For the past two years Diane Pettinger and her son, Jon, have wrapped scarves around the necks of the military statues in downtown Naperville as a reminder that Naperville’s men and women in the service are not forgotten despite the rush of the holidays.
Pettinger got her idea several years ago when she saw that someone had placed a scarf around a statue on Mill Street. The way the scarf fluttered in the breeze stuck with her and helped put Pettinger in the holiday spirit.
“It was just the sweetest thing ever,” she said.
That image of a fluttering scarf stuck with Pettinger over the years. Last year, after attending a moving Sept. 11 tribute downtown, Pettinger wanted to quietly do something that would let military families in Naperville know they and those serving away from home were in her thoughts and prayers. Having family who served, Pettinger said soldiers and military families have “a special place” in her heart.
Pettinger and her son made the scarves from bolts of felt and tied them around the necks of statues downtown, including those on Washington Street and along the Riverwalk.
“To me a scarf is so simple. It represents warmth and comfort. You see it blowing and it brings a smile to your face,” she said. “This was just a symbolic thing to let the families in Naperville know their loved ones in the military are being thought of.”
W. Brand Bobosky, president of the nonprofit Century Walk Corp., which erected the statues and oversees their maintenance, said he supports the Pettingers’ actions not just because it honors those in the military past and present but it also draws attention to Naperville’s public art, which can sometimes be “taken for granted.”
“I think (their effort is) very commendable,” Bobosky said. “This is all positive, all good.”
Pettinger said the holiday season can be difficult for military families who have members deployed overseas or who have been killed in action. She said the scarves are a reminder to those families they are not alone. She said she hopes the simple idea of a scarf, being a visual sign of warmth and comfort, will cause people to pause and remember.
Pettinger added that she hopes the scarves might also spark others to take on simple acts of kindness, such as bringing a cup of hot chocolate to someone ringing a bell for the Salvation Army or a police officer on patrol.
“It’s gotten so cold outside and these little gestures can go a long way,” she said.
Pettinger said she plans to take the scarves down by the end of January.
Although Jon, now 17, will be off to college next year, Pettinger said this is a tradition the two plan to continue.
Alex Keown is a freelance writer for the Naperville Sun.