Yellow ribbons, their meaning remain fresh in Rifle
Post Independent Staff
RIFLE ” About every six weeks, a group of volunteers headed up by Rifle resident Cathy Meskel clips the faded yellow ribbons that they’ve been tying to the trees and posts that line Railroad Avenue, replacing them with fresh, bright yellow ribbons.
On Friday afternoon, a few of the volunteers were back at it again.
Tami Veatch, who works at Meskel’s Nola’s Ark pet store, had a bunch of yellow ribbons in one hand as she approached another tree on Rifle’s main drag.
“I have two brothers and one sister in the service,” Veatch said. “The last time I saw them was two years ago. When there’s a blackout, they can’t contact us and we don’t know where they are.”
James Ruark of Rifle was helping Veatch tie the ribbons to the trees. He too has a personal story.
“My brother’s in Baghdad,” Ruark said. “The last time I heard from him was about a month ago.”
Up ahead of Veatch and Ruark, Meskel was tying ribbons on trees on the opposite side of the street with a couple of other volunteers, waving at passers-by who’d honk in support or give the group thumbs-up.
By Sunday, very few trees or posts on Railroad Avenue hadn’t been touched by the ribbon-tying troupe.
Accompanied by the gigantic American flag flying high above the Rifle fire station, Rifle was properly outfitted for Memorial Day.
Contact Carrie Click: 945-8515, ext. 518
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