Walden’s Main Street could soon be adorned with portraits of a proud past - native sons and daughters who have served in the military.

“Yes, we have some wonderful banners on our Veterans bridge,” former Trustee Cheryl Baker told the Walden Village Board last week, “but they are a small spattering compared to the amount of veterans that we have involved in. My dream is to help twofold. One, to honor our veterans by extending the banners from the bridge down our Main Street corridor, to give a higher recognition to our valued members in our community; and it also would help revitalize our Main Street corridor. “

Baker noted that the banners on the Veterans Memorial Bridge don’t have portraits. She would like banners similar to those in Montgomery or Wallkill, hung on village lampposts and extended along Main Street and East Main Street, as far as the Dunkin Donuts shop.

“Right now, the banners we have on our bridge do not have photos of our veterans. They have the emblems of the service that they were in. Similar to that, I would like the board to consider and see what the consensus is if they would like the photos of our veterans on the banners,” she said. “So there’s a face to go with the name that’s on it. This is what a lot of Montgomery has. Wallkill and others in our area have this. Keep in mind, if you want that photo plus the emblem of the branch that the individual served in, that will reduce the amount of writing spots.”

Baker priced some two-sided banners for $175 apiece. They would measure 18 inches wide by 45 inches in length and would come with the hardware needed to attach them to poles.

“You have seven lines of writing which would include the person’s name, the dates of service. If you have an award, let’s say a Purple Heart veteran, if you want that they served in World War II, Korea, Afghanistan, those can be put on there,” Baker continued. “But you do have limits on that. We can do a veteran’s photo on the top and then the emblem of the service that they are on the bottom. You could do side by side, but that’s probably going to make the images a little hard to see and a little too small.”

Baker said she would be willing to reach out to the families of those service members honored at the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge to see if they’d like new ones with photos.

She said there’s no cost to the village provided the various veterans’ organizations are able to help with the fundraising.

Trustee Patricia Maher said the village could accommodate up to 48 banners.

“Forty-eight if that includes the Main Street corridor and around the circle and how many of them would be unique with the picture there,” she said, “which by the way, I think is just absolutely fantastic.”

Baker said the sponsor of the banner could have a choice, either the service member’s photo or an emblem depicting the branch of service.

Trustees discussed the possibility of having more banners than available space, in which case they could be rotated so that everyone would have the opportunity to see their loved one’s banner on a pole. They also discussed the use of generic banners that contain the logos of all branches of the service with wording that reads something along the lines of “Village of Walden Supports Our Military Community.” As people fill in their spots, the generic banners would come down.

“These are amazing,” said Trustee Ralph Garrison. “And I’m going to get one so if they approve this, you’re going to see my face up there.”

The village board unanimously approved the plan.

Anyone who would like an application is invited to email Baker at Waldenvba@yahoo.com.