Our 2026 Carnation Festival Special Event
is scheduled for
July 30 – August 9, 2026
This is our 2026 Certificate
Catch W8LKY on the Air for a Certificate!
If you work W8LKY
Drop us an e-mail at , with your contact information (Callsign, Date, Time, and band). We’ll respond with a E-mailed certificate.
send us your QSL card & $3 for printing & Postage. We’ll respond with a beautiful 8 1/2″ X 11″ certificate suitable for framing.
Please address all requests to AARC-SES, P.O. Box 94, Maximo, OH 44650.
The Scarlet Carnation
Ohio’s official flower, the scarlet carnation, is rooted in Alliance.
Opposing William McKinley for the 18th Congressional District in 1876, Lamborn presented the future president with a “Lamborn Red’ boutonniere before each debate.
As McKinley’s political star rose, he spoke of the scarlet carnation as a good-luck charm. When he became president, he took to wearing one at all times and presenting flowers from a bouquet on his desk to guests.
In 1866, local green thumb and politician Dr. Levi Lamborn propagated the flower from French seedlings, calling it “Lamborn Red.”
On Sept. 14, 1901, moments after removing the flower from his lapel and giving it to a young admirer at the Buffalo Exposition, McKinley was killed by an assassin’s bullet.
Following years of lobbying by Lamborn, the Ohio General Assembly passed a joint resolution naming the scarlet carnation the state flower on February 3, 1904. On April 1, 1959, the Ohio Legislature recognized Alliance as the “Carnation City.”
( from www.rodmanlibrary.com/carnation)
Our 2025 Certificate
Our 2024 Certificate
