BETTER THAN HEARSAY = Sharing and Remembering

Remembering veteran Richard Banks and his Korean War era compatriots.

Among the many dedicated Windham Community Food Pantry volunteers are John O’Brien and Rosemary Weiss.

By Michael Ryan

WINDHAM - It seems appropriate to shift gears, this week, getting the word out about the Windham Community Food Pantry and Korean War era veteran Richard Banks with a few of his area compatriots.

Folks at the Food Pantry are hosting a free food giveaway on Thursday, November 20, through a grant provided by the Windham Foundation, welcoming all mountaintop residents.

The neighborly event runs from 3-6 p.m. in the parking lot of the Windham Community Food Pantry, at Hope Restoration Church, along Route 296 between Windham and Hensonville.

“In an effort to assist with the food insecurity issue, the two organizations have joined forces to assist in the effort to feed those in need on the mountaintop,” Food Pantry volunteer Anne Jakubowski says.

“We’ll be providing chicken, beef, milk, bread, eggs and miscellaneous canned goods. If the weather is bad, we’ll move inside.

“We are very thankful to the Windham Foundation for their generosity,” Jakubowski says, noting food is being purchased through Jim’s Great American in the town of Prattsville.

The sharing comes in the wake of a $1,000 donation to the Food Pantry from St. Theresa's Church Women’s Guild, in Windham.

And the November 20 giveaway has been accompanied by the distribution of 150 turkeys for the holiday season, replacing the annual Thanksgiving luncheon at Hope Restoration Church.

“We believe that, especially this year, it is more important to give people and families the turkey rather than a onetime meal,” Jakubowski said.

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In the town of Lexington, 91-year-old Lois Banks and her great grandson Zachary Wolny have been busy digging through the family archives.

They came upon an old newspaper clipping dating back to 1951 and the Korean War era, showing Greene County inductees into the U.S. Army.

Those soldiers included Richard Banks who was no stranger to Lois, who in 1951 was still a Jenkins, a sister to the late Leo Jenkins, which makes her somehow related to current town councilman Brad Jenkins.

Following the family dots, Lois also was close friends with Richard’s sister, Jeanette, who married Kenneth Becker, the longtime Lexington town supervisor and namesake of the town’s municipal hall/firehouse.

Richard and Lois got married after he honorably served his two-year military stint. He was a stonemason and worked in construction.

Lois was in banking, moving to Albany for a bit - “I hated it there,” she says, - before returning to the mountains and the National Bank of Windham.

The couple lived above the Miller Brothers Store for a while, finally settling in North Lexington, Lois’ hometown and where her heart always resides.

“I have all of Richard’s medals,” Lois says. “I want to share the newspaper photograph because people may know some of the other men.”

There are many ways to remember veterans, including my WW II father, Patrick Ryan, and my big brother Dan, a Navyman who served on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Intrepid.

And there is also a fine way to honor the wives of veterans. “I am very lucky to have my great grandmother,” says Zach. “She is always telling me stories about those days and my great grandfather.”