POPPY DAY Morning Star, May 14, 2006, pg. 12 Our theme this month is “remember our Veterans” as we approach Memorial Day. One annual occurrence here is the selling of artificial miniature “poppies” by the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Artificial miniature poppies were originally meant to symbolize the blood shed during World War I. The famous poem “In Flander’s Field” was the inspiration for the nationwide poppy program. It begins, “In Flanders Fields the poppies blow, Between the crosses, row on row,” etc., and concludes, “If ye break faith with us, who die, We shall not sleep, though poppies grow, in Flander’s Fields.” Originally offered to the American Legion in 1920, the poppy program was taken over nationwide by the Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1922. In fact, the VFW received a patent on their “Buddy Poppy” name in 1924. It is estimated that since that time over three-quarters of a billion poppies have been sold nationwide. Used for fundraising to help disabled and other veterans and their families within these organizations, the “Poppy Day” sales have been going on for many decades here in Albion by both the American Legion and the VFW. One week the VFW will do the selling, and the next week the American Legion will take their turn. During this time, you’ll often see the familiar face of a veteran standing in front of Felpausch or Citizens Bank selling poppies, and holding a canister in his hand for a donation to the worthy cause. From our Historical Notebook this week we present a scene from the May, 1954 Poppy Day sale. Albion Mayor Norman H. Wiener is seated in the center. He is being persuaded to purchase poppies from American Legion members (left) Helen Dianich and Irene (Tyszko) Campbell, and (right) VFW members Vernon Van Meter and Margaret Hull. How many of our readers have purchased their “Buddy Poppy” from a veteran this week? May, 1954, Mayor Wiener purchases his “Buddy Poppy” Next: RED ARROW HIGHWAY Back to the Top of this Page All text copyright, 2026 © all rights reserved Frank Passic  |  Artwork copyright Maggie LaNoue © 2026 Frank Passic — Albion Historian An Albion native and 1971 graduate of Albion High School, Frank Passic has been researching and writing Albion history since 1976. He is the creator of the Albion Historical Notebook, with hundreds of articles appearing weekly in the Morning Star and The Recorder. Frank maintains an extensive personal archive including Riverside Cemetery records, family surname files, genealogies, photographs, city directories, and high school yearbooks. Support his 2026 research at the Historic Albion Michigan Facebook page. Historical Notebook  |  From the Archives  |  Subject List  |  100 Years Ago  |  Alphabetical Index  |  Frank Passic Home Page  |  Albion History Books  |  Contact Frank Michigan Prints by Maggie LaNoue Michigan Prints offers limited-edition archival Giclée prints, miniprints, notecards and boxed sets featuring Michigan landmarks, nature, resorts and nostalgia. Each print and card includes a legend on the back with stories about Michigan history. Albion scenes include the Kalamazoo River waterfall and the Blizzard of 1978. Find Michigan Prints online and at local shops. Michigan Prints  |  Albion Scenes  |  Custom Cards  |  Zazzle Gifts AlbionMich.net — General Guide to Albion AlbionMich.net is a hub for community life in the greater Albion area, featuring current news, city council updates, river restoration stories, parks and trails. See Albion's beautiful Kalamazoo River waterfall as it looks today — and follow the story of its future restoration. Includes news from The Recorder and stories about Albion's 17 parks. AlbionMich.net  |  Albion Blog  |  Frank Passic on AlbionMich.net General Guide to Albion AlbionMich.net offers two General Guides to the Albion area — one covering community life including city council, veterans, history, youth and wellness resources, and one covering the outdoors including roads, rivers, parks, trails and downtown. Both guides feature stories by local writers including contributors to The Recorder, sorted by topic for easy reference. General Guide — Community  |  General Guide — Outdoors Robin James — Indices Unlimited Robin James is the editor of the Albion Historical Notebook and has kept Frank Passic's thousands of articles organized and searchable for decades. A trained librarian and archivist, Robin specializes in back-of-book and online indexing, multimedia collection management, and corporate information distribution. He also enjoys strange music and is a contributing editor for Igloo electronic music magazine. For more about his indexing services, visit Indices Unlimited. AlbionDesign.com — Communications Specialists Since 1981  |  Advertise on AlbionMich.com