Veterans tribute returns to Niwot

As Veterans Day 2020 approaches, the Niwot Community Association will once again honor the local men and women who have served their country in the U.S. Armed Forces. Starting in early October, more than 50 full-color banners featuring the names, photographs, branch, and service years of Niwot's military members past and present will be installed along 2nd Avenue and in Cottonwood Square where they will hang through Veterans Day.

"I think it's great that the community would honor our veterans, and this is a rather unique way of doing it," NCA secretary and Veterans Banner committee member Kathy Koehler said. "I think it's special, and we're fortunate to be able to honor them today, because there were many years that they did not have honor."

At the suggestion of member Sheila Ray, the NCA launched the banner project in 2019 as a way to recognize former or current service members either living in the area or with a connection to a resident or business owner. Much to the committee's surprise, more than 30 locals took up the call for a two-year sponsorship, and the fledgling annual tribute was off the ground.

A total of 32 banners featuring veterans or active duty members from all branches of the military hung in Niwot from mid-October through mid-November 2019. According to NCA President David Limbach, who compiled the biographies, World War II was the most common era, though the range spanned more than 100 years. One of the banners that stood out to NCA treasurer Terry Larsen, another Banner Committee member, is that of Helen Bulovsky, a young nurse from Wisconsin who survived her stint overseas in World War I, only to see a tragic end at home.

"She died at the age of 27 of a heart condition," Larsen said. "Her niece, Marie Claire Collins, is sponsoring the banner. I thought that was very touching, to honor her all these years later....But there are so many great stories.

Bulovsky and the 31 other veterans from 2019 will be back in 2020, along with 20 "or so" others joining their ranks. Among them are two relatives of Koehler's, who push the span of American history on display back another half-century.

"I think having a Civil War veteran on display will be a novelty," she said of the forthcoming banners of her great-grandfather Henry Clay Doll of the 25th Pennsylvania Infantry (1861-65), and her grandfather Henry Bailey Doll, who served during the Boxer Rebellion (1900).

Larsen said that the installation of up to 27 banners along 2nd Avenue will start sometime during the week of Oct. 5, and the 25 slated for Cottonwood Square banners will go up a few days after that.

"We had such an overwhelming response last year, that we ended up putting some in places that, in retrospect, we weren't happy with, like sidestreets," Larsen said. "So we've thinned it out a little bit on 2nd Avenue."

The banners will again hang through Veterans Day, and the NCA plans to host another ceremony in Old Town Niwot honoring the veterans and their sponsoring families on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m..

"I think it's a great thing for our community, and hopefully it's something that rolls forward year-to-year, and we can keep it going," Limbach said. "There are some amazing stories and some amazing people."

For more information about the Veterans Banner project, visit http://www.niwot.org/veterans-banner-project. See photos and biographies of banners from the 2019 project here, or watch a video of Denver7's coverage.