Golden Apple: Solway Elementary Honors Veterans With Breakfast Ceremony

Solway Elementary School wanted to get to know the veterans in their area, so they took the time to reach out and invite them to the school for a special Veteran’s Day breakfast ceremony.

“Solway Elementary is a small school and so we have not had a large Veteran’s Day program for a few years, but we decided this year that it’s important even though we’re a small school that we need to really bring our veterans in here,” says Tama Wesely, the principal for Solway Elementary School.

More than 15 vets from different generations and different branches of the military took part in the program. Once everyone had finished eating, the ceremony began. It started with two of the veterans being randomly selected to receive a quilt of valor made by the Headwaters Quilt Guild Of Bemidji.

“Quilts of Valor, because it’s a national organization, contacted one of our members and we decided – the group decided to become a member of the organization, and we have committed ourselves to making quilts for the Quilts of Valor Foundation,” says Bonnie Lundorff, a representative from the Headwaters Quilt Guild Of Bemidji.

All the veterans in the ceremony were invited by students. They were either family members or family friends to the students. At the end of the breakfast, the students gave their invited veteran a special certificate thanking them for their service.

One veteran in attendance described the gesture as memorable.

“Very good, interesting,” says Lewis Marsh, a veteran who served during the Korea War.

Peter Lund, a Navy veteran who served during Vietnam, says, “I thought it was a very, very interesting program. The Quilts of Valor are designed for people who served in the military, not necessarily for acts of heroism but for taking the time to serve our country, and for that we thank them.”

The staff at Solway says they can see the event becoming an annual Veteran’s Day tradition, especially since both the kids and their invited guests seemed to enjoy it.

“It’s just an honor and a privilege to thank our veterans for their service,” says Lundorff.