Blue Star Marker dedication to be held May 17 in Yelm

The Blue Star Memorial by-way marker that disappeared from Tim’s Pharmacy has been replaced.

At 11 a.m. Saturday, May 17, Armed Forces Day, a dedication ceremony will be held for the new marker.

Dee Smith, Blue Star Marker chair for the Black Hills District of Garden Clubs, has coordinated the ceremony along with her club, in cooperation with Tim’s Pharmacy owner, Will Quinby.

The history of Blue Star Memorial Markers goes back to 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 as a memorial to veterans of World War II.

The idea was quickly endorsed on a national level. Within years, Blue Star Memorial Highway Markers were created and placed alongside highways across the country. The Blue Star was chosen due to its iconic status during World War II, when flags and banners with the star were hung to honor service members.

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.

Over time, the program expanded to honor all service members, and other markers were created to include different locations — not just highways — such as the Blue Star Memorial by-way marker that was installed outside Tim’s Pharmacy by the now-defunct Lake Lawrence Garden Club in 1991.

The marker had originally been located in the garden area of the parking lot.

“When I became the Blue Star Marker chair for Black Hills District of Garden Clubs, I was informed that the marker had gone missing,” Dee Smith wrote to the Nisqually Valley News.

Smith met with Quinby and Joel Sponton, manager of Tim’s Pharmacy. Quincy and Sponton explained that during renovations to the garden area, the marker, which was mounted on a 2-by-4, had been moved.

Quinby and Sponton said they’d look for it.

“The marker was not found and Mr. Quinby offered to replace the marker and have it properly and permanently mounted on a large stone,” Smith wrote.
Smith ordered and received the new marker, along with two additional plaques, “one commemorating Lake Lawrence Garden Club, the other stating that the Marker was donated by Tim’s Pharmacy.”

“We had planned to have a dedication ceremony in November, but due to inclement weather, it was postponed,” Smith wrote. “We are now planning the ceremony for Saturday, May 17, Armed Forces Day.”

According to Smith, Yelm Mayor Joe DePinto is scheduled to speak, along with Judy Swortz, Blue Star Memorials chairperson for the Washington State Federation of Garden Clubs. Smith said her garden club plans to have a chaplain give a benediction and have someone to sing the national anthem. Refreshments will be provided by Masonry Cafe following the event.

Smith said she also intends to send invitations to members of the American Legion Post 164 in Yelm and the local Nisqually Valley Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5580.