“OHIOANS SERVING IN THE ARMED FORCES TO BE HONORED AT MEMORIAL FOREST SHRINE IN ASHLAND COUNTY:

Ohio Federation of Women’s Clubs celebrate Armed Forces Day

COLUMBUS, OH - The Ohio Federation of Women’s Clubs will honor members of the military and their families on Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20 at Mohican-Memorial State Forest, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Forestry. A service will begin at 10 a.m. at the Memorial Forest Shrine, which is just off State Route 97, and close to State Route 3, in Ashland County.

“More than 310,000 trees have been planted over the years by state foresters as living memorials to the nearly 20,000 war dead honored within the shrine,” said Frank Corona, an ODNR assistant district forester.

The Memorial Forest Shrine, a 32-foot by 24-foot sandstone chapel-like structure, was constructed as a monument to the men and women who lost their lives in service to their country. Members of the Ohio Federation of Women’s Clubs from throughout the state were instrumental in raising the money to build the shrine, which was dedicated on April 27, 1947. Inside the shrine are books inscribed with the names of Ohio’s casualties of our country’s most recent conflicts.

The Armed Forces Day service will highlight the federation’s project, Operation: Helping Hands for Heroes.
“The heroes are the deployed, the veterans, the families left behind to cope, the widows and widowers, the children who have lost a parent, and the Gold Star Mothers,” said Patrice Booze, president of the Ohio Federation of Women’s Clubs. “The project provides a variety of ways that clubwomen can help Ohio’s heroes, from collecting needed items for service members and their families, to writing letters of support, thanks, and encouragement to troops.”

A joint initiative of ODNR and the federation, the Memorial Forest Shrine is maintained by the ODNR Division of Forestry, which also oversees the surrounding 4,525-acre state forest.

Source: ODNR