AMERY
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020 VOL. 128 NO. 21 www.theameryfreepress.com $1.00
Fa-boo-lous!
Milton Johnson proud of military service
Amery Trick-or-Treat event October 31 BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
Sticky fingers and tired feet, mean businesses were visited for Trick-or-Treat. The Amery Community Club in partnership with Amery area businesses welcome community members to join them for their annual Trick-or-Treat event Saturday, October 31 from 10:a.m. to Noon. Participating businesses will be ready with treats available for kids in their Halloween costumes. All participating businesses will be outside of their stores this year. It is asked that all little witches and warlocks practice social distancing by remaining a brooms length apart (six feet) from anyone who is not in their household. Please maintain a safe distance from other groups and wait to approach a table until the previous group has left. All attendees must wear a face covering. Per the CDC, a Halloween costume mask is not a substitute for a cloth mask or a face covering. Costume masks can be used if it is made of two or more layers of breathable fabric that covers
Editor’s note: To mark the 75th Anniversary of World War II, interviews were conducted with living veterans. This is one in an ongoing series. “It is better to fight for something, than live for nothing.”-General George Patton, Jr. Milton Johnson is 96-yearsold. He never thought he would live to be such an age. He has fought for something as a member of the United States Army during WWII and he has lived a plentiful life since. Johnson grew up in Amery. Around the age of 18 he was drafted, joined the Army and was sent to boot camp at Fort Riley in Kansas. In 1887, Fort Riley became the site of the United States Cavalry School. The famous all-black 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments, the soldiers of which were called "Buffalo Soldiers", were stationed at Fort Riley at various times in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Since the end of World War
SEE HALLOWEEN, PAGE 2A
CONTRIBUTED
AHS Homecoming Royalty Lidia Curtis and Sammy Otto were crowned Amery High School’s 2020 Homecoming Queen and King.
II, various infantry divisions have been assigned there. Johnson said he was scared when he was drafted as he was young and he did not know what the future would hold for him. From Fort Riley, Johnson was sent to North Carolina where he was trained in advanced infantry. Johnson After North Carolina, Johnson headed to Fort Meade in Maryland. Fort Meade is located between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore and is the second-largest workforce of any Army installation in the U.S. Fort Meade became a training center during World War II, its ranges and other facilities used by more than 200 units and approximately 3,500,000 men between 1942 and 1946. The wartime peak-military personnel figure SEE WWII, PAGE 2A
Help spotlight our hometown heroes BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
President Ronald Regan once said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same.” Amery High School (AHS) has a long, rich history of graduates who have gone on to serve our nation through
the various branches of the U.S. Military. Each year, AHS honors the former Warriors during their Annual Veterans Day program. Many times veterans, students, staff and the community members who attend the program have listened to an address given by a former AHS student/veteran about their military experience. In 2018, Andrea (Gehrman) Franzen gave the address. She is a 2007 AHS graduate and member of the United States
APRIL ZIEMER | AMERY FREE PRESS
Students watch veterans exit from the 2018 Veterans Day program.
Air Force. Franzen said, “Returning to
the high school I attended to give the Veterans Day address
was something I never thought I’d be asked to do, but was a tremendous honor. When joining the military, you never quite know where life might take you but you hold close where you came from. My upbringing and the educational influences I experienced in Amery largely shaped the success I’ve had in the military. It was a unique experience to be the guest speaker and allowed me to SEE VETERANS DAY, PAGE 2A
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