Loganville Mayor Proclaims Nov. 10 Poppy Day in Loganville

Loganville Mayor Ray Nunley signed a Proclamation on Thursday last week declaring Nov. 10, 2012 Poppy Day in Loganville.

Members of Post 233 Auxiliary will be giving out poppies in exchange for a donation to raise money for veterans of all wars.

The tradition of the red poppy as a symbol of remembrance for veterans is deeply rooted in the local community. It was started by Moina Belle Michaels who was born in Walton County. She also taught disabled serviceman at the University of Georgia for a while. The idea was born out of the poem, In Flanders Fields, which details the poppies that bloomed in the battlefields of Flanders in World War I.

Michaels, a Good Hope native, came up with the idea in 1918 and dedicate the rest of her life to getting the emblem recognized as a symbol of remembrance. She later became known as the Poppy Lady.

The Proclamation signed by Nunley reads:

Whereas: America is the land of freedom, preserved and protected willingly  and freely by citizens solider; and

Whereas: Millions who have answered the call to arms have died on the field of battle: and

Whereas:  A nation at peace must be reminded of the price of war and the debt owed to those who have died in war; and

Whereas: The red poppy has been designated as a symbol of sacrifice of lives in all wars; and

Whereas: The American Auxiliary has pledged to remind America annully of this debt through distribution of the memorial flower; and

Therefore: I Mayor Ray Nunley, hereby proclaim the 10th of November, 2012 as POPPY DAY and ask that all citizens pay tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom by wearing the Memorial Poppy on that day.

In Witness whereof:  I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the official seal of the City of Loganville, Georgia, this 11th day of October, 2012.