PORT HADLOCK — In May, members of the North Olympic Peninsula Modelers Society sent several large boxes of model kits, paints, books and magazines to soliders in Iraq.
Last week, they received proof that their gift arrived in good shape — photographs of smiling servicemen holding the kits.
“The guys were really excited,” Staff Sgt. Tim Kosak wrote to Larry Speelman.
Kosak is a member of the 103rd Armored Regiment of the Pennsylvania National Guard.
Speelman is the president of NOPMS, a group of model makers from Sequim, Port Townsend and the surrounding area who meet twice a month at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuiding in Port Hadlock.
Many members are veterans who have experienced the tedium of life in a war zone. Hearing that Kosak was ordering models through a Quilcene hobby supplier, Rick Sullivan, NOPMS members culled their stashes and collected 65 kits.
An article describing their efforts, “Model Club Puts Hobby on Front Line,” appeared in the Peninsula Daily News on May 10. It prompted people to stop by the Mini Mania hobby shop in Port Hadlock and donate more than $200 for more models, supplies and expenses, Speelman said.
As a result, 80 kits, plus paints, brushes, cement, tools and how-to books, were sent to Iraq.
“All I can say is, WOW!” Kosak wrote when he heard the boxes were on their way. “What you have amassed is more than we could ever imagine. I only hope we can do justice to the kits that and the rest of the club are sending.”
