MERCER, Wis.
Susan Norman brought Operation Yellow Ribbon to Mercer and other area communities on a snowy Friday afternoon earlier this month.

She swept into town, arriving from her home in Rapid River, Mich., with boxes of weather-proof yellow ribbons, a wide smile and heartfelt empathy for the parents of troops in Iraq.

Norman left ribbons in Mercer; in Ironwood, where they're tied to the lampposts outside the Memorial Building; and in Bessemer, before heading east toward home late in the day.

She came to Mercer at the invitation of Mike Kowaleski, who has two Marine sons. One is in Iraq; the other is at 29 Palms in California and expects to deploy to Iraq this spring.

Kowaleski heard Norman talk about Operation Yellow Ribbon on Brother Bill's program on WXPR public radio in Rhinelander.

"He left the most heart-touching message on my machine," Norman said. "That's why we're doing this, because of people like Mike and his sons."

Norman and her daughter Heather Harsh of Colfax, started Operation Yellow Ribbon after attending campaign rallies for President Bush. Their efforts led to a meeting with the president in Chippewa, Wis., in August 2004.

"We'd run into these protesters that were just so vicious and scary and negative," Norman said. "We felt we had to do something positive to counteract that."

They bought some yellow vinyl ribbon, tied big bows and asked permission from municipal officials to tie their yellow ribbons along the towns' main streets.

"It offers visible support to show the soldiers who are serving that their communities are behind them," Norman said. "It comforts families to see the ribbons downtown."

Word of the yellow ribbons spread, and the program took off.

At one point, Norman and Harsh bought 1,500 pounds of 5-inch yellow taffeta ribbon and hired 38 employees to tie the bows.

Each bow has two long streamers plus two ties to knot around a pole.

"We've made nearly 80,000 and a lot of them are in storage," Norman said, estimating they have an inventory of 46,000 bows.

They've delivered yellow ribbons to more than 20 towns. They don't charge for the ribbons to decorate the main streets, but Norman tries to leave behind some bows for sale to help recoup her costs.

"It just grew and grew," Norman said.

Operation Yellow Ribbon led to a presidential audience for Norman and her daughter and a visit to the White House.

"I wanted to give yellow ribbons to the president when he came to Marquette, Mich.," Norman said. "We just couldn't get it put together to do that. When we heard he was coming to Chippewa, we tried again."

Norman was contacted by USA Freedom Corps, who arranged for her and Harsh to meet the president on his campaign stop in Chippewa. Then they were invited to the White House in December in recognition of their volunteer efforts.

"We're just ordinary folks," Norman said. "To be recognized by the White House for our efforts shows really neat things can happen if you do community service."

Norman stresses the everyday people theme.

She and her husband, who manages a sawmill, have two daughters and seven grandchildren. They own farmland adjoining her daughter's family's land. They're building a house.

"I'm a stay-at-home mom and grandma. I keep extremely busy with my grandkids and yellow ribbons," she said.

Her husband was wounded, and his brother died, fighting in Vietnam. That helps explain Norman's reaction to the anti-war protesters during the 2004 presidential campaign.

"It just tore my daughter and me up so terrible, watching the news," Norman said. "We felt there was room for a different message. We honor their service and their sacrifices and their courage."

In Mercer, Mike and Cheryl Kowaleski gathered a small group of friends to greet Norman. All have sons in Iraq.

Marge and Terry Pemble's youngest son Ken is in the Army in his second tour of duty in Iraq. Wendy Dierbeck's son Josiah is a Marine in Iraq, as is Russ Sleight's son Nathan.

These parents took a moment from their day to meet the woman who brought yellow ribbons to honor their sons and hundreds more like them.

"The young men and women appreciate it when they see them hanging up when they come home," Wendy Dierbeck said.

--For more information, visit the Web site operationyellowribbon.net or call Susan Norman at (906) 474-9203 or (715) 962-2450. Norman's yellow ribbons are for sale at Cherie's Hairlines in Mercer; Northwoods Niche in Ironwood; and Big Dollar in Bessemer.