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Ceramic poppies paint Prattville red in honor of veterans

Montgomery Advertiser - 5/28/2020

May 27--PRATTVILLE -- Poppies, 1,001 of them, are "blooming" in downtown Prattville, all part of a way to honor veterans during Memorial Day week.

Julianne Hansen, a local artist, came up with the idea. The red-blossomed poppy became a symbol for honoring the dead of World War I because of the poem "In Flanders Fields." Today, the flower is a way to memorialize all veterans who have died.

Hansen made the ceramic flowers, painted and glazed them and then fired them in her kiln. It took about a week to make each poppy. They are on display in the open lot near the millpond dam, and have gotten plenty of attention.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

"Oh, wow!" Peggy Jackson said on Memorial Day morning as she walked among the poppies. Two groups are displayed on the lot, and another is in a grassy area on the dam's spillway. "This is just so beautiful. It gives me chills."

It was a labor of love for Hansen, and her husband, Steve. He handled the kiln firing duties. And it was also a way for them to grieve. Their son. Kyle, an Air Force captain and C-17 pilot, died suddenly in 2017. It took several thousand hours to make the poppies. Julianne has no real idea of how many hours. The push came in March during the shutdown because of the coronavirus. Julianne has a store and studio just a block away from where the poppies are displayed.

"Steve couldn't go to Maxwell and the store was closed," she said. "So we had time. It's been cathartic. It was very tiring. I wanted the one thousandth and one poppy for Kyle, and to show I had met my goal. But since we put the poppies out, it has been very energizing,

"I love meeting people and hearing the stories behind the names on the ribbons. That's how we remember, the stories."

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

The poppies have ribbons attached, carrying the names of war dead and other veterans who are no longer with us. The display lasts until Sunday afternoon. People can come pick up their poppies after 1 p.m.

And there is still time to get a veteran's name on a poppy. Julianne and Steve are usually on site, standing under a pop-up canopy. Sponsoring a poppy is $45, and $10 of that amount goes to four groups that support the memories of veterans or efforts preserving history. The groups include the work to restore the Alabama War Memorial on the grounds of the state capitol building, the committee for the Alabama National Cemetery, the Autauga County Heritage Association and the Folds of Honor.

The poem that inspired the use of the poppy was written by Lt. Col. John McCrae, who was serving as a doctor in the Canadian army in WWI. In April of 1915 he cared for the wounded for 17 days during the Second Battle of Ypres in Belgium. It was one of the costliest battles in a costly war.

McCrae buried a friend killed in the battle and marveled at the poppies that had sprung up among the graves of the war dead, according to the Poetry Foundation website. He penned the poem, which was published around the world.

McCrae didn't survive the war, dying on Jan. 28, 1918 at the age of 45 from complications of pneumonia.

In Flanders Fields

By John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com.

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