The County Press

County observes Veterans Day this weekend




LAPEER COUNTY — It was originally called Armistice Day, set to mark the end of what at first known as The Great War, but in 1954 President Dwight Eisenhower changed the name to Veterans Day to honor all living veterans who served their country honorably during war or peacetime.

Sunday is Veterans Day and veterans groups across Lapeer County will hold observances and activities this weekend.

• Columbiaville Elementary School will host Vets in the Classroom following lunch Friday (Nov. 9). This will mark the first year that K-4 students participate in the 11-yearold event. Weather permitting, reservists from the 9-19th Transportation Company will bring military vehicles to the school for students to have some hands-on time with.

• In North Branch, Ralph Deshetsky will hold his 49th Veterans Day steak dinner for area veterans. Deshetsky first held the event at his company, Production Thread Products, in 1969 to mark the return home of one of his employees who had gone to fight in Vietnam.

The doors of North Branch’s First Baptist Church, 6701 Lincoln St., will open at 11:45 a.m. and Production Thread Products employees, who put the event together, will start to serve steak dinners at 12:30 p.m. They expect to serve about 160 veterans.

• Also on Friday, the Lapeer County Veterans Affairs Office will serve light refreshments from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. to show their appreciation for all county employees who served in the military. An office spokesman said other county employees are encouraged to stop by the Veterans Affairs office, 287 W. Nepsessing St. in Lapeer, to show their appreciation.

• The Lapeer Elks Club will serve a free “thank you” dinner for area veterans at 5 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 10) at the Elks Lodge, 200 East Nepessing St. in Lapeer. Seating is limited to the first 100 people. To make a reservation, call the Lapeer Elks at 810-664-3216.

Veterans and their guests will be treated to a roast beef dinner and entertainment by Gary Dixon. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m., followed by entertainment at 7 p.m.

• In North Branch, the student-led Veterans Esteem Team will hold its third annual Veterans Appreciation Dinner from 5-8 p.m. Saturday at the North Branch Middle School. Registration will be held from 4:30 to 5 p.m. at the school.

Along with a buffet dinner, music and speakers, the free event will include a presentation of the Michigan Moving Wall which bears the names off all Michigan residents who died while serving in the Armed Forces in Vietnam.

To reserve a space, call 810-346- 3560 or email our.VET.team@gmail.com.

• At 11 am. Sunday, Lapeer Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4139 and other veterans groups will gather at Veterans Memorial Park on the west end of Nepessing Street, across from Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, to remember those who serve our country in the Armed Forces.

• In honor of Veterans Day, the Flint Firebirds hockey team is inviting Lapeer County veterans and their families to be their guests on Friday, Nov. 9, when the Firebirds will face off against the Soo Greyhounds at Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center at 7 p.m. Sponsored by View Newspaper Group, the evening will offer free tickets to veterans and their family.

Tickets are now available at the Lapeer County Department of Veterans Affairs office, located at 287 W. Nepessing Street in downtown Lapeer. Four tickets per family, must present ID. For more information, visit www.flintfirebirds.com.