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Steamboat Springs — Friday before Memorial Day has been the traditional American Legion Auxiliary "Poppy Day" for many years. Several members of our family are members of the organization, and someone from those members has distributed poppies each year since 1946.

As usual, this year was a day of many emotions - happiness and sadness - as people shared their memories. We visited with many from Colorado, as well as a lot of other states and Australia and New Zealand. Australia and New Zealand also observe a "memorial day" with poppies.

As distributors, we were overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone with whom we came in contact and give a special thank you to all. There were many questions asked by folks who read our sign. The interest of children, their parents and others of all ages is so heart-warming. We had a short story about why we have Poppy Day, written by member Harriet Freiberger, which many people accepted, especially as a learning experience for their children.

It was a day of proud remarks from donors: "I was a SPAR"; "My father/grandfather/brother was in World War I/World War II" or one of the other conflicts since; "I was in the Army" or any other branch of the service; "My son is being deployed Sunday." These are only a few of the comments that made us proud to be a part of their day. Frequently, someone said, "Thank you for being here and doing this for our veterans."

A sincere thank you to the Safeway and City Market stores for their hospitality. Also, thank you to Kathie McKune for her donation of time. Memories of "Poppy Day 2008" will warm our hearts for a long time.

Harriet Aspegren and Eunice Dorr, members of American Legion Auxiliary No. 44