Saturday, September 14, 2013

Blue Star Memorial Highways

Along Hwy 90 just south of Van Horn, this sign sits across from the local office of the Texas Department of Transportation.

Wikipedia says this about Blue Star highways:

Blue Star Memorial Highways are highways in the United States that are marked to pay tribute to the U.S. armed forces. The National Council of State Garden Clubs, now known as National Garden Clubs, Inc., started the program in 1945 after World War II. The blue star was used on service flags to denote a service member fighting in the war. The program has since been expanded to include Memorial Markers and Memorial By-ways (since 1994). These markers are used in National Cemeteries, parks, veterans facilities, and gardens.



For many years, Van Horn had an active garden club, which is likely the reason a marker exists in Van Horn. 
Photograph of Van Horn's Garden Club planting a tree in City Park, 1986, including Noble Smith, Rosa Lee Wylie, Nora Bell Munn, Louisa Rutledge, Mary Harrington, Yvonne Talley, Lorainne Tucker, Alice Russell, Katherine Posey, Benen Valdez

Van Horn Garden Club Planting Trees in City Park, 1986
, Photograph, n.d.; digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth14181/ ), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Clark Hotel Museum, Van Horn, Texas


Curiously, no Texas locations are listed on Wikipedia....do you know where other markers are located along Texas highways?


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