Three Kings Holiday Party

Posted on 22. Nov, 2009 by sherry.mazzocchi in Arts and Culture, Sandeep Junnarkar, Uncategorized, Urban

Airforce vet Abdul Muhammed and Elmo

You can measure a community’s richness by its accomplishments. Every year the Daniel M. O’Connell American Legion Post 272 holds a Three Kings Holiday Party for veterans from St. Albans Veterans Homes.

[Listen below to hear Mary Romos tell how the tradition got started and Louis Romos talk about life in the service. Three vets living at St. Albans: Wendell Williams, David Southerland and Perry Wald, talk about their lives.]

Members of the Legion and the Ladies Auxiliary cooked and served a pot roast dinner to about 60 veterans. They played games, handed out prizes and made their guests feel welcome.

But it’s not just the Legion and the Ladies Auxiliary that got involved. Lots of community members participate in the event, too. The local chapter of the Knights of Columbus donates the space for free.

Hand knit blankets

Senior citizens at JASA knitted blankets, hats and scarves for the vets.

Paper hugs made by school children

Local school children wrote heart-felt letters, thanking vets for their service to our country. They also sent hugs as gifts–outstretched hands made of paper that say ‘thank you’ and ‘I love you.’ Local stores donated toiletries and clothing. Still others donated clothing, books and stuffed animals.

Vets at the Three Kings Holiday Party

The party used to be held closer to the traditional Three Kings Holiday–in January, near the Feast of the Epiphany. But sometimes the winter weather was so bad that traveling was a problem for the elderly vets, so they moved the party to November.

Each vet also receives ‘canteen books,’ a form of currency used instead of cash at St. Albans.

“They walk away with a lot of nice things,” said Mike Honan, the Queens Commander of the the American Legion, who has helped put together the event for the past four years. “And at the end of they day, we feel good, too.”