Veterans Day key to nomination
By Bobbi Mlynar
Originally published 01:00 p.m., September 10, 2009
Updated 01:34 p.m., September 10, 2009
Emporia is in as a finalist in the “8 Wonders of Kansas Customs” contest sponsored by the Kansas Sampler Foundation.
The custom nominated as a potential Wonder is the city’s creation and ongoing celebration of Veterans Day.
The national holiday that had been called Armistice Day was changed to Veterans Day more than 50 years ago because of the efforts of an Emporia shoemaker and a U.S. Representative who also was from Emporia.
The announcement that the city would be one of 24 finalists in the competition was made today at the Kansas Sampler Center near Inman and was to be announced live online this afternoon at www.8wonders.org. The finalists were chosen from nominations submitted by the public.
Convention and Visitors Bureau Service Coordinator Susan Rathke was scheduled to be in Inman for today’s announcement.
Emporia’s nomination for the honor was submitted by Rathke, who gathered Veterans Day materials and information, and wrote the application for consideration.
The top eight vote-getters will be announced as the 8 Wonders of Custom by the end of October, according to information from Marci Penner, executive director of the Kansas Sampler Foundation.
“Veterans Day is promoted across the nation but no town can be more proud of that custom than Emporia,” Penner said. “I hope this contest helps the world know how Veterans Day had its start in Emporia.”
Rathke’s nomination recounted the sequence of events that changed Armistice Day to Veterans Day, and illustrated the tributes the city displays in honor of veterans.
The story began with the death of John E. Cooper, the nephew of shoe repairman Alvin J. (Al) King and his wife, Gertrude.
The couple had helped raise Cooper, who was serving in the Third U.S. Army in Germany when he was killed in action on Dec. 20, 1944.
“Grief over the young man’s death started King looking for a way to honor not only his nephew but all veterans who fight during wars and serve during peace,” Rathke’s application stated.
“King began his campaign to change an existing national holiday, Armistice Day, to Veterans Day. He gained support from U.S. Representative Ed Rees of Emporia, who agreed to take King’s idea to Washington, D.C.”
Congress supported and passed Rees’ proposal and the bill to establish Veterans Day as a national holiday was signed by another Kansan, President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The nation held its first Veterans Day on Nov. 11, 1954, while Emporia already had celebrated its first Veterans Day in 1953.
On Oct. 31, 2003, Congress declared Emporia as the official Founding City of Veterans Day, the application stated.
“Former Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Liz Martell and the All Veterans Tribute committee did the bulk of the work to gain Emporia this designation,” Rathke wrote.
“It’s now part of school curriculum to have students participate in a Veterans Day essay and poster contest. Local veterans present educational programs in area schools. The designation brings more visitors to Emporia and has raised the level of pride by citizens.”
New highway signs proclaiming Emporia’s founding-city designation are to be unveiled during this year’s Veterans Day tribute. They are the result of a drive organized by Jesse Solis to purchase and install signs at the city’s entrances.
Rathke included in her application the various memorials located in the city that also pay tribute to veterans. They are:
• All Veterans Memorial, 933 S. Commercial St., dedicated on May 26, 1991. It is the first memorial in the nation to honor veterans from all wars, Rathke wrote. The memorial features a World War II Sherman Army Tank, a memorial to one of Emporia’s Purple Heart recipients, Sgt. Grant Timmerman, a Vietnam Veterans memorial with a Huey helicopter, a Purple Heart memorial, and the ship’s bell from the USS Emporia. In November 2003, a monument was dedicated in honor of military servicemen and women from the country’s latest wars, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Civil War Veterans Monument, Fremont Park, Fourth Avenue and Union Street, just north of the railroad tracks. Wording on the monument includes, “Lest We Forget, erected by W.R.G. No. 70 ad Citizens of Emporia, To Our Silent Victors, In Memory of Our Nation’s Heroes.”
• Civil War Veterans Monument, Maplewood and Memorial Lawn Cemeteries, 2000 Prairie St. The memorial features two cannons on each side of a flagstaff. It was dedicated on Memorial Day in 1918 by the Grand Army of the Republic.
• Hispanic American World War II Veterans Memorial, St. Catherine’s Church, 205 S. Lawrence St. It was rededicated in 2005 for the Mexican-American veterans who fought and died in World War II. Jesse Solis, who led a drive to install Braille flags around the city, this year placed one of the flags at the St. Catherine’s site. Landscaping and another monument containing the names of the veterans are to be added in the future.
• Spanish-American War Memorial, Peter Pan Park, west of the ball diamond parking lot at South Congress and Aspen Drive. The memorial is nestled among the trees and flanked by two rock benches.
• Veterans Hall of Honor, Emporia State University, Memorial Student Union, open Mondays through Fridays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. The Memorial Union stands in tribute to students and alumni who fought and/or died in armed conflicts throughout the world. The Veterans Hall of Honor is located on the second floor of the building.
• A mural dedicated to veterans is painted on the side of a two-story building on the southwest corner of Commercial Street and Eleventh Avenue.
Educating the public about Kansas and encouraging travel in the state is the purpose of the 8 Wonders series organized by the non-profit Kansas Sampler Foundation.
The overall 8 Wonders and contests for Architecture, Art, Commerce and Cuisine have been completed. The culture categories that will be selected in future votes are geography, history and people.
The Emma Chase Cafe in Cottonwood Falls also is a nominee for the 8 Wonders of Kansas in the Bringing Musicians together category. For a decade the cafe has held a jam session on Friday evenings at the cafe in Cottonwood Falls. For more on the Emma Chase's nomination see Friday's Gazette.
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
This is not so much for Emporia as it is for our Veterans. As a Vietnam veteran, I can truely tell you there are more serious problems in life than financial ones, and I've been broke before, and will be again. Heartbroke from a fallen solider--That's serious. Lose a few bucks? That's not. If it were not for little jokes, many veterans would not be able to bear the burdens of this life. Thank you Susan Rathke for your efforts. One last thought--A good message seems to always find a good messenger.
September 10, 2009 at 11:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )