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Introducing the Ohio Poppy Project

By Amy Rohmiller, Ohio World War I Coordinator, Ohio History Connection 

April 4, 2018

Help us commemorate the sacrifices of Ohio’s World War I service members! The Ohio World War I Centennial Committee is collecting homemade poppies from communities across Ohio for the commemoration of the Armistice that ended World War I and to recognize the hundreds of thousands of forgotten Ohioans who served in that war.

The Ohio Poppy Project wants to help communities across Ohio connect to their World War I history and honor World War I soldiers across the state. Our goal is to collect poppies until fall 2018 and display all the collected poppies at the Ohio History Center in Columbus as part of the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I on November 11, 2018.  Making poppies can be an easy, meaningful way for your historical society, community group, school class, or scout troop to commemorate The Great War.

Ohio played a major role in World War I in almost every area you can think of.  As a state, Ohio sent the 4th most troops in the country and about 5% of the entire nation’s military manpower. Ohio was the home of Camp Sherman, the third largest training camp for soldiers. Over 120,000 soldiers trained at the camp outside of Chillicothe. 

Poppies became a symbol of World War I and the contributions of our nation’s soldiers during the war with the publication of the poem In Flanders Fields by John McCrae. The poem memorializes soldiers who fought on the Western front, especially in northern Belgium. This area saw some of the worst fighting of the war. Poppies continue to be a symbol of World War I today.

If you would like to join our commemoration and make poppies, we have resources and templates to help.

If your class or group makes poppies and would like to have them displayed at the Ohio History Center during the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, you can ship them to:

Ohio World War I Committee
Ohio History Connection,
800 East 17th Ave,
Columbus OH 43211

The Ohio Poppy Project is inspired by the Kentucky Poppy Project.