M.O.M.S. and Boy Scouts filled Town Green with yellow ribbons

Symbols of hope and remembrance are not a political
statement by organizations
by NATHAN WRIGHT, Staff Writer
Mothers of Military Servicemembers (M.O.M.S.) and
Windsor Boy Scout Troop 20 got together this past Saturday and
decorated the Town Green with yellow ribbons in support of the
troops fighting in Iraq.
“People don’t know what these yellow ribbons mean,” said
M.O.M.S. member Cindy Gothard. “They don’t mean war. It’s a symbol
of support and remembrance for our troops. When they come home, we
take them down.”
Joanne Abrao, another member of M.O.M.S. agreed. “This
is not a political statement.”
M.O.M.S. contacted Troop 20 the week before, asking if
they’d like to help. Scout Master Bill Seubert agreed, and met up
with the mother’s group on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. “I felt I
needed to show my support for those who decided to serve,” said
Seubert, who is against the war. “The scouts brought me
out.”
It only took approximately 90 minutes to cover the
entire Town Green, along with a few areas around downtown Windsor.
Scouts and moms worked side by side, until few trees were left
without a yellow ribbon.
“We’re out here to support our troops and help our
community,” said scout senior patrol leader Nick Thysell. The
scouts also put up flags around town on the Fourth of July and at
the Shiloh Cemetery on Memorial Day. “To me, this falls in line
with placing flags.”
Other from placing yellow ribbons, M.O.M.S. has been
busy. Constance Newton, the founder of M.O.M.S., says that her
group has been invited to work with American Legion Post 21.
“They’re wonderful, they’re so good to us,” she said.
Along with placing M.O.M.S. under its non-profit
umbrella, the American Legion has supplied the group with a contact
number (522-9350), has hosted luncheons and has offered its
facilities to the mother’s group.
The two groups are hosting a dinner at the Santa Rosa
Veterans Memorial Building on April 17, allowing military families
a chance to come together during their time of need. “They’re
community and family networking opportunities,” said Newton.
Tickets for the event are $7.
M.O.M.S. is also attending a yellow ribbon picnic on
April 13 at Galvin Park. Although the group is not hosting the
picnic, many of the mother’s group plans on attending. “We need
some good family together, with all of us,” Newton
said.
The group has also began a project they call “America
the Beautiful,” which will send approximately 300 photo albums full
of pictures of home to the troops. “We’re going to box them up so
the troops will have some pictures of home,” she said.
Newton is accepting community donations of both local
pictures and postcards, which can be dropped off at the Santa Rosa
Veterans Building.