On the way to the Washington Coast to begin her summer vacation, Dorin Meinhart stopped off for gas.

She met the cashier who was standing next to a toddler. She noticed a photograph of a soldier behind the woman’s work station.

“Is that your daddy?” Meinhart inquired as she looked at the two.

As Meinhart best remembered, the woman replied: “Yes, he was killed in Iraq. He was my husband.”

That exchange struck a chord with Meinhart, inspiring the resourceful art teacher to find a way to honor those fighting a war half a world away.

Meinhart, a jewelry teacher and art club advisor at Auburn Mountainview High School, and her supporters went to work. Her students in the Auburn School District’s Jewelry Manufacturing Program designed “Safe Return” pins to honor Auburn-area military families with loved ones serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.

“I wanted to honor the families – to remember, understand that they’re making the sacrifice,” Meinhart said. “It is the families who are feeling this war.”

Two weeks from today on Nov. 8 – in observance of Veterans Day – 250 Safe Return pins will be distributed to military families and sold to the public. A booth will be set up from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park as Auburn honors veterans with a massive parade and other activities.

On display will be original jewelry and metal art work designed by school district jewelry students using the Safe Return theme.

A total of 125 blue pins will be available free to those who have an immediate family member deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan. A total of 125 white pins will be sold to the public at $3 apiece, with proceeds helping to cover the cost of making the pins. Any leftover proceeds will help Auburn American Legion Post No. 78, whose past post commander, Larry Huey, has been a major supporter of the pin project.

Each pin will come with an appreciation letter to Auburn-area families, written by district students.

John Laygos, a former Mountainview graphic design student, came up with the pin’s look. Sarah Williams, a senior art student at Mountainview, designed the letter head stationary.

The project has been good for Meinhart’s students, helping them gain a greater appreciation and a better understanding of those making sacrifices elsewhere.

“It was a good idea, and it is an idea that was worked out,” said Williams. “It’s good to do something for the families.”

As Meinhart explains, this campaign “is not about politics, but about honor.”

Mark Klaas can be reached at 253-833-0218, ext. 5050, or mklaas@reporternewspapers.com