One-of-a-kind symbols of appreciation presented to local military veterans

It’s a wonderful feeling when you complete the long process of handcrafting a quilt...almost as good as the feeling when giving a quilt away. If you belonged to the local Memorial Quilters Club you would have gotten to do both this month, through the club’s longstanding relationship with the “Quilts of Valor” program. Formed nine years ago, QOV nationally has distributed more than 69,000 quilts to honor service by members of the military. Quilts were presented to two veterans, both 2010 graduates of Chisago Lakes High School, now home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Seth Peterson, 20, served in the First Brigade, heavy combat team, 34th Infantry of the I-94th Cavalry Unit out of Cloquet, Minnesota. Peterson served in Kuwait and had missions in north Iraq. His grandmother is a member of the Forest Lake Memorial Quilters Club. Patrick Mariakis, 21, was in Jalalabad, Afghanistan and was only deployed six months when he was injured. He was awarded the Purple Heart and returned home. He worked for a time with the Army and is now a forklift operator. Memorial Quilters Club members were thrilled to present the men with the quilts, and hope every time they see the red, white and blue quilts they realize how appreciated their service is. Memorial Quilters meet at the Forest Lake Senior Center. For details about patterns and sizes for making Quilts of Valor or other information about how to participate, see www.qovf-um.org.