Blue Star Marker dedication ceremony honors Yelm’s veterans

Around 30 local residents, including a number of veterans, gathered outside Tim’s Pharmacy in Yelm on a breezy late Saturday morning to witness the unveiling of the new Blue Star Memorial by-way marker.

Dee Smith, Blue Star Marker chair for the Black Hills District of Garden Clubs, led the effort to order the new marker after learning that the previous one had gone missing during renovations to the pharmacy’s garden area.

The dedication ceremony was originally planned for this past November during Veterans Day, but a streak of bad weather forced Smith and her garden club to postpone. They ultimately scheduled the event for May 17 to coincide with Armed Forces Day. This time, milder weather prevailed.

Pastor Georgie Brown of Living Water Church in Yelm led the opening invocation before Judy Swortz, Blue Star Memorials chair for the Washington State Federation of Garden Clubs, spoke about the history of the markers.

“The Blue Star, Gold Star concept has been around for well over 100 years now,” Swortz said. “People put blue stars in their windows to signify that they had someone serving. Gold stars went in if you lost a family member.”

The history of Blue Star Memorial Markers goes back to around 1944, when the president and the roadside chairman of the Garden Club of New Jersey got the idea to plant thousands of dogwood trees along roughly 5 miles of highway to honor veterans of World War II.

The idea was endorsed on a national level and, within years, Blue Star Memorial Highway Markers were placed alongside highways across the country.

The Blue Star Memorial Program became the first large-scale national effort undertaken by garden clubs in the country, with highway departments working in conjunction to maintain the areas.

“In 1945, the National Council of State Garden Clubs … adopted this program,” Swortz said. According to Swortz, all markers are made in a foundry in Ohio and must be ordered through the garden clubs.

“In 2015, the Gold Star Family Marker was incorporated into the National Garden Club organization,” Swortz said. “And since that time, there have been a real popularity in putting in markers, and they’re all over. They’re in Eastern Washington, too. And right now, we just had a new one installed over in Forks.”
Swortz said there are currently 60 markers across Washington. Over the years, the markers have become a kind of tourist attraction, drawing in people from all around the state.

With the help of Smith, Swortz said she plans to list all the markers in Washington on Google Maps.

In her speech, Swortz recognized the large military community in Yelm.

“They are our friends, they are our neighbors,” Swortz said. “They are our future and our present and, of course, our past, because we have such a long history here, (a) very long history of the military presence in this area.”

After the official unveiling by Tim’s Pharmacy owner Will Quinby and manager Joel Sponton, Yelm Mayor Joe DePinto accepted the marker on behalf of Yelm’s veterans.

“This marker, once lost, now finds its rightful place again, reminding us of all the sacrifices made by our military,” DePinto said. “It stands as a beacon of respect and remembrance, ensuring that the courage and dedication of our veterans and active service members are never forgotten. As we dedicate this marker, let us reflect on the values of service, honor and sacrifice. Let us also renew our commitment to supporting our military families and veterans who continue to inspire us with their resilience and spirit.”

Dee Smith ordered two additional plaques for the unveiling, one, she said, “commemorating Lake Lawrence Garden Club, the other stating that the marker was donated by Tim’s Pharmacy.”

The now-defunct Lake Lawrence Garden Club installed the original marker in 1991.

During the invocation, Will Quinby couldn’t help but think of his own family’s military history. Both of Quinby’s grandfathers served, one in World War II and the other in the Korean War.

“We thought this was a great opportunity to really bring attention to (the) Blue Star Memorial by-way and the meaning of it,” Quinby said.

Paul Swortz, husband of Judy Swortz, served in the Air Force from 1964-68 as an intelligence specialist working in the organization’s nascent cruise missile program. He later worked as a police officer in Tacoma for 25 years.

Swortz has two sons who are veterans; one was in the Army and the other the Marine Corps. He says he still has friends from his service days, too. As a member of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal service order, Swortz works to honor and provide services for veterans.

“We just sent 17 veterans to a religious pilgrimage for healing to Lourdes, France last Tuesday,” Swortz said. “It’s one of the projects for the Knights of Columbus that we do for veterans.”

For Smith, the dedication carried great personal significance.

“I’m a Gold Star wife, so it means a lot to me,” Smith said after the ceremony.

Smith’s husband served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. Her brother was in the Navy. Her father served in the Army during World War II and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Both of her sons served in the Army.

“Most of the people in Yelm understand how important the military is to their city, both in protecting the country and the city,” Smith said. “But they are our neighbors, they live here, they shop here, and a lot of the military who get stationed at (Joint Base Lewis–McChord) end up retiring here. It’s amazing.”

Other notable attendees included JW Foster, former mayor of Yelm and current mayoral candidate, and Yelm Councilmember Joshua Crossman. Dorrie Carr, incoming president of the Washington State Federation of Garden Clubs, also attended the event.