American Legion Auxiliary’s Miss Poppy 2018

Seven-year-old Zipporah Schiel, pictured with her grandfather, Charles Schiel, is this year’s Miss Poppy.

Manchester’s American Legion Auxiliary Unit #117 is pleased to introduce Miss Poppy: seven-year-old Zippy Schiel, daughter of James and Rebekkah Pratt Schiel, is eligible for membership in the Junior Auxiliary through the service of her grandfather, Charles Schiel, who is a Vietnam Veteran.

Zippy is homeschooled and in the second grade. She was giving out poppies for a donation in front of the post office last Friday, representing the Auxiliary with her grandmother, Joanne Schiel.

You can also see Miss Poppy in the Memorial Day parade next Monday, May 28. The parade begins at the Main Street Bridge at 11 am, and will proceed to the cemetery with a stop at the memorial in Wurster Park.

Connecting the visual image of the poppy with the sacrifice of service made by our veterans has been an important goal of the American Legion Auxiliary Poppy Program since its inception in 1921. Each year, around Memorial Day, millions of red crepe paper poppies—all handmade by veterans as part of their therapeutic rehabilitation—are distributed across the country in exchange for donations that go directly to assist disabled and hospitalized veterans in our communities.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.