New Fourth Street program honors local veterans

Huntingburg — Historic Fourth Street will soon feature banners honoring local service members, thanks to a special program offered by the City of Huntingburg and the Huntingburg Merchants.

The newly announced Hometown Heroes Lamp Post Banner program will allow residents to honor any veteran–currently serving, living, or deceased–with personalized banners on the 38 lamp posts lining two blocks of Fourth Street.

The program came about because the current banners lining the street needed to be replaced.

“Those (banners) only have a lifetime of so long and they are getting worn out,” Andrea Tooley, vice president of the Huntingburg Merchants and owner of Firefly, said. “During discussions, the city was looking for someone to take on the project and care for those banners.”

The Huntingburg Merchants organization decided they would do it. “We were excited about taking it on,” she said.

The group is dedicated to creating fun events to attract visitors to Fourth Street while also working to beautify the downtown.

While planning what would replace the current banners, the group was considering ways to honor the military in light of Memorial Day approaching when Mayor Neil Elkins suggested adding the personalized banners.

“Everyone just jumped on board,” Tooley said. “How can you not get excited about this?”

The merchants are still working with the supplier on a finalized design for the banners, but on Thursday, the group announced the initiative on Facebook. Since then, 11 of the 38 spots have already been filled.

“I’m not surprised they are going so quickly,” Tooley said, referring to the support for service members in the community.

“I think the majority of people locally, really have a lot of respect and honor for the people who are willing to serve,” she added.

Family or friends can honor their special veterans or donate a spot for a veteran using the form below. The cost is $120 to cover the banner purchase and the City of Huntingburg is handling installation.

Since there are only 38 spots available, being featured is on a first-come-first-serve basis. Anyone who doesn’t make it will be put on a waiting list to be considered first next year. “We don’t want to leave anyone out,” Tooley said.

While the merchants would like to have the new banners up in time for Memorial Day, they aren’t sure if that will happen based on the print schedules and installation process. They do hope to have them up by June, and once they are up, the 38 banners will remain up until after Veteran’s Day.

“After Veteran’s Day, we will present them to the people who purchased them as a keepsake,” Tooley said.

You can print or download the application form below or pick one up at Firefly Boutique, 401 East Fourth Street, Huntingburg.