In the years following the Civil War, many from both the Confederate and Union sides, decorated the graves of the fallen soldiers with flags and flowers.
Memorial Day as Celebrated in Petersham, MA
On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, of the Grand Army of the Republic issued General Order Number 11:
“The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.”
Many different towns actually claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. However, in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson, declared Waterloo, N.Y., the official birthplace of Memorial Day. Waterloo—which had first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—was chosen because the town always held an annual, community-wide Memorial Day observance during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.
Memorial Day did not actually become a national holiday until 1971, when Congress passed the National Holiday Act and declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be celebrated the last Monday in May.
Many people now celebrate the day and three day weekend with parties and picnics and there is considerable danger of the true meaning of the day being lost. It is therefore refreshing to find small towns across the country like Waterloo, NY and Petersham, MA holding traditional Memorial Day ceremonies to honor our fallen service men and women from all of our wars.
The poem by Moina Michael in 1915 expresses a poignant sentiment which captures the true meaning of the day:
” We cherish too, the Poppy red,
That grows in fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies,
That blood of heros never dies.”
Observing Memorial Day in Petersham, MA is a unique and moving experience. A color guard leads the townspeople in a parade to several of the town’s small cemeteries where at each one, the dead from different wars are honored. The parade concludes on the Town Common where a Memorial Service is held. It is America at it’s patriotic best and not to be missed.
Mark Ellis leads the Petersham Memorial Day Parade
