By Scott Harvey
Honey Grove – The Red River Valley Pennies for Patriots campaign is moving forward, as local elementary schools work to collect $300 in pennies honoring veterans from the region.
The funds will go toward the purchase of a paver engraved with the name of a soldier and placed at the Red River Valley Veterans Memorial, to be built near the Love Civic Center in Paris.
In Honey Grove, students are learning about Meredith Hart, a Texas revolutionary veteran. Bill Hankins of the Paris News reports that Hart was an early Texas settler, soldier and cattleman. He moved to Texas in about 1833 where he met his wife and they had six children. He served in a cavalry company in 1836, and later served as a Texas Ranger. According to the newspaper, he then became a cattleman in Red River County and in Fannin County.
Students at Honey Grove and throughout Red River Valley will be bringing pennies of their own and taking donations of pennies, each to benefit a different veteran.