THURSDAY AUGUST 10, 2006
Last modified: Monday, August 7, 2006 10:41 AM CDT
Photo: National winner -- Jenessa Miland reviews her scrapbook with her mom, Mindy. The six-year-old Stanley girl was selected for a national honor by the American Legion Auxiliary.
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Rod Stetzer / The Chippewa Herald
Poppies land Stanley girl national title
By ROD STETZER rstetzer@chippewa.com
Jenessa Miland likes poppies.
The six-year-old Stanley girl has made poppy cookies for the elderly in nursing homes.
She’s also has made:
- Poppy hats;
- Poppy bookmarks;
- A poppy poster and poppy basket;
- With other Brownies in her troop, she made poppy cards to be sent to veterans in hospitals.
She’s sold bright red crepe paper poppies, the symbol of the American Legion Auxiliary, at Stanley Alumni events.
“We’ve also passed poppies out on the street and at parades, too,” said her mother, Mindy.
“She wanted nothing more than to be the national poppy princess,” Mindy Miland said.
And that’s the role the national American Legion Auxiliary has selected for Jenessa.
To be exact, she is Tiny Miss Poppy, a national title available for one child age 12 and under. (A second title, Miss Poppy, is for a child over age 12.)
Jenessa won the honor July 20-23 at the Wisconsin American Legion Auxiliary convention in Middleton.
Mindy Miland is a member of the American Legion Auxiliary for the Walter Nelson -Unit 326 post in Boyd.
Besides Jenessa, Mindy and her husband Ben’s family includes son Benjamin, 8½, and niece Merissa, 15.
The familiar red crepe poppies sold by the Legion are made by veterans, allowing them to earn a small supplemental wage. The proceeds are used to support veterans and their families.
“The poppy also reminds the community of the past sacrifices and continuing needs of our veterans,” the national auxiliary Website, www.legion-aux.org, says.
Jenessa started as a “tinkerbell” for the legion auxiliary, playing bells at nursing homes including the Rutledge Home and Wissota Regional Vent Center, both in Chippewa Falls, and Our Lady of Victory Hospital in Stanley.
She became a poppy princess for the Boyd Legion in April 2005.
“We decided to start working on a scrapbook,” of her poppy activities, Mindy Miland said.
She took her scrapbook to a district, 10-county meeting in River Falls on April 24.
“Her book was judged and she won district,” Mindy Miland said.
From there she went to the state convention. Her scrapbook and her snappy poppy-red outfit helped her to win there.
“Then they announced she won the nationals,” Mindy Miland said.
Her scrapbook was sent to Salt Lake City, Utah, where the auxiliary will hold its national convention.
Copyright © 2006 Chippewa Valley Newspapers