Blue Star Mothers bond over breakfast

‘Coffee and Camaraderie’ event scheduled for every second Sunday of the month

The Blue Star Mothers of Santa Clarita gathered for the third “Coffee and Camaraderie” breakfast on Sunday.

“It’s great to make new friends, and there’s just a special bond between military mothers where you can say, ‘Oh, you too?’” said Joann Manzo, a Blue Star member.

The second Sunday of the month, Blue Star Mothers host an informal breakfast at the American Legion Post 507 in Newhall, open to anyone military affiliated who feels they need support. The breakfasts are geared toward giving attendees a place where they can be surrounded by and talk with others who have had similar experiences.

Blue Star Mothers is a national organization founded in 1942 in Flint, Michigan, to boost the morale of the large population of mothers whose children were serving in World War II. Santa Clarita’s local Blue Star Mothers chapter was founded by Sabina Fetter, who has one son in the military and one in a college ROTC program.

“The Legion kept getting calls from people who needed a place to just come and talk to others about their experiences, so we started the ‘Coffee and Camaraderie’ breakfasts in November,” Fetter said. “You don’t even have to talk. People can just come in and be around people and know that nothing they say will leave these walls.”

Manzo and Christine Wing said they form friendships with other mothers with each gathering.

“Other friends don’t understand what it’s like to have a child in the military, but these women do,” said Wing, who discovered the group on Facebook.

Legion post commander Thomas Troesch said the American Legion and the Blue Star Mothers have complementary missions and he is proud to be able to host their meetings.

“We at the American Legion are very community-oriented, and this partnership is one of the connections that we have made that help serve military families in Santa Clarita,” Troesch said.

Fetter hopes more people will become aware of the Blue Star Mothers and will join, which will greatly help their community and service outreach, she said.

“We’re currently at about 24 active voting members and last year we helped provide 60 percent of the food at the Legion’s Veteran’s Day services,” she said. “The Legion is so welcoming and helpful to the community and our goal next year is to help them out by providing all of the food for events like that.”