Veterans Day in Ridgefield: how to honor, explore and show up on Wednesday
A ceremony downtown, a parade down the road, free admission to the refuge, a free coffee if you served, and a handful of ways to make the day mean something to your kids. Schools are out. Here is the plan.
Tomorrow is Veterans Day, and if you have school-age kids you already know, because the Ridgefield School District calendar told you weeks ago and your children have reminded you daily. It is a federal holiday and a Washington state holiday, which means no mail, most banks closed, and a lot of families looking at each other around 9 a.m. wondering what to do with the day.
So here is what is actually happening, in town and close by. Some of it is about honoring the people who served. Some of it is just a good day out that happens to be free tomorrow. Both count.
Veterans Day at a glance
Start downtown, at the memorial
If you have lived here a while you have walked past it. If you are new, you might not have noticed it at all. The Ridgefield Veterans Memorial is small and tucked beside the downtown fire station on North Third Avenue, and it deserves more foot traffic than it gets.
Ridgefield has had a veterans memorial of some kind since the end of World War I. The first one stood at the entrance to the old Ridgefield High School. It moved over the years and picked up plaques for World War II and Vietnam along the way, until American Legion Post 44 led the effort to replace it. The current memorial was dedicated on Veterans Day weekend in 2012, when roughly 250 people stood in steady rain to watch. Four of the five columns carry the names of local service members who died in combat. The bricks behind it were sold to residents to honor veterans in their own families.
One name worth knowing before you go: Wells Armstrong. He was a 27-year-old Ridgefield farmer who joined the Army and was killed in France in July 1918, during the Aisne-Marne fighting near Château-Thierry. He was the first Ridgefield resident to die in France in World War I, and he is buried there, at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery. When the town's first American Legion post was founded in 1922, it was named for him. Post 44 still carries that history, and its members are the reason the memorial, the ceremony and those street flags exist at all.
The memorial is open any time, so even if you cannot make the ceremony, a ten-minute stop on the way to coffee is worth it. Bring the kids. Read a few names out loud. That is the whole assignment.
What is happening Wednesday
This is the hometown one: Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Overlook Park, rain or shine, with the Post 44 color guard and a community tribute. Local students usually take part, and one of the best moments comes after the formal part ends, when kids walk through the crowd handing out cards and drawings to the veterans.
It is short, it is outdoors, and it is very Ridgefield. Dress for weather and get there a few minutes early.
Want to do more than watch? Post 44 needs hands for the street flags. Volunteers meet at 7 a.m. at the old fire station, 117 N. Third Ave., to put them up along Main and Pioneer, then come back at 4 p.m. to take them down.
The big one. The Historic Trust's parade starts at the east end of Officers Row, at East Reserve Street and Evergreen Boulevard, winds through the historic site and finishes on Fifth Street near Pearson Air Museum. Expect more than 75 entries: veterans' groups, military vehicles, marching bands, ROTC units and horses. It runs rain or shine. This year a 103-year-old World War II veteran, William "Wink" Lamb, will ride as an honored guest.
Afterward, the Community Military Appreciation Committee hosts an open house at Pearson Air Museum, 1115 E. Fifth St., from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Parking near Officers Row fills fast, so plan to walk a few blocks.
Smith-Reynolds Post 14 and Columbia Bank are hosting a breakfast for veterans and military service members. If you have a veteran in the family who would rather sit with other vets than stand at a podium, this is a good pick.
The Parks Foundation of Clark County and LitterBugs PNW are asking for volunteers to clean up the riverfront. It is a solid choice for families who want the day to include actual work, and it is about a 20-minute drive south.
A fundraiser for Rotary service projects, with a Veterans Day theme. Games start at 5:30, and organizers suggest coming early to order food. Low stakes, good cause, and nobody needs to know you had to look up the rules of Bunco.
If you are already headed south, Portland's parade steps off at 10 a.m. on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. It is earlier than the Vancouver parade, so you will have to pick one.
With kids: make it mean something
School is out, which gives you a whole day to explain what the holiday is for. Some ideas that work for little kids and still hold up for teenagers:
Make cards, then hand them out
Kids handing out cards is already a Post 44 ceremony tradition, so do it tonight. Fold some paper, draw a flag, write "thank you for your service" in your best kid handwriting, and bring a stack to Overlook Park. If you cannot make the ceremony, drop them at a neighbor's house. You know which neighbor.
Help put up the flags
If your kids are early risers, or you can drag them out of bed on a day off, meet Post 44 at 7 a.m. at the old fire station on North Third and help put up the flags that line Main and Pioneer. Then spend the rest of the day pointing out "we did that" every time you drive by. Kids can come back at 4 p.m. to help take them down.
Do the name walk
Visit the memorial on North Third and let each kid find one name. Look up what war that person served in when you get home. It turns a stone column into a person, which is the point.
Stop at 11:00
Veterans Day began as Armistice Day, marking the moment fighting stopped in World War I: the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. Wherever you are at 11 a.m., take a minute of quiet. Kids are surprisingly good at this when you tell them why.
Spend the afternoon outside, for free
Tomorrow is a fee-free day at national wildlife refuges, so the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge costs nothing. This time of year the River S auto tour is drive-only, which actually makes it better with small kids: your car acts as a viewing blind, the birds do not see you as a threat, and nobody has to walk four miles. Stop at the observation blind about halfway around. The Kiwa Trail and the Carty Lake trail from the port are closed for the season, so do not promise anyone a hike.
Washington State Parks are also free tomorrow, with no Discover Pass needed for day use. Paradise Point in La Center and Battle Ground Lake are both close. And Fort Vancouver is a fee-free national park site tomorrow, which pairs nicely with the parade. Forest Service day-use fees are also waived, including in the Gifford Pinchot and the Columbia River Gorge.
Military family? The Oregon Zoo offers free admission tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for military members, veterans and their families. You can get up to four tickets, but you have to reserve online ahead of time, so do it tonight. Bring proof of service.
Free coffee and other thank-yous
A free tall (12-ounce) hot or iced brewed coffee, in the café or at the drive-thru at participating U.S. stores. Limit one per person. Cold brew, nitro cold brew and customizations are not included, so this is not the day to order your usual eight-modifier situation.
Where veterans eat free
National chains have announced their usual Veterans Day offers too, and a "where vets eat free" graphic is all over social media this week. Here is the roundup, with one big warning: these are participating-location deals, and some of these chains do not have a location anywhere near Ridgefield.
What is open, what is closed
Veterans Day is a federal holiday and a state holiday in Washington, so plan around a few closures:
Keep it going past Wednesday
Veterans Day is one day. Showing up for veterans can run all year, and Ridgefield makes that easy.
The day after Veterans Day, the Ridgefield Lions are holding their second care-package event of the year and need volunteers to pack boxes for deployed service members. It is a good one for families. Kids can stack trail mix as fast as anyone. Sign up and get times and location details on the Lions' site.
Sisters After Service, a support group for women veterans and service members, is working with AMEN Ministries to give a limited number of Thanksgiving dinner boxes to veterans and military families. Each box has a large turkey breast, mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy and rolls, which feeds four to five people. Distribution is November 19. To request a box, or to refer a veteran family who could use one, message Sisters After Service privately.
In December, volunteers place wreaths on veterans' graves at Evergreen Memorial Gardens. You can sponsor a wreath now or sign up to help place them. We wrote it all up here.
American Legion Post 44. The post meets the first Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m. at the Ridgefield Fire Station, 911 N. 65th Ave. These are the people who put up the street flags, run the ceremonies, and keep the memorial in shape. If you are a veteran who has not connected locally, or you just want to help, show up.
Veterans Day FAQ
What time is the Ridgefield Veterans Day ceremony?
11 a.m. Wednesday, November 11, at Overlook Park at Pioneer Street and Main Avenue. It is hosted by American Legion Post 44 and happens rain or shine.
Are Ridgefield schools closed on Veterans Day?
Yes. Ridgefield School District is closed Wednesday, November 11.
Is the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge free on Veterans Day?
Yes. Veterans Day is a fee-free day at all national wildlife refuges that normally charge an entrance fee. The River S auto tour is open to cars only this time of year, and seasonal trails are closed until spring.
Do I need a Discover Pass at state parks tomorrow?
No, not for day use at Washington State Parks. The free day does not cover overnight stays or Sno-Parks, and some DNR and WDFW lands may still require a pass.
What is the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day?
Memorial Day, in May, honors those who died in military service. Veterans Day honors everyone who has served, living or not. So if you know a veteran, tomorrow is a good day to say thank you to them directly.
Where is the Ridgefield Veterans Memorial?
Beside the downtown fire station on North Third Avenue (117 N. Third Ave.), in the heart of downtown. It is open to visit any time.
More from Meanwhile in Ridgefield
If you go to the ceremony, the parade, the refuge or just the memorial, send us a photo and tell us who you were honoring. And if there is a veteran in your life, on your street or behind the counter somewhere in town, tomorrow is the day to say it out loud. See you at Overlook Park.
