Randolph Academy students in the GED classes, as well as Participation in Government class, entered a poster contest through the Randolph American Legion Auxiliary for the third year in a row.
The young people, who are students of Academy staff Connie Dalbo and Susan Emley, made posters encouraging the community to support disabled war veterans through donations in exchange for hand-made poppies.
The poppy is a recognized symbol for disabled veterans in many countries. The tradition of associating the poppy with disabled veterans stems from a World War I poem, "In Flanders Fields" by John McCraes. McCraes, a Canadian poet, was a trained physician and served in the war. He wrote the poem as a lasting legacy of the terrible battle in the Ypres salient in the spring of 1915. The poem reads:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields
Poppies are given to people for a monetary donation. The money donated is used exclusively for the veterans and their families.
The posters the students created are judged by the Randolph Auxiliary initially, and the winner then competes at the county level.
The students are currently awaiting results of the judging.
