MasonBuzz.com

Veteran’s Day is Sunday and the area is gearing up to celebrate veterans with a variety of programs this weekend.

SATURDAY:

Warren County will hold its veterans memorial ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday at the veterans memorial at the corner of East Warren and High Schools in Lebanon. Warren County Sheriff Larry Sims will be the keynote speaker.

The Lebanon, Mason & Monroe Railroad will remember veterans Saturday with special one-hour train rides and walk-through displays of military equipment and vehicles.

Veterans receive a free ride in coach on Saturday with proof of service. Other ticket prices are #13 adults; $8 for seniors and children ages 5-16; $5 for toddlers ages 2-4 and free for children 1 and under. Rides depart from the Lebanon station at 127 S. Mechanic St.

The railroad will hold a USA Style Dance from 7-10 p.m. Saturday. Admission is a $5 donation to the United Service Organizations. Reserve tickets by calling 513-933-8022, ext. 106.  More information is at www.lebanonrr.com.

SUNDAY:

The city will hold a memorial service at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Mason City Building, 6000 Mason-Montgomery Road. Steve Maynard, a captain who served 29 years in the U.S. Navy, will be the guest speaker.

MONDAY:

Veterans are invited to attend a breakfast at Mason Middle School at 8:30 a.m. Monday at the school, 6370 Mason-Montgomery Road. A tribute to veterans follows the breakfast.

Emeritus at Long Cove Pointe will hold a flag raising at 1 p.m. Monday in which they will honor 7 local WWII veterans, along with current veterans at 5535 Irwin Simpson Road.

Second-grade students at Mason Early Childhood Center will demonstrate proper flag folding techniques at 11 a.m. and 11:40 a.m. Monday at the school, 4631 Hickory Woods Drive.

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Tags: Tags: breakfast, dance, emeritus at long cove pointe, flag folding, lebanon mason & monroe roadilroad, mason, mason early childhood center, mason middle school, memorial service, uso, veteran's day

Students at Mason Intermediate celebrated Veterans Day on Nov. 11 with a special ceremony honoring local military veterans.  The Enquirer’s Leigh Taylor was there to capture these shots.  Click on each image to see a larger-resolution version.

Posted in: Schools |

Tags: Tags: mason intermediate, military, patriotism, photos, students, veteran's day, veterans

It’s Veteran’s Day. Here’s how Mason is celebrating the nation’s military veterans.

Mason Schools planned several early morning tributes to veterans at its schools, including a veteran’s breakfast, parade and ceremony. Liberty Bible Academy also held a flag-raising ceremony early this morning in which they honored local veterans.

What’s ahead for today:

• Mason Christian Village will hold Veteran’s Appreciation Day beginning at 11 a.m. at 411 Western Row Road.
• Mason Heights Elementary will hold a flag folding ceremony from 1-2 p.m. at 200 Northcrest Drive.

• The City of Mason will hold a Veteran’s Celebration at 7 p.m. at the Mason Municipal Center, 6000 Mason-Montgomery Toad. Guests are invited to visit the outdoor Mason Veterans Memorial near the southwest corner of the Municipal Center any time today.  Harry O. Rohde, World War II veteran and recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with three clusters, and Purple Heart medals, will be the featured speaker. Mason Community Band will provide music.

• All Greater Cincinnati and Dayton area Papa John’s locations are committing $1 to the USO for every online order placed between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. today. Papa John’s has one Mason location at 5612 Tylersville Road.
• Military veterans work out free today between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. at Urban Active locations in Greater Cincinnati. Urban Active has one Mason area location at 5600 Deerfield Blvd. in Deerfield Township.

What’s ahead for this weekend:

• The Mason Community Band will perform a free concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Mason Middle School, 6370 Mason-Montgomery Road. The band will perform the patriotic musical selection, “Freedom Keepers.

Submit your Veteran’s Day celebration photos to MasonBuzz. All photos will be featured in a special gallery on MasonBuzz.

Posted in: Community, Events, Recreational events |

Tags: Tags: armistice day, business, city of mason, concert, deerfield township, free, liberty bible academy, mason, mason christian village, mason community band, mason heights elementary, mason schools, military, papa john's, urban active, veteran's day, veterans

Eric Fisk has been counting down the years and days to his 11th birthday.

All birthdays, especially for children, are special.  But for Eric, his birthday will truly be exceptional — or at least out of the ordinary.

Thanks to an alignment of digits, Eric celebrates his golden birthday today to the fifth power: turning 11 on Nov. 11, 2011.  What’s more, the Mason boy was born 11 minutes before 11 a.m.

The math doesn’t stop there: Eric calculates that Veteran’s Day, the day upon which his birthday falls, is 11 letters long.  So too is World War I and II, when you spell out the digits, he says.

“It feels really cool,” said Eric.  ”I don’t think many people get the chance to have a birthday  that’s all one digit.  There’s not many chances of that happening.”

Eric’s father, David Fisk, said he and wife Tammy didn’t realize the full coincidence of Eric’s birth date and time until about six years ago, when they needed to make a copy of his birth certificate.

But it was Eric, they say, who realized the significance of his golden birthday — the day when he turns the age of his birth day.

“He’s literally talked about it for five to six years,” said David Fisk.  ”It’s really been something he’s been looking forward to.”

Eric, an avid sports buff who’s in the fifth grade at St. Margaret of York, already celebrated his birthday with friends at Great Wolf Lodge.

He asked his guests to skip the gifts and instead bring $11 donations for family friend Rob Hertzel, who’s battling Stage 4 colorectal cancer.*

“He’s a sensitive kid to start with, but to give up birthday presents for an 11-year-old kid, that’s a lot,” said David Fisk.  “It meant the world to the family and it certainly meant the world to his mom and I.”

The best part of his unique birthday?

“Being able to talk to my brothers (Bradley, 18, and Kyle, 16) and show it off,” he said with a giggle.

David Fisk says Eric’s birthday is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of event that may be the talk among the family for some time.

“This is certainly his moment to shine,” he said.  “We may buy him a lottery ticket with at least one number 11 in it.”

* Update: Family friend Rob Hertzel lost his battle with cancer on Friday afternoon — on Eric’s birthday.  Eric’s dad, David Fisk, says, “The timing of Eric’s gift to Rob and his family is a wonderful life-lesson for Eric. Rob had a gift of making everyone around him feel very special, and Eric felt important around Rob. I think they will have a very special bond from now on and one that will always be remembered on 11/11.”

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Tags: Tags: birthday, cancer, david fisk, eric fisk, golden birthday, great wolf lodge, mason, nov. 11, rob hertzler, st. margaret of york, tammy fisk, veteran's day