Week of October 27, 2014 For Immediate Release Remember the Poppy By Patricia Kosters, Iowa Master Gardener, Rock Valley At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, World War I fighting ended with the signing of the Armistice. Today, November 11 is observed as a day for remembering all soldiers who lost their lives in war. In the United States and countries around the world, November 11 is called Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, Veterans Day or Poppy Day. Poppy Day? If you don’t know what Poppy Day refers to you are probably a lot younger than I am. As children in the 1940’s and 50’s we distributed hundreds of bright red artificial poppies in exchange for donations to be used exclusively to help disabled and needy veterans and their families. Hospitalized veterans who made the flowers not only experienced physical and mental therapeutic benefits; they were able to earn a small wage to help supplement their incomes. Korean War Veteran, John Roberts, supervisor of the VFW Poppy Assembly Program at the Fort Kansas Soldiers Home, told me that veterans still participate in this activity by assembling 1000’s of poppies weekly. Although the production of artificial poppies is declining in the United States, it remains a major symbol of remembrance in many countries and in some areas children still collect donations for poppies. Poppies have long been used as a symbol of sleep, death and renewal. In Greek and Roman mythology, poppies were used as offerings to the dead because of the blood-red color, on tombstones to symbolize eternal sleep because of the opium extracted from them, and some believed the scarlet color promised resurrection after death. Iowans may be interested to know that in Greek mythology the poppy was associated with fertility and agriculture. People believed poppies growing in their fields would produce bountiful crops – therefore the name ‘corn’ poppy from ‘korn’, the Greek word for ‘grain’. After World War I poppies became a symbol of tragedy, sacrifice and remembrance. The poppy as a symbol of wartime remembrance was inspired by the 1915 poem “In Flanders Fields” which describes fields of bright red poppies blooming among rows of white crosses on graves of soldiers who died on World War I battlefields. It became well known in allied countries – America, Australia, Britain, Canada, France and New Zealand - as the “Flower of Remembrance” long before The American Legion adopted the Buddy® Poppy as the official memorial flower of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1924. Today we most often think of poppies as attractive, easy to grow flowers common in home gardens. In fact, they come in hundreds of varieties with many uses from baking and cooking seeds and oils to medicines and drugs, much of which is derived from the Papaver somniferum variety. The poppy of wartime remembrance, Papaver rhoeas, the ‘field’ or ‘corn’ poppy, was the inspiration for the Buddy®Poppy. This November 11 remember and support our veterans. Wear a poppy. -- Become an Iowa Master Gardener. If you have an interest in gardening and would like to volunteer in your community, join the Iowa Master Gardener program. Whether you are a long- term veteran of gardening or a novice, you are welcome to join. For information, visit www.mastergardener.iastate.edu. -30- ISU Extension and Outreach Contact: Contact: Margaret Murphy, Regional Food Coordinator and Horticulture Educator 712-472-2576, [email protected] .