Ceremony honors military veterans with local connections

On Sunday, Nov. 6, approximately 100 members of the Niwot community came together in Cottonwood Square to honor military veterans at the fourth annual Veterans Banner ceremony.

The event, jointly sponsored by the Niwot Community Association (NCA) and the Niwot Business Association (NBA) began at 1:30 p.m. with a patriotic concert by the Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band. The colors were presented by Niwot Boy Scout troop 161 followed by the National Anthem performed by the band.

NCA president David Limbaugh began the presentation by introducing the banner project. "The best thing about this project" he said, "is that all of these photos and stories that have been in people's closets and attics are brought to light."

Banner sponsor Karen Quinn followed with stories about her grandfather, Ivan "Bill" Dart. She said that her parents were both killed in an airplane crash when she was seven. Dart raised her which, she said, "was amazing considering he was retired and in his 60s."

Quinn talked about the fact that Dart had compiled an album of photos he had personally taken during World War I. The photos comprised everything from an accidental explosion of an ammunition dump which almost wrecked President Wilson's private car to photos of a number of soldiers from different countries rescuing a horse from a pit it had fallen into. Quinn later shared the album with rapt attendees.

Deb Fowler, NBA Vice-President, was next up on the agenda. She emotionally spoke about how honored she was to take part in the ceremony "especially as a Brit." Fowler noted that her grandfather had served in both world wars.

Limbaugh said that the Banner Project continues to be a success in its fourth year. "We're at about 75 to 80% capacity, but there's always room for more," he said. Banners cost $100 and will be hung for two years. For $25 a banner can be rehung. Banners are given to the sponsor when no longer hung in Niwot. For more information on the Banner Project and the stories behind the banners, visit https://niwot.org/veterans/.