Addison County Independent presents
Memorial Day in Addison County, May 23, 2013 H PAGE
1
Memorial Day in Addison County
A GIANT AMERICAN flag slowly moves through downtown Vergennes during last year’s Memorial Day parade. Independent file photo/Trent Campbell
Local parades honor those who gave their all ADDISON COUNTY — The last weekend in May is always a big one for anyone who likes to listen to brass bands play, wonder at the precision driving of Shriners in pint-size vehicles, and watch a procession of friends and neighbors march past holding banners and waving. This year should be no exception. Six Addison County towns will host Memorial Day parades this weekend.
and Drum Corps for noteworthy bands. They will also have the crowd favorite Cairo mini cars, and Veterans from many local American Legion posts, as well as representatives of civic groups. Walker James will act as master of ceremonies at the Memorial Ceremony on the green immediately following the parade.
Orwell kicks off local parades
Middlebury’s Memorial Day festivities will revolve around its annual parade, which will begin forming at 8 a.m. in the parking area of Middlebury College’s Mahaney Center for the Arts off South Main Street. The parade will step off at 9 a.m. sharp. The parade will feature several Middlebury-area school bands, numerous firetrucks, and, of course, a color guard. Marchers will follow its traditional route north on Main Street, around the green onto Pleasant Street in front of the Congregational Church of Middlebury and in front of the Middlebury Inn. The parade concludes at the Soldiers’ Monument on Merchants Row, where G. Kenneth Perine, president of the National Bank of Middlebury will deliver a speech after the parade. That speech, honoring fallen servicemen and women and those still serving, will be delivered from the steps of the Town Hall Theater off Merchants Row. Want to join the fun? To participate in the parade, which (See Parades, Page 2)
As is traditional, the first local parade of the weekend will take place in the beaucolic village of Orwell. The Town of Orwell will host its 40th Memorial Day Parade and Celebration starting at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 26, on the village green. The parade will follow its traditional route, beginning on North Orwell Road and running east to Main Street before heading onto Church Street, circling Roberts Avenue, and then heading back west on Main Street. The theme for this year’s parade is “250 Years of Memories,” in honor of the 250th anniversary of the granting of Orwell’s town charter (the actual anniversary is Aug. 18). The grand marshals for this celebration will be Bernard Parent and Bob Hall, who are original founding members of the Orwell Fire Department. Organizers said this year they will have the Catamount Pipe Band and the Seth Warner Mount Independence Fife
Middlebury hosts traditional celebration
Origins of Memorial Day Editor’s note: This piece was provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Memorial Day is a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle. On May 5, 1864, three years after the Civil War ended, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic or GAR — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The ceremonies centered around the mourningdraped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Various Washington officials, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided over the ceremonies. After speeches, children from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way through the (See Origins, Page 4)
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH