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Enter fair competition, thank a wounded vet
A new category has been added to the sewing competition at the county fair.
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THANKING VETS: Columbiana County Fair Board members Sharen Cope, left, and Robert Crosser want sewers at this year’s fair to make their entries a thank-you to wounded veterans. They ask that entries be red, white and blue and display a replica of the Purple Heart, the citation given to military personnel wounded in action.
LISBON — Two members of the Columbiana County Fair Board are starting a new way to thank wounded veterans.
Robert Crosser and Sharen Cope are starting the program with the 2010 county fair.
They are asking those who make quilts, afghans, crochet or do cross stitch to enter items in the sewing contests at the fair that will be given to local veterans who were awarded the Purple Heart.
“It’s just a way of saying we appreciate what you did,” Cope said.
Crosser, a Vietnam veteran, and Cope, who runs a sewing business, want the efforts of those who submit entries to the fair to thank wounded veterans.
“Bob and I are in this together,” Cope said.
Crosser is in the process of finding the number of the living wounded service personnel through the county veterans’ office.
He is also approaching the local Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legions and Amvets organizations to get information on any of their members who received the Purple Heart.
Cope had done a similar program about four years ago through the Presbyterian church in Canfield that provided about 85 blankets and quilts to servicemen overseas.
Normally, submissions to the fair are returned to their creators when the fair is over. Crosser and Cope said the 2010 entries in the veteran category will go to the wounded service personnel.
They are hoping for about 40 entries in each of the four sewing categories.
The submissions should be a minimum of 40 inches by 60 inches. The maximum size should be twin-sized. Each submission should include the colors of red, white and blue and in some way feature a Purple Heart, the military decoration awarded to those wounded in action.
Cope said that her grandmother never recovered from the loss of loved ones who died in past conflicts.
“There was no closure,” she said.
They expect there will be an event at the grandstand on Aug. 8, the last day of the 2010 fair, to highlight the program.
Information will be posted later on the fair’s Web site and in its rules for submissions.
wilkinson@vindy.com