Memorial Day

The end of May signaled the beginning of summer in my Jersey shore childhood. School wouldn't be out for another couple of weeks. It might not be quite warm enough to go to the beach, but the feeling was distinct. Something in the sunlight and the way the air felt said spring was almost over, and the lazy, hazy days were not far off. Memorial Day — then called Decoration Day — was the bridge that crossed the seasons for me. It didn't become a national holiday on the last Monday of May until 1971, but it had been observed for a long time in American towns in the years immediately following the Civil War, according to information at www.usmemorialday.org.

Holidays are like rules and records. They all seem to be made to be broken. We give them literal and figurative definitions and then choose the one that benefits our situation the most. Holiday, by literal definition, is a day when work is suspended to commemorate an event. Holiday, by figurative definition, is when work is suspended for an extra day off that gives us time to do the things we tend to ignore. Figuratively, that’s why Christmas and Easter have changed over time.

Communities to erect veterans memorial The communities of Beaver Creek and Mount Lena have joined to erect a memorial to veterans at a Memorial Day ceremony Monday, May 29, at 11 a.m. at Mount Lena United Methodist Church. Veterans Council plans ceremonies for May 30 The Joint Veterans Council of Washington County will host Memorial Day ceremonies Tuesday, May 30, at 9 a.m. at Martin L. "Marty" Snook Memorial Park in Halfway. Retired Maj. Gen. Charles May, U.S. Air Force, will be the keynote speaker.

Blue skies and warm sunshine Sunday afternoon graced the annual Memorial Day observance by the American Legion Clopper-Michael Post 10 in Boonsboro. Beginning at 1 p.m. in front of Boonsboro Town Hall, the ceremony featured Ret. U.S. Army Col. Orlyn Oestereich, second vice commander of the American Legion in Maryland, as guest speaker. Wreaths were laid by Legion members, auxiliary members and the Sons of the American Legion, according to Carol Long, one of the organizers of the patriotic observance.

Blue skies and warm sunshine Sunday afternoon graced the annual Memorial Day observance by the American Legion Clopper-Michael Post 10 in Boonsboro. Beginning at 1 p.m. in front of Boonsboro Town Hall, the ceremony featured Ret. U.S. Army Col. Orlyn Oestereich, second vice commander of the American Legion in Maryland, as guest speaker. Wreaths were laid by Legion members, auxiliary members and the Sons of the American Legion, according to Carol Long, one of the organizers of the patriotic observance.