Flags to honor veterans this Memorial Day
By Ralph Pokorny
Nevada Daily Mail
The Flag Lady is gearing up for a busy week getting Nevada and Vernon County cemeteries ready for Memorial Day weekend.
Between now and Memorial Day Judy Knowles, volunteers from area 4-H clubs and local Vietnam veterans will put small American flags on several thousand veterans' graves in the county as well as about one-half of the light poles on Austin Boulevard.
"When people drive into town over Memorial Day they should look up. That is where the flags are," Knowles said.
This year the flags along Austin will stay up all summer until they are taken down around Veterans Day in November.
"We put over 1,000 flags in Newton Cemetery last year and I expect that number to go up this year," Knowles said.
"If you go to Newton you realize how many people fought in wars," she said.
They try to put flags on every veteran's grave, however, if they miss some there will be two rows of flags stuck in the ground near the entrance of each cemetery they cover to be used on any veteran's graves that were missed.
There are about 10,000 veterans buried in Vernon County dating back to the Civil War, she said.
That is more than in the three surrounding counties combined, she said.
The Milo 4-H will be working in Becket and Moore cemeteries; Sheldon 4-H will cover Sheldon, Donnagans Grove and Deepwood cemeteries.
Knowles said that Donnagans Grove cemetery has six Civil War vets buried in a common grave and Deepwood was the only cemetery in the area that would accept Black Civil War solders.
Vietnam vets will put flags on the graves in Newton Cemetery and Knowles said that she would be working on Click and Mt. Calvary cemeteries.
In addition to putting flags on veterans' graves Knowles, with the help of Charlie Baertschi, who owns Charlie's Electric, will put U.S. and POW/MIA flags on 140 of the light poles along Austin Boulevard.
"Charlie is going to help hang flags again. Last year we worked from midnight until dawn. This year there are more flags so it will take more time. It may take two days," Knowles said.
"Charlie's not even a vet and he donates his time and bucket truck to do this. He doesn't get paid anything," she said.
There are about 350 light poles on Austin Boulevard and Knowles plans to eventually put flags on each one.
"If you want to see what Austin will look like when it's finished take a look at the street at Cottey College," she said.
In that two-block area there are flags on every light pole.
She is also going to add to the bunting on the Austin Boulevard overpass.
Butch Spencer has volunteered to help hang the bunting on the overpass. This year Knowles plans to hang 60 to 70 feet of bunting on the overpass railing, however, she still has a long way to go since the overpass is 540 feet long.
Knowles has raised the money for the flags from the businesses along Austin Boulevard and other contributors. Each flag and its associated hardware that goes on a light pole costs $50.
This year the project was helped by an $1,800 matching grant from IMPACT Tourism, which oversees the use of the money from the city's motel tax.