The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1930-10-31

men who died during the
war-torn years Of 1914-1S but also to
those who came back to their homes
alive but bearing upon their bodies
and in their minds the scars of that
holocaust-the disabled veterans.
The story Of how the red poppy
became the emblem of Armistice day
goes back to November, 191S-even
before there was an Armistice to light
en- the burden Of war-weary world.
In 1t there is curious parallelism
between the establishment Of this Gus
tom and another custom observed on
another day when we honor our war
dead. 1t was group Of southern
women in Columbus, Ga, who in 1865
banded together to decorate the
graves of soldiers, both Union and
Confederate, thus originating a Gus
tom which is perpetuated in our Me-
mortal day observance. And it was
another southern woman, Miss Molina
Michael of Athens, Ca, who originat-
ed the idea of adopting the red pop
by as a symbol of the sacrifices of
the fighting men of the World war
and whose efforts have resulted in
this flowers being adopted as the
Armistice day emblem.
The idea came to Miss Michael
while she was serving on the staff Of
the Y. w. G. A. overseas headquar-
ters at Hamilton hall, Columbia uni
versity, in New York. On Saturday,
November 0, 1918, she was sitting in
the headquarters Office when a soldier
came in and placed copy Of month
~ magazine on her desk. In it she
happened to read Colonel McCrae's
now-fam0us poem, in Flanders
Fields" She was so stirred by the
lines that she re-read it several times
and then with sudden inspiration
she wrote this reply to it:
oh! You who sleep in Flanders Fields.
sleep sweet-to rise anew!
We caught the Torch you threw
And holding high. we keep the Faith
with all who died.
We cherish. too. the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led
1t seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.
But lends lustre to the red
OF the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.
And now the Torch and Poppy red
Wen wear in honor of our dead
Fear not that We have died for naught;
Well teach the lessons that We wrought
In Flanders Fields.
As she wrote, she decided that she
would wear poppy for remembrance
and she would also ask others to do
the same. While thinking about this
three overseas Y. Nj. G. A. and Y. w.
c. A. workers, who had been attend.
ing conference at Columbia, came
in to bring her check for $40 in ap-
probation of her efforts to make
model hostess house of their headquar-
tiers. She Immediately told them that
she would use the money with which
to buy peoples and then explained
her idea. They were as enthusiastic
about it as she was and, returning to
their conference, spread the news. AS
a result, all of the workers at the
conference that afternoon were wear
ing poppies which Miss Michael had
provided.
The next morning Miss Michael
went to see her friend, Dean Talcott
Williams of the Columbia school of
Journalism, and confided to him her
poppy-thought. He was very much
pleased and offered to pass the thought
on that afternoon to war workers
committee on which were Mrs. Pres
ton, the former Mrs. Grover Cleve-
land, and Rodman Wanamaker. He
attended the meeting of the commit
tee and brought back to Miss Michael
enthusiastic reports of the manner in
which her plan had been received.
Then came the armistice and Miss
Michael turned all her energies to
spreading the idea of the poppy as
national emblem. She presented the
plan to other conferences and they