After World War I, the red poppy became a symbol of the soldiers who died in the conflict. The American Legion Auxiliary promoted the poppy as a token of remembrance and sold paper poppies on the Saturday before Memorial Day.
Disabled veterans made the poppies from “acres of crepe paper and miles of wire.” The Auxiliary and Boy Scouts then sold the poppies. All the proceeds went to aid veterans, war widows, and their children.
“Wearing the poppy is a personal tribute to the men who gave their lives in the country’s service,” explained Ellendale Auxiliary member Esther V. Miller. “The poppy is the flower which bloomed on the battle fields where they fell and on Poppy Day it blooms again over the patriotic hearts where they are remembered.”
