Memorial Day

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, a time to look back in memorium to those veterans who gave their lives for our country. It has also become a day to remember those departed loved ones who were not veterans of war. But, how many of us know where Memorial Day started? Who was responsible for this holiday, this time of honored reflection? My mother, who has not been with us now for several years, knew the answers to these questions. She grew up in the birthplace of Memorial Day, Waterloo, NY. As I remember her today I recall with fond memory the tales she used to tell of the grand Memorial Day parades down the main street in Waterloo. It was a joyful time in her life and a memory making experience as well. She was the drum majorette for the marching band, a medal winning, baton twirler extraordinaire! Yep, my mom, living out the history of our country and its celebration of our freedoms and valor right there in a small town in NY forever memorialized as the birthplace of a federal holiday.

Have a great Memorial Day tomorrow and while you are picnicing be sure to celebrate those memories!

Here is the history of Memorial Day from the Waterloo, Ny website:

The story of Memorial Day begins in the summer of 1865, when a prominent
local druggist, Henry C. Welles, mentioned to some of his friends at a social
gathering that while praising the living veterans of the Civil War it would be
well to remember the patriotic dead by placing flowers on their graves. Nothing
resulted from this suggestion until he advanced the idea again the following
spring to General John B. Murray. Murray, a civil war hero and intensely
patriotic, supported the idea wholeheartedly and marshalled veterans' support.
Plans were developed for a more complete celebration by a local citizens'
committee headed by Welles and Murray.
On May 5, 1866, the Village was
decorated with flags at half mast, draped with evergreens and mourning black.
Veterans, civic societies and residents, led by General Murray, marched to the
strains of martial music to the three village cemeteries. There impressive
ceremonies were held and soldiers' graves decorated. One year later, on May 5,
1867, the ceremonies were repeated. In 1868, Waterloo joined with other
communities in holding their observance on May 30th, in accordance with General
Logan's orders. It has been held annually ever since.
Waterloo held the first
formal, village wide, annual observance of a day dedicated to honoring the war
dead. On March 7, 1966, the State of New York recognized Waterloo by a
proclamation signed by Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller. This was followed by
recognition from Congress of the United States when the House of Representatives
and the Senate unanimously passed House Concurrent Resolution 587 on May 17th
and May 19th, 1966 respectively. This reads in part as follows: "Resolved that
the Congress of the United States, in recognition of the patriotic tradition set
in motion one hundred years ago in the Village of Waterloo, NY, does hereby
officially recognize Waterloo, New York as the birthplace of Memorial
Day..."
On May 26, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson, signed a Presidential
Proclamation recognizing Waterloo as the Birthplace of Memorial Day.