Tree of Honor ceremony gets great crowd

By DAMIIAN LANG

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Bessemer - On a beautiful, sunny evening on June 26, folks began gathering with lawn chairs and sat on the sidewalk in front of Bessemer's main street Pocket Park.

Then, more and more people arrived, and soon a crowd of some 150 had filled the street. It was a great show of respect in honor of America's military service members.

And it also served as the kick-off for the Bessemer Blast, the city's 9-day celebration of the Fourth of July holiday.

"I was born right here, right where this park is," said Clayton Rund, 94, who was sitting up front. "This used to be a building with apartments upstairs, and that's where I was born."

Rund served during the Korean War and was stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, from 1954 to 1956.

Emcee George Boline read aloud the names of those from Bessemer and the surrounding area who are past and present members of the U.S. Armed Services, including those now deceased.

Myron Re followed the reading of the names with "Taps."

In addition, event co-chairs Ginny Boline and Mary Jo Mykkanen had given out free tickets to veterans in the audience and then called the number of one ticket.

A handmade quilt, which had been covering the 2024 Tree of Honor sign, was given to the lucky winner.

Marty's Goldenaires Drum and Bugle Corps added to the festivities by playing songs specific to each branch of the military while veterans from those branches went to shake hands and give a hug to other veterans and friends.

The emcee also thanked Nancy Kangas for donating the quilt.

He also recognized the many other people who made the event possible, including Jake Armata, Nadine Hewitt, Sue Nezworski, Pete Petranek, Dan Mykkanen, Jocelyn Peterman, Linda Nelson and the Bessemer Fourth of July Committee, city of Bessemer employees and local businesses.

Throughout the July 4 activities, the pocket park also will feature a tree decorated in red, white and blue lights in further recognition of military members.