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Last updated: Monday, March 3, 2003
Schoolchildren, motorists support troops
BREWER — For the past four months, pupils in Jennifer Chiavelli’s third-grade class at Brewer’s Washington Street School have written to American soldiers stationed in Afghanistan.
The many letters, e-mails and packages sent back and forth have educated the children about the sacrifices made by military families and made them sensitive to their classmates who have mothers and fathers in the Air and Army National Guard, according to their teacher.
The good will demonstrated by the class contrasts with some reports of teasing and anti-war comments made to students in other areas whose parents may be involved in the war on Iraq, according to the teacher.
The 9-year-olds in Brewer have “gone overboard” to support the troops and are “overprotective … very considerate and very caring toward the children” who have parents in the military, she said.
During a weekend when area residents also rallied near the Bangor Mall in support of the men and women in the military, Chiavelli told of her class shipping another package to Afghanistan, this one replete with simple poems filled with patriotism and childlike admiration.
“Roses are red, violets are blue. Our country is so proud of you,” wrote one pupil.
Chiavelli’s 22-year-old brother, John Zani, is an Army Ranger stationed in Afghanistan. The children have drawn pictures of Zani, who shares them with his buddies stationed overseas. The communication benefits everybody and has caught the attention of Brewer School Superintendent Betsy Webb.
The activity, “really fits into our Community of Caring program,” said Webb. Community of Caring is a values-based program encompassing such words as “responsibility,” according to Webb.
“The guardspeople are doing their responsibility. No matter what any individual may have in regards to an opinion on what our country is doing or our country’s position on possible war, it is our school’s responsibility to respect those people, to care for them and to support them.”
The superintendent said she was “so proud of our system, all the way from children to teachers, being kind and respectful and going out of their way to touch base with people who are in difficult situations — and really knowing that all we can do to support each other ultimately has impact for our entire country,” Webb said.
In other activity, an impromptu gathering to show support for Maine men and women in the military drew about 75 people to the Hogan Road in Bangor Saturday afternoon.
Organized by Richard Campbell of Orrington, the crowd sported signs such as “Honk to Show Support.” A cacophony of horns responded to the signs and a partylike atmosphere prevailed. Campbell, 53, served in the Air Force and Air National Guard in the 1960s and ’70s. He said he organized the event after hearing some high school students in southern Maine express frustration about how to show support for members of the military.
“This area has many people who’ve served in the Guard and Reserve, as well as many veterans,” he said. “They are a quiet presence in Bangor, and we wanted to express our appreciation. After all, these are our neighbors who are having their families broken up because of the recent deployments.”
Campbell described reaction to the event as overwhelmingly positive with only two or three people reacting negatively to the demonstration.
Campbell said he had the idea for the event two days earlier when he overheard students in southern Maine talking about a supposed lack of sensitivity toward military families being demonstrated in Maine schools.
Disabled American veterans, Vietnam veterans and others waved signs along the busy thoroughfare early Saturday afternoon. Later, they moved to the Griffin Road to thank Army and Air National Guard reservists as they completed their once-a-month weekend duty.
Bangor Mayor Nichi Farnham waved signs as did her two children. An Air Force Academy alumnus, Farnham spent 10 years in the military, six in active duty. Her husband, Douglas Farnham, is in the local Air Guard unit and helps refuel aircraft in midair. As host city to local Air and Army National Guard units, it is “fitting and appropriate” that residents show support for the military, Farnham said.
Eileen and Dennis Shellabarger of Steuben came to Bangor for Saturday’s rally to deliver a message of hope that the state will preserve veterans centers in Machias and Portland. Instead of giving themselves a $6 million raise, Eileen Shellabarger urged legislators to “shave one day off their schedule” and use the savings to fund the veterans centers, which have been scheduled for the chopping block in a proposal to resolve the state’s estimated $1.2 billion budget deficit.