WHEATLAND – Laramie Peak VFW Auxiliary 3558 will be hosting a “9/11 Remembrance Ceremony” Sept. 11 at 10:30 a.m. on the Platte County courthouse Lawn in Wheatland. This year will be the 20 Year Anniversary of that tragic day. There will be a flag ceremony, guest speakers, music, pictures and refreshments to follow.
All emergency and military personnel are invited which will include medical/EMS/law enforcement/firefighters and military. We will be honoring those that were lost that day as well as personnel that continue to protect and serve the United States of America.
September is “National Suicide Awareness Month.” Platte County Parks & Rec and the Auxiliary will be hosting a Mini-golf fun day Sunday, 9/12, from 1-4 p.m. There will be a $5/person entry fee. All money raised will be donated to help any Veteran in Wyoming that is in need. Please come out and support our Veterans. The National Rate of Suicide among Veterans is 22 Veterans per day. Help us help our Veterans.
Laramie Peak VFW Auxiliary will also be participating in the annual Veterans’ Stand Down event in October. This event will be held in Cheyenne Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. This event was canceled last year due to COVID19. Stand Down is to help Veterans that are struggling or may be at risk of becoming homeless or are already homeless. There will be resources and information available on health care/treatments of various kinds/veteran benefits/housing/employment/education and other resources. Some services that will be provided that day are light breakfast/lunch/flu shots/dental screenings/chaplain/haircuts and gear. In past years, we have taken monetary donations, gently used/clean clothing, new socks-t-shirts-underwear, etc. This year they are only accepting new articles of clothing or monetary donations due to the limited space that is available. If anyone would like to make a donation, please contact any VFW Auxiliary member or myself here in Wheatland.
Another huge project the Laramie Peak VFW Auxiliary has undertaken is helping the Wyoming Civil Air Patrol participate in the “Wreaths Across America.” We started helping with this two years ago; this will be our third year participating. Our goal last year was to have every Veteran’s grave decorated at Christmastime with a wreath. We came very close to meeting that goal, but due to some miscommunication, we did not make it. We will make it this year. The cemeteries in Chugwater, Dwyer, Glendo, Guernsey, Hartville and Wheatland all participated.
Wreaths are sold for $15 each; the wreath can be grave specific if you like or for any veteran’s grave where the program is available. We have sold many wreaths so far this year but are still taking orders. Wheatland cemetery has over 1,000 veterans buried here; Glendo has over 70, and Chugwater has over 60. We have volunteers that help us place the wreaths on the graves in these different locations. This year’s National Ceremony will be held Saturday, Dec. 18, which we will participate in along with the Civil Air Patrol The wreath order deadline is Friday, 11/26, so all orders can be processed in time for delivery.
We also have our monthly BINGO night and the Pancake Breakfast on the third Sunday of each month. We usually have some sort of special theme for our Bingo nights so watch for signs/posters to see what we are doing. Last year we ran a special in November or December that if you brought a non-perishable food item, you received a free bingo card with the purchase of your first two cards. Those food items were donated to the local food pantry. We hope to do this again this year. Breakfast is all you can eat for $5/person. We serve pancakes/eggs/sausage/hash browns and biscuits and gravy. Both of these events are open to the public.
If you have any questions about the upcoming events or what we do, please feel free to contact any VFW Auxiliary Member or Ruth Herdt, president.
