I've been concentrating Remembrance Day as a Canadian formal stat holiday, but it is also Armistice Day in the U.S. And, though most Canadians don't seem to know this, ironically the poppy came to be popularized by a U.S. lady. I only ever see it in Commonwealth countries, but my father-in-law (who fought in the U.S. 17th Airborne in the Battle of the Bulge, under command of the British 8th Army) once told me that there are areas of the U.S. where the poppy is worn today. We went shopping on Saturday and all the Royal Canadian Legionaires and the Air Cadets were out with poppies, throughout the mall. About a third of those in church yesterday were wearing one (we went to Callingwood Park ward, instead of Spruce Grove ward, because our soon-to-be four-year-old granddaughter was giving a talk in Sacrament there).
Here's the story, as contained in today's "Social Studies" column by Michael Kesterton: Poppy Day creator In 1944, The New York Herald Tribune reported: "Miss Moina Michael, who originated Poppy Day in 1918 as a memorial to the World War dead, died [May 10] in a hospital after an illness of several months. She was 74 years old. Col. John McCrae's poem, "In Flanders Fields", gave Miss Michael the inspiration for the annual poppy sales, which spread to many nations...Miss Michael, a teacher, who was for 25 years on the University of Georgia* faculty, first read Col. McCrae's poem two days before the armistice in 1918. It touched her so deeply that she resolved to wear a poppy as a pledge toward fulfillment of Col. McCrae's ideals." In 1919, the newspaper adds, Miss Michael's poppy-wearing campaign proceeded informally, but in 1920 the plan was adopted by the national convention of the American Legion.zion-l *Ironically the post I gave a few days ago, with a link to the poem, was to a site at Emory University's English dept., which is also in Georgia. -- Marc A. Schindler Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada -- Gateway to the Boreal Parkland “Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on” – Winston Churchill Note: This communication represents the informal personal views of the author solely; its contents do not necessarily reflect those of the author’s employer, nor those of any organization with which the author may be associated. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ==^^=============================================================== This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aaP9AU.bWix1n.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^^===============================================================
