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Light posts throughout the northern part of Houghton County are adorned with event reminders, and reasons to enjoy your summer in the area, but increasingly, they carry a more solemn message. Houghton County Department of Veterans Affairs Board President Gene LaRochelle was visiting family in Ohio when he saw banners honoring soldiers who had served. He decided to do something similar here at home.
The Village of Calumet was the first to adopt the banners, but several other communities have joined in. Veteran Service Officer Mike Bjorn says most are eager to support the effort.
The hope is for the banners to last three years and they are paid for by families or friends in most cases. The Department of Veterans Affairs will foot the cost in select instances.
Bjorn says it’s recommended that communities begin hanging the banners Memorial Day weekend and ideally they would stay in place until Veterans Day. Due to the weather, that is not always practical in the Keweenaw. Many are taken down in October.
