The Jefferson County Library will hold a symposium next month honoring veterans and active service members, complete with live music from The Missouri Big Band and oral histories from veterans
The free event, called Saluting our Soldiers, will begin at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 1, at Rickman Auditorium, 747 Jeffco Blvd., in Arnold. Tickets must be reserved in advance at one of the four county libraries or online at salute.brownpapertickets.com.
“We wanted to celebrate and salute our local veterans and current service members while also recognizing the difficult sacrifices that often come with fulfilling our civic duty,” the library’s interim director, Cindy Hayes, said in a written statement.
State Rep. Phil Amato (R-Arnold) will give a welcome at the start of the event, followed by the St. Louis Special Needs Color Guard’s presentation of the colors.
The library will then premiere oral histories provided by five local veterans at 3:15 p.m. Library staff worked with the Connect Video in St. Louis to film the interviews. Recordings of the interviews will be available after the event in the Genealogy Department at the Northwest Branch, 5680 Hwy. PP, in High Ridge.
“There’s something almost magical about seeing and hearing someone share their story in their own words,” said Charlene Oldham, adult services manager at the library’s Arnold Branch, who interviewed the veterans featured in the video. “I hope that seeing these videos not only brings these veterans’ experiences to life, but also inspires audience members to interview and record their friends and family.
“Everyone has a story to tell. And everyone who has a smartphone can be part of collecting those stories for the future.”
Local residents have donated military service artifacts, including photos, letters and uniforms, to the library, and those will be on display in the auditorium.
Jefferson College Professor Joseph Thurman will give an address at 3:45 p.m. “highlighting the importance of civic duty for all,” the library reported.
The Missouri Big Band will play “old-time hits and crowd favorites,” beginning at 4 p.m. The 17-piece band plays jazz and swing music, complete with trumpets, trombones and saxophones.
Arnold Historical Society members and Jefferson College representatives will provide logistical support for the symposium, and the Missouri Humanities Council and the Arnold Tourism Commission are providing funding.
For more information about the event, visit jeffcolib.org.
“Civic duty has great social value regardless of the scale of the service,” said Aaliyah Kindt, library services and outreach coordinator. “Each of us should do our part to sacrifice and support our neighbors. There is no better embodiment of this sacrifice than the example provided by our local veterans.”