the community than by distributing this little flower of remembrance,” said Auxiliary Senior Vice President Michele Rathke and past VFW Post 1638 All-American Post Commander. We encourage everyone in town to stop by the various locations and to take and wear a Buddy Poppy proudly, in remembrance of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, she said.
The significance of the Buddy Poppy
The Buddy Poppy was originally created in 1922 by Alice Smith, a florist in New Jersey who was passionate about remembering the many “buddies” who never returned home from the war. The poppy’s red color represents the blood American service members shed for our country, and the four petals represent dedication, sacrifice, responsibility, and compassion. The black represents the mud and desolation on the battlefield, while the green stem and foliage represent the fields and forests and the courage and determination of America’s fallen warriors. Assembled, the poppy produces a flower that is a symbol of “resurrection that is sure to follow.”
Later nicknamed “The Poppy Lady,” Smith shared her idea with the VFW, and the rest, as they say, is history. Together she and the VFW began distributing poppies in conjunction with Memorial Day, and the idea grew across the U.S. and is still going strong 99 years later. In fact, in 1923, a business in Pittsburgh was born, employing disabled and needy veterans to assemble the “Buddy Poppies.” Today, they are manufactured in multiple locations across the country.
This year’s campaign
The Co-Chairs for the 2021 campaign include Rathke, Denni Radloff (Ways and Means Chairman), Janet Tesch, and Auxiliary Member Jill Schmunk. Any member of the VFW Post 1638 or Auxiliary may call one of the Co-Chairs to sign up to help distribute Buddy Poppies at one of the locations.
For further information about the Buddy Poppy Campaign or to make a donation, call VFW Post Co-Chair Michele Rathke at 715.218.0440.
“We are looking forward to seeing everybody we possibly can and will be proud when the donations are counted up and sent out to help the needy,” Rathke said. “Please help the cause and thank you for your continued support.”