Unit 109 Names Poppy Poster Winners

In time for National Poppy Day, which was Friday, May 26, five Turner Public School (TPS) students were announced as 2023 Poppy Poster winners last month. American Legion Auxiliary (ALA), Unit 109 of Turner selected Isley Welsh, Gracie Zellmer, Savannah Heilig, Holly Grabofsky, and Meridian Snider as Unit honorees.

Every year, the ALA sponsors a Poppy Poster Contest for students in grades 2-12, including students with special needs. Grade levels are divided into six classes with one winner being named in each category.

With the Poppy Poster contest, students showcase their artistic talents using the poppy as a central theme. The art can be presented with tempera, water colors, crayons, oil paint, handmade paper cutouts, ink or cut textures, pencils, acrylics or markers; however, no computer graphics are eligible.

In judging the posters, a committee typically uses a scale to determine the poster's appeal based on its layout, message, and originality; the artistic ability portrayed in terms of design and color; and the piece's aesthetic appeal and neatness.

In Class I (grades 2 and 3), third grader Isley Welsh was named the winner, while fifth grader Gracie Zellmer won in the Class II category (grades 4 and 5) and sixth grader Savannah Heilig took the prize for Class III (grades 6 and 7). Eighth grader Holly Grabofsky was the Class IV winner, while Sophomore Meridian Snider captured the top honors in Class V. TPS did not have any entries from Class VI or Class VII.

A vital part of the publicity of the program encourages students to better know the origin and purpose of the poppy, which was first chosen as the American Legion's memorial flower at the 1921 National Convention and was worn in memory of those who lost their lives in World War I.

According to literature published by the American Legion, from 1914 to November 11, 1918, Europe was an area of death and destruction. Hundreds of military personnel labored to restore peace and liberty to subjected peoples. Although many lost their lives in the process, "one bright color on the shell torn fields and hills of these war-torn areas was the red poppy. On the edges of the trenches, in the ragged shell holes, brave little poppies grew and bloomed on the graves of those men buried in the sacred plots of French soil, which was Flanders Field."

Upon returning to American soil, many remembered the cheery red flowers. As a result, the poppy became the symbol of the memorial flower of those who had died. It became the sign that the high ideals for which these brave individuals gave their lives, still live and deserve honor. Each year, prior to Memorial Day, millions of Americans wear red poppies in memory of those who have died in all wars.