Drawings, like the one above, made by students in the Karns City and Moniteau school districts were sent to Butler County veterans for Memorial Day. Students from the two schools crafted 505 letters, poems and cards.

Brenda Knoll read some of the submissions with a beaming smile.

And some while blinking away tears.

Knoll, the Karns City High School principal, and John Stoughton, the athletic director at Moniteau High School, teamed up recently to gather handmade cards and other items to send to area veterans for Memorial Day.

“We wanted to make sure these veterans were not forgotten,” Stoughton said. “Two (Dassa McKinney Elementary School) teachers — Kim McBryar and Chad Dillon — really helped put it all together.”

Stoughton and everyone involved in the project feared veterans would be lost in the shuffle because of the coronavirus pandemic that has canceled so many traditional events in and around Butler County.Including Memorial Day festivities.So, Stoughton, Knoll and others went to work getting names and addresses of all members of the local Legions in West Sunbury, Chicora and East Brady.Next, they got the word out that they would accept creations from the Moniteau and Karns City school districts for the project.Things such as cards, paintings, poems — anything to lift the spirits of the veterans on Memorial Day.The response was overwhelming, Stoughton said.<i>This is an excerpt from a larger article that appeared in Sunday's Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article and read some of the cards sent in by students.</i>