We’ll be updating this page several times over the next few days; please check back often

Our 2024 Carnation Festival special event will be running
August 1 – August 11

Catch W8LKY on the Air for a Certificate!

If you worked W8LKY

Drop us an e-mail at ses@w8lky.org, with your contact information (Callsign, Date, Time, and band). We’ll respond with a E-mailed certificate.

If you prefer to send us a QSL card, please address them to AARC-SES, P.O. Box 3344, Alliance, OH 44601. We will respond with a QSL Card via mail.
(Please include your e-mail address, and we will get your certificate out that way.)

Our 2023 Certificate

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The Scarlet Carnation

Ohio’s official flower, the scarlet carnation, is rooted in Alliance. 

In 1866, local green thumb and politician Dr. Levi Lamborn propagated the flower from French seedlings, calling it “Lamborn Red.” 

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. 

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)