Nov. 11 ceremony to honor military veterans

On Saturday, Nov. 11, Niwot residents will have the opportunity to honor United States military veterans, and especially those with a community connection. The fifth annual veterans banner ceremony will be held in front of the Left Hand Grange at 11:00 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month, marking what was originally known as Armistice Day at the end of World War I in 1918.

The Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band will be on hand beginning at 10:30 a.m. to perform music as the community gathers, including Stars & Stripes Forever, Semper Fidelis, The Washington Post, Respect, I'm Still Standing, Yankee Doodle Boy, You're a Grand Old Flag, and the service songs of each of the nation's six military services, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and National Guard.

Anyone who has recently been on 2nd Avenue or to Cottonwood Square shopping center can't help but notice the banners hung on light poles in the business district. The banners include a photo of a military veteran as well as their branch of service, rank, and years of service.

The Banner Project, along with the ceremony, are jointly sponsored by the Niwot Community Association (NCA) and the Niwot Business Association (NBA). Banners can be purchased each year for $100 by friends and family members and will hang for two years during October and November. After that, the banner purchaser can opt to keep the banner or rehang the banner for a $25 fee.

Currently, 50 banners hang around Niwot, celebrating the contribution of veterans throughout the years. One of earliest veterans honored is Helen Bulovsky, who served as a U.S. Army Corps nurse in 1918 and 1919.

Bulovsky graduated from nurses training in 1917 and was inspired to join the Army Nurse Corps just six months after the United States entered World War I. She was stationed in an Army Hospital near Bordeaux, France, but spent most of her time in tented field and evacuation hospitals close behind the front lines in France and Belgium. The banner is sponsored by her nieces, Brooke Bulovsky Cameron and Janice Collins, and her great niece, Mary Claire Collins.

This year, Bootstrap Brewing owner and founder and Niwot resident Leslie Kaczeus sponsored a banner for her grandfather, Durrell Conner. Conner was a Naval Chief Petty Officer from 1928 to 1962. He was stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, and was on the battleship U.S.S. California. Although uninjured, Durrell lost many of his shipmates that day. He was later assigned to several stations around the world, including Japan, Guam and Washington D.C.

To find out more about the heroes found on the banners around town in advance of the special ceremony, go to www.niwot.org/veterans/ for a list of service members and biographical information related to their service, as well as their connection to Niwot.