SIU will commemorate Veterans Day with the annual vigil at the flagpole near the center of campus on Saturday. The vigil begins at 6 a.m. at the Old Main Flagpole, just south of Woody Hall. ROTC cadets will stand silent vigil throughout the day, changing shifts every 15 minutes, until noon. At 11am there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at the flagpole and a shadowbox will be unveiled to posthumously honor retired Lt. Col. Harvey Welch, an SIU alumnus and member of Air Force ROTC Detachment 205. The Centralia, Illinois, native was the first Black player on the Saluki basketball team and SIU’s first Black Air Force ROTC graduate. After 20 years of service in the Air Force, Welch returned to SIU as dean and vice chancellor for student affairs, retiring in 1999. Everyone is welcome to attend the event.
The annual “Scouting For Food” food drive begins this Saturday. Local Boy Scouts will deliver blue plastic bags to various homes in the area. They ask that you place non-perishable food items in the bag and leave it out for the scouts to collect on Saturday, November 18th. There will also be a drop box in the two Carbondale fire stations where people can drop off food donations for the drive.
In Mt Vernon, KEITH HERTENSTEIN will present “THE ELKS AND VETERAN’S DAY”
Saturday at 2:00pm in the Schweinfurth Museum at the Historical Village. Hertenstein will discuss the connection between the Elks and Veterans Day. He will also cover the history of the Elks Veterans Services Program, current Elks Veterans’ activities and how the public can help. This program is provided free of charge. For more information contact the Historical Society office at (618) 246-0033.
