By Kimberly Gasuras
CCN Reporter

BUCYRUS — Sue Adams is gearing up for the annual Poppy Days drive on Friday and Saturday.

This is the fifth year that Adams has overseen Poppy Days after learning the process from her mentor, Francis Ruth.

“I started out helping Francis and eventually took over. She was wonderful to work with and we all miss her so much,” Adams said of Ruth, who died in 2014.

National Poppy Days is sponsored by American Legion posts across the country, including Post No. 181 in Bucyrus.

“The women’s auxiliary is in charge of it,” Adams said.

Adams said volunteers, including residents of the Jericho House, will be handing out red Poppies from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Kroger and Carle’s Bratwurst and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Bucyrus Walmart location.

“People can give any size of a donation for a poppy. All of the proceeds from Poppy Days go to our veterans,” Adams said.

Adams said examples of things the donations have been used for in the past include bingo games and goody bags for veterans in local nursing homes and birthday and Christmas gifts for them.

Bucyrus Mayor Jeff Reser has proclaimed May 25 as Poppy Day in the city.

“I urge citizens of this community to recognize the merits of this cause by contributing generously to its support through the purchase and wearing of Buddy Poppies on May 25, the day set aside for the distribution of these symbols of appreciation for the sacrifices of our honored dead showing mute evidence of our gratitude to the men and women of this country who have risked their lives in defense of the freedoms that we continue to enjoy as American citizens,” said Reser in the Proclamation of Poppy Day.

Adams said the poppies are created by three poppy makers, two men and one woman, at the Veterans Home in Sandusky.

“We ordered 2,000 this year,” Adams said.

Quick Facts:

  • The red poppy came to symbolize the blood shed protecting Americans’ freedom following publication of the wartime poem “In Flanders Fields” written by Lt. Col. John McCrae, M.D., while serving on the front in WWI, to honor soldiers killed in battle.
  • The popularity of the red poppy as a memorial to those who sacrificed their lives in war began in November 1918 when Moina (pronounced mo-ee-na) Michael was so moved by Lt. Col. McCrae’s poem that she bought a bouquet of poppies on impulse – all that New York City’s Wanamaker’s Department Store had – and handed them to businessmen meeting at the New York YMCA where she worked. She asked them to wear the poppy as a tribute to the fallen.
  • WWI was over, but America’s sons would rest forever “in Flanders Fields.” Later, Moina would spearhead a campaign that resulted in the adoption of the poppy as the national symbol of sacrifice. In 1923, the poppy became the official flower of The American Legion Family in memory of soldiers who fought on the battlefields during WWI.
  • Last year, American Legion Auxiliary members raised more than $5.5 million from poppy donations, 100 percent of which was used exclusively to support active-duty military, veterans, and their families through the Auxiliary’s outreach program services.
  • Veterans handcraft the flowers with assistance from unpaid volunteers. The veterans not only earn a small wage, which helps to supplement their incomes and makes them feel more self-sufficient, but the physical and mental activity provides many therapeutic benefits for the veteran.
  • A veteran who devotes five to six hours per day assembling the red crepe paper poppies can make as many as 2,000 to 3,000 poppies in a week.
  • Volunteers do not sell poppies – they “distribute” them, with a request that the person receiving the poppy make a donation to the poppy fund to support the Auxiliary’s veteran outreach programs.
  • Founded in 1919 to support the work of The American Legion, the American Legion Auxiliary is recognized as the world’s largest women’s patriotic service organization. For more information, visit the American Legion Axillary website.