Saturday, October 12, 2024
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Algoma youth named Poppy Princess

Posted

Emerson Hooker

For the Star-News

ALGOMA – Ernest Haucke American Legion Post No. 236 and the Auxiliary announced their 2023 Poppy Princess leading up to the Memorial Day weekend.

Emerson Hooker is 6 years old and is in first grade.

Her family has a long history of military service.

Emerson has three great-grandfathers who served in World War II — Harold Hohendorf, Army; Claude Colburn, Army; and Alexander Hooker, Marine Corps — and her grandfather, James Hooker, served in the Coast Guard.

Emerson and her parents, Andrew and Laura Hooker, attended the Memorial Day parade and ceremonies in Algoma on May 29.

“On Sept. 27, 1920, the poppy became the official flower of the American Legion Family to memorialize the soldiers who fought and died in the war. In 1924, the distribution of poppies became a national program of the American Legion. The Poppy Princess helps officially distribute poppies in the community around Memorial Day, with a request that the person receiving the poppy make a donation to support veterans in their community,” said Post No. 236 Commander Tracy Steiner.

American Legion, Poppy Princess, World War II