Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Memorial Day is Monday, May 29, and the entire community is invited to join together to remember and honor those who died while serving in the U.S. military.
The American Legion Otto M. Walker Post #49 is hosting a Memorial Day Ceremony, beginning at 11 a.m. at 1065 S. Water St. Activities will last until 1 p.m. and include a presentation by guest speaker Sheriff Mac McNeill, a drawing of the winning ticket in a rifle raffle, remembrance of the fallen and a flag ceremony, followed by a picnic.
There is no charge for the picnic, but donations to the Post will be gladly accepted. The menu includes fried chicken, baked beans, potato salad and watermelon.
For more information, contact Post #49 Commander Ed Gifford at gifforded78@yahoo.com or (330) 354-5533.
Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day. It began as a day to remember those lost while fighting in the Civil War, but during World War I the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars. Today we also remember the fallen from World War II, the Vietnam War, the Korean War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
For decades, Memorial Day was observed on May 30, the date General Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. In 1968, however, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as a federal holiday on the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees. The change went into effect in 1971.