Iron River Knights serve veterans at first quarterly Black Cow event

Root beer floats, sundaes and other treats turned into a quarterly thank-you at the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center in Iron Mountain, where the Iron River Knights of Columbus Council 2300 served about 40 veterans, along with guests and staff, on July 1. KC Publicity Chairman Art Aregoni said, "It's always a special pleasure serving our veterans."

The serving line brought together Knight Deacon Terry Verville, Chairman Knight Mark Picard, Knights Ralph Commenator and Kevin Hubbard. Hubbard drove more than 200 miles from his home in Trenary to take part, a long trip that underscored how far the council's volunteers are willing to go for a short visit built around gratitude, conversation and a simple dessert.

This was the council's first quarterly Black Cow event of 2026, but not its first trip to the VA. In 2025, the Knights held their second quarterly event of the year and served 30 veterans, family members and staff with root beer floats, ice cream, sodas and cookies. A 2024 gathering marked the council's first Black Cow since before the COVID-19 pandemic, showing the tradition has resumed as a recurring part of the Knights' calendar rather than a one-time gesture.

The setting matters as much as the dessert. The Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center, at 325 East H Street, serves veterans across the region with primary care and specialty services including cancer care, mental health care, palliative and hospice care, suicide prevention and women's health services. The facility also works with Disabled American Veterans and county veterans affairs directors to provide transportation for veterans and authorized caregivers to scheduled appointments.

For Iron County families with military ties, the Black Cow event offers a small but direct way to recognize service without a ceremony or speech. With the Knights now on a quarterly schedule, the next serving is expected later this year, and the model is simple enough for other local groups to copy: gather volunteers, bring a modest dessert table and spend time with veterans where they already receive care.