The Canby Garden Club will partner with the local Veterans of Foreign Wars (V.F.W.) chapter to hang a new wreath at the Vietnam Memorial on Sunday, Nov. 10.
“We learned the history of the Blue Star Marker at a recent statewide garden club meeting,” said club President Katherine Leppek. “It turns out the National Federation of Garden Clubs is the organization that stepped up to honor veterans by purchasing and maintaining the memorial markers.”
Leppek said her club reached out to the VFW with an idea for a wreath. Local club member Diana Mark Sperber bought and decorated the wreath and Sperber’s husband Mike had a stand fabricated at his Hot Beaver Press.
The business donated the materials and two employees, Jason Dutra and Fellix Chavez, welded the stand. Dutra is a veteran and Chavez is currently working on his citizenship.
The Blue Star was adopted because it had become an icon in World War II and was seen on flags and banners in homes for sons and daughters. The Garden Club added a Blue Star Highway system that covers thousands of miles across the United States. A Gold Star represented those who had lost their lives.