Stamford church thanks veterans with special display made from knitted, crafted poppies

A Stamford church is saying thank you to our veterans with a special display in their honor.

News 12 Staff

Nov 3, 2020, 12:03 AM

Updated 1,413 days ago

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A Stamford church is saying thank you to our veterans with a special display in their honor.
First Presbyterian Church is known for its unique architecture - it's even called "The Fish Church" because of the shape of its building.
But, drive by and something else might catch your eye - a cascade of color on the front lawn.
"This year there's somewhere between 1,100 and 1,200 poppies there," says Nancy Love Weith. "This is our display to honor all veterans, but inspired by the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I."
The poppies were created by knitters like Weith, who is a member of the church's knitting group, The Gathering.
Church member Alina Petroni spearheaded the effort to place poppies at the church after she was impressed with red poppy displays in her native country of England two years ago.
The first display went up right before Veterans Day last year.
This November, the tribute is out a little early, but for good reason - an influx of people are expected Tuesday for Election Day.
"This is a polling place and we felt that it would be a nice symbol even though Veterans Day isn't until the 11th... that people could see this and thank the veterans for everything that they do," Weith says.
Weith says about 50 people contributed to the poppy project, with many of them not part of the congregation.
They plan to put out the poppies every year before Veterans Day - adding to the effort each time.
"There's about 150-200 more than there were last year," Weith says.
If you want to look at the display, the church is located at 1101 Bedford St.