The Fort Vallonia chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is in the process of offering families a chance to purchase a banner similar to those honoring a serviceman or servicewoman. The banners would be hung from streetlight poles in Brownstown, Crothersville and Seymour and possibly other communities in Jackson County.
BROWNSTOWN — The families of past and present members of the Armed Forces may soon have another way to honor their military service thanks to the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Ruth Ann Rebber, a member of the Fort Vallonia DAR chapter, recently discussed a program the chapter is looking at putting in place with members of the Brownstown Town Council.
The Seymour woman said several other cities and towns in the state, including Plainfield and Madison, have street banner programs in place.
“The DAR is in the process of trying to put together that kind of project in Jackson County,” Rebber said.
She said the chapter had been waiting for Seymour officials to decide if they would like to participate before reaching out to other communities in the county.
“We didn’t want the other smaller towns to feel like we weren’t including them because we are a county organization,” Rebber said.
The chapter plans to make banners available for purchase by anyone wanting to honor a serviceman or servicewoman from any war, from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War to Desert Storm.
“It can be someone who is active duty,” Rebber said. “We will sell the banners. What we ask the towns to do is hang the banners.”
She said some towns leave them up for the whole year from Memorial Day to the next Memorial Day.
“Seymour is going to do theirs from Memorial Day to Veterans Day (Nov. 11),” Rebber said. “They want to be able to do some other banners at Christmas and whenever.”
When the banners come down, they will be given to the family who purchased them, she said. The town also would need to take the banners down.
There are rules and regulations concerning what can be placed on the banners, and the DAR chapter will be organizing the program and designing and purchasing the banners, Rebber said.
She said if the town would like to participate, the chapter would need to know the size and hanging requirements.
It would be up to the council to decide how many banners they would like to include in the program.
“It will be on a first-come, first-served kind of thing,” Rebber said. “The first year that Madison did it, they had a two-year waiting list because people really like these banners and want to participate.”
Councilman Tim Robinson asked Rebber when the program would be up and running and a ballpark number on the cost.
“We are hoping to be ready by Memorial Day,” she said.
Rebber said the banners are very heavy vinyl, and a year ago, they sold for somewhere between $130 and $150 each.
“It’s a fundraiser for us and a service to the community,” she said.
Rebber also said the chapter’s biggest concern at this time is the length of time a community would want the banners to hang.
“Because we can’t charge somebody $150 to put it up for a month or a week,” she said.
Rebber said she also plans to meet with the Crothersville Town Council in October to discuss the program.
She said the chapter is kind of hoping it starts small and grows and people really want to do it.
“We’re just kind of getting our feet wet,” Rebber said.