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CLEAR Temp: 58 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, June 5, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend May 27, 2003 Visitors gather around the Rogue Valley Veterans Wall in the Ashpole community center in Eagle Point Monday. The wall honors men and women in military service and joins the Avenue of the Flags as part of the city�s patriotic display. Mail Tribune / Andrew Mariman Plaques, flags honor veterans By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune EAGLE POINT — Scores of American flags have flown year after year along Main Street, each standing in memory of a U.S. veteran. Now those veterans’ names have a place of honor in the community. More than 100 Rogue Valley residents, including dozens of veterans, turned out as the city of Eagle Point unveiled the Rogue Valley Veterans Wall in the Ashpole community center Monday. The plaques honor veterans who are represented by the nearly 200 flags that march more than a mile from Highway 62 up Main Street toward the Eagle Point National Cemetery. "This means we don’t forget the heritage that we’re still defending," said Ken Lemke, a 78-year-old Eagle Point resident who served in the Marine Corps during World War II. Advertisement The first flags to flank Eagle Point’s covered bridge on patriotic holidays were erected by the town’s chamber of commerce in 1996. Two years later, Eagle Point resident Helen Wolgamott earnestly began collecting the star-spangled banners to grace the rest of Main Street. Since that time, the Avenue of the Flags Committee has collected 185 flags that once draped veterans’ caskets and raised about $5,000 for the flag poles and the veterans wall, Wolgamott said. "Since I’m a widow, and I had a flag, I thought maybe there’s other people like me," Wolgamott said. She donated the casket flag of her husband, Rick Wolgamott, who served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. "Those flags out there are very precious ... and they’d rather see them out there doing something than sitting on a shelf getting dusty," Wolgamott said. Although each of the avenue’s flags once covered a serviceman’s casket, the veterans wall honors others who are still living and some still serving, Wolgamott said. Wolgamott’s family set her grandnephew’s name on the wall after he was injured in the war for Iraqi freedom, she said. "It’s a way to say ‘thank you.’" More names will be added to the wall as donations come in, and American flags eventually will connect downtown Eagle Point with the veterans cemetery, a distance of approximately three miles, Wolgamott said. Cemetery director Darryl Ferrell said he has received letters from around the country complimenting the Avenue of the Flags, which has put Eagle Point in a class of its own concerning patriotism, he said. "This is one of the reasons I love Eagle Point ... the first time I saw the flags out there," said resident Mary Jane Thunstrom, who said she moved to town after first visiting on Fourth of July when all the flags were flying. Eagle Point’s Avenue of the Flags can be viewed through May 30 and will decorate Main Street again for Flag Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Sept. 11 and Veteran’s Day. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] . Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times