VFW AUXILIARY PRESENTS FLAG TO LEARNING CENTER

"Cool," said Wesley Keller, 8, as he knelt down to tie his shoe.

His gaze looked upward toward an American flag.

The Ladies' Auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3838 presented the Care Bears Learning Center with a 1-by-1 1/2-foot flag Thursday for its monthly Americanism project.

Because Saturday is Flag Day, the project seemed especially appropriate. The goal, however, was to show and explain to the learning center's children that honoring the men who fought for this country is important, said Judy Biester, president of the auxiliary.

"If we don't instill patriotism in children while they are young, they will forget what patriotism is by the time they are teen-agers," she said.

The auxiliary also donated a copy of "Bobby Bear and Uncle Sam's Riddle" by Dr. Lee Mountain to help the center start its new library. In the book, Uncle Sam, an eagle in patriot apparel, asks Bobby Bear what is red, white and blue.

Christina Wildman, 8, and Alisia Peel, 9, are just two of the children who not only know the answer to this question but can also recite what the colors stand for.

"Red -- blood. White -- purity. Blue -- battlefield," Wildman said before asking if that meant she could have her own flag.

Terry Wildman, the center's part owner and manager, makes history and Americanism a priority in the center's curriculum.

Preschool students recite presidents' names while children as young as 3-year-old Jacy Keller "can rattle off state capitals just like that, without even thinking about it," he said snapping his fingers.

Small riddles like "The ark landed on the rock in Arkansas" and, for Missouri, "Jeffrey lives in Jefferson City" enhance the children's memories, Wildman said.

So when he says "People in Kentucky like hot dogs," to Leah Cooper, 5, it's a matter of seconds before "Frankfort" escapes from her lips.

Wildman wants to see the knowledge and appreciation of history grow in the children whom he, his mother, Charlotte, and grandmother Clola Omara care for.

One way it can grow is through the people who know history the best, those in different organizations like the VFW and their auxiliaries, Biester said. "Other history teachers who have not lived history do not put as much into it.

Wildman will shake his head in agreement because he can specifically recall Colonel Grisham, his 10th and 11th grade history teacher at Cape Girardeau Central High School.

"He would tell us little stories about how he got captured during war and it was a lasting memory," he said. "Colonel Grisham was there to teach us Missouri history, but he taught us so much more."