May 27, 2016
Monday we will celebrate Memorial Day. This national holiday honors the men and women who have died in military service to this country. The first “Decoration Day” was celebrated in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic race track in Charleston, West Virginia. Another Decoration Day was celebrated in Waterloo, New York on May 5, 1866 to honor those who had died in the Civil War. The name “Memorial Day” was first used in 1882, but did not become common until after World War 2. (source: Wikipedia)
When I was a youngster in Upsala, we always had a Memorial Day service in the school gym, followed by a parade down Main Street. Sometime after I graduated in 1961, the practice died out. Then in the 80’s, Lorna Koehn, a member of the American Legion Auxiliary brought back the Memorial Day Celebration in Upsala. I can still picture her marching in front of a group of children, each holding a bunch of lilac flowers. The parade ends at the City Park, where the children still wait in anticipation for the chance to collect the spent brass shells after the 21 gun salute. They make good whistles. After that, one of the civic clubs serves a picnic lunch including “Bee Bop A Ree Bop Rhubarb Pie”. Be sure to take the time to honor those that you know who have served. If you meet a service member, simply put our your hand and say “Thank you for serving”. They deserve our respect.
You can help to raise funds for the Veterans Educational Historic Monument art project by going to vetsart.org The Army, Navy and Coast Guard paintings are hanging in the Committal Hall of the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery north of Little Falls. Funds are needed to complete the Marine Corp and the Air Force paintings. The Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery Memorial Day service will be Sunday at 1:30PM.
The APHC show this week is a live broadcast from the Filene Center at the Wolf Trap National Park in Vienna, Virginia. The future host of APHC, Chris Thile, will join the gang as a guest, with his mandolin and a bag of sharp songs. Other guests include Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, a jazz band from New York City, and Heather Masse from northern New York state will sing songs that will start your Memorial Day weekend off with a bang. The Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Tim Russell, Sue Scott and Fred Newman will entertain with a variety show extraordinaire. Garrison will bring us up to date on the News from Lake Wobegon. Enjoy the show.
“America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.” Harry S. Truman
Category : General 