By Meg Peters
Review Co-Editor
In times of war, planting a Victory Garden was one way local residents could come together sustainably, grow their own food and relieve pressure on food distributors feeding America’s freedom fighters overseas.
Popular not only to the U.S, many other countries planted Victory Gardens, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Germany during World War I and II.
Now Orion Township has a victory of its own to celebrate.
Local veterans added the symbolic Victory Garden to the Orion Veteran’s Memorial, last Wednesday, April 22, with a little help from the Lake Orion Home Depot.
With a $5,000 grant from the Home Depot Foundation, 35 district employees from as far as Detroit built two 22×4 foot raised gardens at the Orion Veteran’s Memorial to be stocked with vegetables, fruits and herbs in mid-May.
While this Victory Garden will serve as a reminder of U.S. history in times of war, it will also relieve the stress of local veterans who struggle to purchase food after returning home. All the produce grown by local volunteers will be given to local veterans in need and any leftover will be donated back to the Oxford/Orion Fish food pantry.
For Dr. Joseph Mastromatteo, chairman of the Orion Veteran’s board of directors, Orion’s very own Victory Garden is an honorable peek into the past.
‘It will remind veterans that the home front was doing everything they could to sustain themselves in times of war. But it’s also serves as a victory for the people at home who were rationing food, fuel and commodities.’It pulled the citizenry together as a united front, to give that feeling that they were doing something as well as our boys on the frontline.?
When the veteran’s board approached Home Depot with the project idea, and request for assistance, Team Depot District Captain Alana Hart jumped on board without hesitation.
‘Helping veterans and those in need is really what we believe in,? she said. ‘It’s one of our core values’giving back to the community.?
Team Depot, Home Depot’s associate-led volunteer program, brought building materials, dirt, pea gravel and lumber for the two gardens situated at the north end of the memorial, and will supply all the plants to be planted in May. The Orion Veteran’s Memorial is still looking for volunteers to help maintain the gardens throughout the summer, and interested participants can call their hotline at?248-693-6636.
This isn’t the first time Home Depot has helped out at the Veteran’s Memorial. Three years ago Team Depot installed the patio balcony, where presentations are delivered and entertainment has a solid roof against the weather.
Lake Orion Home Depot Store Manager Eric Bannister knows the veterans on a first-name basis.
‘They come in all the time,? he said. ‘We have a great relationship with not only the community, but the veteran community here in Lake Orion and Oxford as well. It’s great to give back, and especially to the veterans.?