Memories aglow
Sixth annual Ronan lantern event memorializes loved ones
Karen Peterson
Finlay Taylor, 7, holds onto a lantern as the hot air from the flame causes it to rise.
Karen Peterson
Students and community members watch as lanterns float above the baseball field.
Karen Peterson
Student Aurrora Watkins lights one of 80 lanterns.
Karen Peterson
Student Jarrett Richey honors military members during the ceremony.
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
Paper lanterns drifted through the sky from the Ronan High School parking lot on a chilly Wednesday evening before Christmas.
“People are sending them out as a way to remember people that have passed or for friends or family that can’t be here for the holidays,” said RHS teacher Bonnie Eva.
The Ronan Student Council organized the event and helped send up about 80 lanterns this year. Community members were invited to participate and could purchase lanterns for $5 each.
Participants lit the wicks on their lanterns and waited for the warm air from the flame to gently pull them upward much like a hot-air balloon. The lanterns, about 30 inches tall, soon looked like an orange dot in the black sky. Students also sent off lanterns for people who purchased them but couldn’t attend the event.
Student Council Secretary Savanah Duell, 17, has helped with the project for the past few years. She looked at the lanterns floating up over the baseball field and said the event was something she loves to attend even though her feet were starting to get pretty cold this year with the temperature coming in around 28 degrees.
“This is a good way for people to feel comforted when loved ones can’t be here,” she said. She added that she was sending off her own lantern to remember a long list of people.
Student Aurrora Watkins, 16, has also helped with the project for several years. She said the event has grown as more people learn about it.
Jarrett Richey, 17, used a marker to write “POW” and “MIA” on his lantern to help honor military prisoners of war or those missing in action.
“I want to remember the ones that are not here that gave their all so that I can be here,” he said.
Community member Toni Taylor stood in the parking lot with her children to send off a lantern. She was also thinking about her family members who have passed away, but she said it wasn’t a sad moment. She was happy to think about them and celebrate their memory with her children.
Ms. Eva said a few lanterns had been seen floating up toward Polson during past events, but this year, the wind carried them west toward the hills. She said the lanterns are biodegradable, so wherever they end up, they will decompose naturally.
