GaryOsberg.com

Good morning from Collegeville,

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 11. (source: Wikipedia)

When I was a youngster in Upsala, we always had a Memorial Day service at the school 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.

The APHC show this week is a live broadcast from the Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, where the wolves howl up on the big hill. Singers Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan will debut their knockout trio, “I’m With Her” after a much-lauded barnstorming tour through Europe. The United States Navy Band will join the gang to boost the public radio esprit de corps and kick off the Memorial Day weekend with a few marches, patriotic selections and orchestral features. The Royal Academy of Radio Actors will lend their voices to some over-the-air theater and the band will provide some hot jazz and rock ‘n’ roll favorites. The News From Lake Wobegon will bring us all up to date on the small town in central Minnesota. Enjoy the show.

“We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we will always be free.” Ronald Reagan