On October 5th, 12 men were given a Quilt of Valor to thank them for their service to our country. Vernice Engelken, coordinator for the event, asked me to cover the ceremony for the Messenger, and I was honored to be a part of it.
Vernice found out about the Quilt of Valor organization a few years ago when she was invited to go to join a ceremony honoring one of her relatives, and it touched her heart, so she decided to take it upon herself to do the same for the veterans of Dodge Center. Last year was the first time she organized an event like this, and it was so well received, she decided to do it again this year. She is in charge of the time, place, donations to make it happen, entertainment and food!
She received so many donations from local individuals and businesses. HammerQ BBQ smoked the pork donated by Sunshine Foods, and Omars Catering furnished the salads. The West Concord Ladies Auxiliary of the American Legion Post 295 donated dozens of homemade doughnuts, and monetary donations were received from Sunshine Foods, Thrivent, National Fleet Graphics and McNeilus. Thank you to everyone who helped make this day special!
I was also privileged to meet a few of the active members of the Quilt of Valor seamstresses. I found out they meet monthly on the 2nd Thursday of each month, at 1:30 at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Rochester to discuss the nominations, and plans for the quilts being made not only by their group, but by people from all over the country. Anyone interested can sit in or join the group. Any veteran with an honorable discharge, or active duty service persons can be nominated. Marie Wilson is the group leader, and one of the ladies who began the group in S.E. Minnesota in 2018. Other members present were Mary Pyfferoen, Kathy McMullin and Nancy Zimmerman, along with "honorary member" Clint Wilson, who helps with everything but the sewing!
"The Dodge Center American Legion has been very generous to us," said Mary Wilson. "Not only with donations, but letting us use their space for these occasions." Most of the donations given by anyone are used to purchase batting for the quilts. The women sew the quilts at home, and put them together as a group. White Horse Quilters from Iron Springs Christian Ranch, and individual quilters donate their finished quilts to the chapters around the country who gift them to our deserving veterans. So far, the S.E. Chapter of Quilts of Valor have given out 227 quilts since they began this project in 2018!
This year, 12 veterans were given a quilt. As the vets and their families entered the room, you could feel the pride they had in their family member being honored. The quilts are an expression of gratitude for their time in the military. Jean Bartel accompanied Richard Staub to the meeting. Richard served in WW2 and is 101 years young! I thanked him for his service, and took a few pictures of him and all the men there. The men honored were as follows:
Richard Staub Army 1944-1946
Richard Bennerotte Army 1971-1972
Arlen Scherger Army 1968 - 1970
Randy Lennon Army 1969-1970
Robert hadler Army 1962-1970
Mike Anderson Army 1971-1973
Robert Christianson Airforce 1968-1972
Richard Highum Airforce 1965-1969
Edgar Adams Airforce 1960-1964
Tom Bowman Army 1971-1972
Wayne McColley Navy 1964-1967
Dave Livingston Airforce 1961-1965
Lloyd Rhower Army-Korea 1951 -1953 will be honored on October 12th at 2 pm at Circle Manor, West Concord, Highway 56, if you would like to join them in gifting him his quilt.
As people were congregating and finding their seats, a tribute in song from Sister Luv, a quartet (minus one who was ill) sang songs starting with the Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy From Company B. We ate while we listened to the entertainment, and then began the ceremony with the pledge of allegiance, and a prayer. The names of our guest veterans were called one by one, and a short introduction to each was made as the quilts were wrapped around them like a hug of gratitude for their service. It was a very touching ceremony, and I witnessed many tears of pride and joy. The quilt is meant to say, "Thanks for your service, sacrifice and valor in serving our nation."
If you have a veteran who deserves a quilt, contact Vernice at 507-374-2163.
