Monroe County Community College will host a “Thank You, Veterans” event on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, to honor soldiers and their families for their service to our country.
The event, which is open to the public, will begin at 3 p.m. at the Potter’s Field on the MCCC Main Campus.
MCCC’s Main Campus is located at 1555 S.Raisinville Rd. in Monroe. The Potter’s Field is located in the area between the main and south entrances to the college along Raisinville Road.
A ceremony at the Potter’s Field will include a welcome by MCCC President Dr. Kojo A. Quartey, a moment of silence, the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem.
The event will then move to the La-Z-Boy Center Atrium just behind the Potters’ Field for additional speakers and activities, as well as recognition of veterans in Monroe County. Among those slated to speak are Wayne Blank, chair of the Monroe County Veterans Advisory Committee, and William Bruck, an MCCC trustee and the owner of Visiting Angels in Monroe. Following open comments, there will be fellowship and refreshments.
In the case of inclement weather, the entire program will be moved to the La-Z-Boy Center Atrium.
About the Potter’s Field at MCCC
In 1982 and 1871 Monroe County purchased parcels of land just east of present day Raisinville Road for a poor farm and county infirmary as a way of caring for the indigent. This institution included a potter’s field, where people without means were interred in unmarked graves. Burials continued until the 1940s.
Among those buried there is Ezra Younglove (1787-1867), a War of 1812 veteran who was awarded a gold medal for service as a sharpshooter on the Niagara during the Battle of Lake Erie on Sept. 10, 1813.
The area is part of the land provided to MCCC by the county in 1964 when the college was established.