Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-05-25
POPPY DAY WILL BE OBSERVED
HERE SATURDAY.; HISTORICAL
FLOWER DATA INTERESTING.

orial poppy gardens were planted
Sandusky, ohio, had in the spring of
1919 one of the most noted of these
gardens.
The first street sale of the poppies
in large city was held in Milwaukee,
Wis, June, 1919, to raise money for
the 32nd division homecoming. The
81 can Legion i'll Milwaukee sold the
poppy to raise money for service work
just before Mcmcrial day, 1920-be-
fore the popry pad been adopted as the
m*rnorial flower tf the legion.
In 1920 Dr. Pender Jenson Of Ta-
coma, WASH, went back overseas to
search for his "buddys" grave in the
cemeteries of France. He was so i'm
pressed by the crimson masses of pop
pies waving over the graves that when
he returned he had his post adopt
the poppy as it's memorial flower
Miss Michael was year after year in
creasingly impressed by the need of
"token''-lest we forget. Her vision
could not have beautiful memorials in
every corner of the land from whence
our heroes cahne, but the poppy could
be worn as a memorial everywhere.
Although not a member of the
American Legion, Miss Michael is held
in very high regard by the legion de-.
partment of Georgia. She wanted the
American Legion to be the first ma
tional organization to adopt the poppy,
and on the eve OF the Georgia depart
ment convention of the American Le-
gion held in Augusta, Ca, August 49,
20, 1920 Miss Michael appeared at the
legion headquarters in Atlanta, Ga,
and turned over to Post No. 1 all her
data concerning the poppy being made
the legion memorial flower.
Charles M. Gallienne, delegate to the
department convention from Post No.
IL Atlanta, took charge of the ate
rial and presented the movement to
ed and the delegation to the national
convention to be held in Cleveland,
Chic, the following month was in
structad to present The resolution. at
Cleveland and to support it,
The resolution was presented at, the
national convention held in Cleveland
Septebcr 27-29, 1920 and the poppy
was adopted as the memorial flower of
the American Legion-.-its first adops
ton in America by a great national
organization.
In it's organizing convention in Kan
sas City, October 1921, the American
Legion auxiliary adopted the poppy as
its memorial flower, and pledged the
profits 100 per cent to welfare relief
for the service men and women and
their families.
The poppy is now the memorial
flower of the French, British and Ca
madam World war veterans organiza-
tions. The Veterans of Foreign Wars,
another patriotic organization of
America, adopted the poppy in the
spring OF 1922 The American Legion
and the American Legion auxiliary
cannot claim a sole right to the poppy,
for the poppy is Gods flower and can.
not be copyrighte, and has been chosen
by other organizations, buh the Amer
lean Legion an dthe American Legion
auxiliary can always claim to have
been the first large national organiza-
tions of this country to have adopted
this flower.
The poppy has won a place in the
hearts of the people all over the world,
and every year through the annual
sale of the poppy by the American Lee
gion and the American Legion auxil
iary, the American public is afforded
the opportunity of purchasing th~
poppy, thus helping those for whom
the war is not yet over-for the prof
it's from the sale are devoted 100 per
cent to service work-and of wearing
it in memory of all who died in serv-
ice.