A special page Just for Veterans
We hope everyone is having a wonderful and safe holiday, but please remember to take some time out to Honor our fallen Heros. Without their sacrifice we would not have the many freedoms we have come to take for granted. We must keep thier memory alive and instill in our children and our grandchildren why we have this Holidaay and why we Honor those who served.
Thank you to all our Veterans. Your service to our country is GREATLY APPRECIATED,
Today is a day to Honor our Veterans past and present. A day we set aside as a Nation to say Thank you to the many Men and Women who serveand have served in our Armed Forces. This is a great thing and I think we could be doing alot more for our Vets. Countless Vets are homeless, and many vets still struggle to get proper health care for injuries (physical as well as emotional) they got defending our country. They deserve much MUCH more. So please enjoy this day and reach out to those vets in your family and social circle and let them know that you appreciate them. And if your not already actively involved PLEASE GET INVOLVED….. There are many ways you can help through the many wonderful organizations out there You can also write your political leaders and let them know that Vets derserve quality health care and they should not be living on the streets…. It is up to all of us to change this. Below is a just a few links and there are many more people out there helping our Veterans.
A History of Veterans Day HERE
Some facts about Vetrans Day HERE
Some wonderful organizations
The D.A.V.
At last the big day had arrived and we wanted everything to be perfect. We rented a small canopy and chairs in case folks needs to get out of the weather.
And slowly the folks started to show up, including some visitors from out of town who were driving through at the time.
Now as more folks gahters in Monicals parking lot, it was time to get started. With the help of Glen Kaiser we were lucky enough to get some Legion volunteers who graciously came to Ceremoniously raise the new flag. While two men hoisted the flag the bugler played taps. Then each of the guest speakers spoke to the crowd about the importance of honoring our Veterans, Sheriff Doran shared a history of the bugle tune we know as Taps. Our Speakers were Les Mathews, Mayor Bill Ingold, Ford county Sheriff Mark Doran, and Congressman Shane Cultra. Special guests in the crowd included State Prosecuter Matt Fitton ( Now Judge Fitton), Police Chief Bob Bane and Sgt Yates, several State Police officers, Fire Chief Denny Kingren and crew, as well as 2 of Paxton’s mail carriers who are veterans themselves and also Dr. Jeff Reynolds and guest..This in addition to the familys that came out to show thier support.
On a special note, It must’ve been a special honor for Mayor Ingold, and Fire Chief Denny Kingren to take part in the rededication of the sign that thier mothers had created almost 20 years prior..
After removing the old sign and coming up with a new design, the idea was taken to Tommy at Signs and Designs in Paxton. New panels were purchased and the panel braces were repainted.
While Les Mathews and Mark Marshall repainted the panels and metal panel covers, Tommy began the hard task of putting on all the logo’s and lettering. All of the lettering, and logos’s were donated by Tommy. When all of this was done, it was time to put it all back together. Many volunteers helped out after work and on weekends until the sign was finished and ready for the Flag raisng ceremony on Veterans Day.
Next, The Flag Raing Ceremony
In 2009 after 20 years of Building, maintaining and rebuilding the Memorial sign, the Women’s club asked the Paxton city council if they were wililng to take over the sign as they were no longer able to do so. The city agreed to take the sign over but decided it was best to tear it down. Les Mathews, Heidi Mathews, andd Cynthia Moore informed the city that they would gladly take over the upkeep of the sign and also give it a facelift. At first the plan was t refurbish the existing sign.
It became apparent that we would not be able to fix the sign,the wood of the panels was to dry rotted in places so it was decided to get all new panels and start from scratch.
So at the next City Council meeting the new wording and design ideas were discussed and approved and then began the work of redoing the sign.
Next… The Rebuild and Flag ceremony…
Our Memorial sign has been a part of Paxton for 30 yrs. now and I feel certan it will be here for another 30 yrs. or more. Though the sign was originally made to honor our veterans, it was upgraded in 2009 to honor all our service men and women from the military as well as Police , Fire and Rescue. Our small way of showing our appreciaiton for all that these folks do for us each and every day.
Recently the sign has gotten another facelift. We installed New post and wood as well as new rope and flag. But firstwe had to Take the ssign panels down to get the old posts out and that was quite a job.
We had to get creative as well as do some cutting.
Next we had to get new posts and wood and get them all cut, drilled, and painted.
Now began the task of putting everything back together, and once again Denny kingren was there to help along with a few others.
And after quite an ordeal we got it finished just in time for Memeorial Day. In addition to Denny Kingren, Thank you to Heidi Mathews, Patricia Donohue and J. Wray for theirr help throughout the project.
