Area family members of a National Guard company now in Iraq gathered for a picnic at Petrifying Springs Park on Saturday.

Spouses, children and other relatives of the 125 Bravo Company 257, part of the 32nd Brigade of the Wisconsin National Guard, attended the four-hour gathering with food, beverages, games and face painting.

The families are mostly from Kenosha and Racine counties with others from other southeastern Wisconsin communities.

Bravo Company left the area in mid-February for two months of training before leaving for a 10-month stay in Iraq.

Local veterans groups helped supply the picnic with food, drinks and other picnic necessities. They included the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1865 and American Legion Post 21 of Kenosha; Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 921, VFW Post 8343 and VFW Post 11083.

Cheryl Tabor, with the company’s Family Readiness Group and lead volunteer, said the picnic is one way that relatives of the deployed members can support each other.

“Our families are close-knit,” she said. “We rely on each other to get us through this deployment.”

The group is planning a food drive and fundraiser for local food pantries and for the Women and Children’s Horizons in mid-August to show appreciation for support the families have received from the community.

The veterans’ groups have been supportive, and some are arranging to help some of the Bravo company families with home repairs, including roof and porch renovations, said Tabor.

Tabor’s husband, Sgt. 1st Class Jon Tabor, is with Bravo Company. This is his second tour in Iraq. The first was in 2005-06. The couple has five children, with two still at home, ages 10 and 17.

Tabor said the relatives take each day one at a time.

“You have to take the good with the bad, and keep your head up,” she said. “Everyday is a challenge, and you think positively and move forward.”

Dave Goeldner, a service officer for both VFW Post 1865 and the state’s veterans organization, said the post “adopted” Bravo Company last August as part of national program to offer support to guardsmen and their families.

“Maybe the families are not under fire, as such, but they have to take up the responsibility of the whole family,” he said. “It’s important that we help.”