Blue Star Memorial Highway

Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker on West Colfax Avenue

Blue Star Memorial Highways are highways in the United States that are marked to pay tribute to the U.S. armed forces. The National Council of State Garden Clubs, now known as National Garden Clubs, Inc., started the program in 1945 after World War II. The blue star was used on service flags to denote a service member fighting in the war. The program has since been expanded to include Memorial Markers and Memorial By-ways (since 1994). These markers are used in National Cemeteries, parks, veterans facilities, and gardens.

The Marker is at Abbie Duston Roadside Park on West Colfax Avenue (U.S. Route 40) in Lakewood, Colorado.

Abby Henry Duston

This is from Abby's granddaughter Ann's blog: "While the tiger lilies honor my husband's grandmother, mine, Abby Duston, taught me to love and respect the beauty in the garden. She was a certified flower show judge in Colorado, a real expert. I remember hearing her on the local Denver radio station one morning talking about gardening with another well-known Denver gardener who had his own radio show, Herb Gundel. Her love of flowers and the beauty that they bring inspired her to plant flowers along the roadside of highway 40 (Colfax), the main artery out of Denver in those pre-super highway days to Colorado's mountain resorts and the Western Slope. So dedicated to maintaining her roadside flowers, she and grandpa Duston even hauled water to the roadside flowers. Years after her death when I was in 5th grade (August 7, 1959), she was honored by having a roadside rest area dedicated in her honor,  located in one of the Blue Star Memorial Highway road-side parks. Read about the national Blue Star Highways and read more about Panoramic Park  in Lakewood, Colorado. (Note that grandma's name is spelled wrong--) Highway 40 received designation as a Blue Star Memorial Highway to honor America's armed forces."