While Memorial Day may seem like the unofficial start to summer, its meaning is far more important — to honor those who died while serving the United States armed forces. A number of communities around the region will be holding ceremonies and parades as part of the festivities.
A parade and ceremony is planned for Monday at 10 a.m.
The parade will proceed from the Four Leaf Clover Restaurant on Monday at 10 a.m. sharp and proceed to Center Cemetery for a ceremony.
A parade starting at 8 a.m. Monday in upper Buckland is scheduled.
The parade leaves Frontier at 8:20 a.m. Monday and goes to the South Deerfield Common, where the ceremony is scheduled to start at 8:35 (in case of rain, the ceremony will take place Frontier Regional School Auditorium). The ceremony’s program includes an address by Rachel Otto, USAF, and Michelena McCarthy, a student at Deerfield Elementary School, will read of the Gettysburg Address.
Flags will be lowered and the wreath laid at Fire Station 1 and the Veteran Memorial monuments at 10 a.m. At 11 a.m., on Ervingside, participants are asked to meet at the intersection of Bridge and River streets. The parade will proceed up Lester Street and Moore Street to the Veterans Memorial monuments where a ceremony will take place.
Memorial Day services will be held Sunday, beginning at 10 a.m. at the Gill Church. Following the church service, a gathering will be held across the street at the veteran’s monuments. A rose ceremony, flag raising, gun salute and taps will take place. All are welcome. Gill veterans will receive a free “Gill Veteran” baseball cap.
The city will honor those who died in service with its annual Memorial Day parade on Monday. The parade will feature the Greenfield High School and Middle School bands, veteran organizations and city officials, and will include wreath laying at a number of war memorial sites in the city.
The parade will begin at Greenfield Middle School on Federal Street at 10 a.m., then will march south along Federal Street, visiting several memorial sites along different streets before ending at the Veterans’ Mall on Main Street, according to Upper Pioneer Valley Veterans’ Services Director Tim Niejadlik.
Wreaths will be laid at locations including Federal Street Cemetery and the Civil and Spanish-American Wars monuments.
Once at the Mall, a speech will be made by Nam Pham, state assistant secretary of Business Development & International Trade and Vietnam refugee, Niejadlik said.
The event is organized by Upper Pioneer Valley Veterans’ Services. Niejadlik said the group placed 11,520 flags at graves in the Franklin County area, excluding Orange but including Plainfield.
Memorial Day festivities in Leyden will start on Sunday with volunteers meeting at 2 p.m. at South Cemetery to place flags on veterans’ graves. They will then move on to the other cemeteries in town. Memorial services will be held on Town Common on Monday at 9 a.m. If rainy, services will be held in the Town Hall Meeting Hall. The Council on Aging will be serving refreshments.
The Memorial Day service, sponsored by the Montague Center Firefighter Association, takes place Sunday at 11:15 a.m. at the Montague Center Common. Members of the Montague Veterans Committee and Fire Department will honor veterans. Allen Fiske, U.S. Navy WWII, will be honored as the oldest Montague Center veteran.
Assembly for the parade begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Trinitarian Congregational Church. The parade starts at 10 a.m. with a service at Pentecost Cemetery, then to Northfield Elementary School and ends at Town Hall. If it rains, the service will be at the school.
Memorial Day ceremonies in Orange will begin Sunday morning with services held at cemeteries across town.
Ceremonies be held at West Orange Cemetery at 9 a.m., continue at Holtshire Cemetery at 9:20 a.m., and South Cemetery at 9:40 a.m.
A ceremony will take place at the Orange Fire Station by the Millers River at 10:30 a.m., followed by an 11 a.m. service at Central Cemetery. There will be no marching. Participants will drive to the cemetery.
On Monday, services will take place at 8 a.m. at Jones Cemetery and 8:20 a.m. at North Orange Cemetery.
The Tully Memorial Day parade will step off at 9 a.m. from the old Tully Fire Station to Tully Cemetery for a ceremony.
Refreshments will be served by the North Orange Grange at the Tully Fire Station on Mill Yard Road following the ceremony.
The Memorial Day ceremony is set for Sunday at the Veterans War Memorial in the Town Common at 10:30 a.m.
The Shelburne Falls Memorial Day parade will take place on Monday beginning at 10 a.m. The parade will cross the Iron Bridge to Bridge Street, down Main to Hope Street, and then to the Arms Cemetery.
Today, May 25, is Sunderland’s annual Memorial Day Parade and Ceremonies at Riverside Cemetery. The parade “steps off” at 6 p.m. after brief ceremonies at the Veterans Memorial in front of the town office building.
The ceremony will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Warwick church across from new volunteer-made fire station.
In the church, Warwick children will sing songs and recite patriotic works. Rick Abbott will speak on the history of Memorial Day in Warwick.
At 1:30 p.m., all will march in a parade to the Gold Star WWII memorial in Warwick Cemetery on Route 78. The ceremony includes recitation of the honor roll, wreath-laying, musket salutes, and playing of “Taps.”
Participants are invited to gather at Town Hall at 2 p.m. for refreshments.
The Memorial Day observance on Sunday begins with the veterans attending the service at the Congregational Church at 10. The annual parade leaves at 11, marching through the cemetery and ending at the common where a ceremony honors our veterans. Elementary school children, the VFW, and Frontier Regional Band will participate. Kathy Belanger, a Gold Star Mother from Deerfield is this year’s speaker. All local groups are invited to join in this activity. From noon to 2 p.m., there will be food and entertainment at the Milk Bottle in front of the Center School. Sarah the Fiddler and Roger Tincknell will be entertaining and there will be hamburgers and hot dogs and desserts to eat. The museum will be open. Whately Grange is making arrangements for this event.
VERNON, Vt. — On Monday, at 3:30 p.m., Vernon historians will present a Memorial Day program at the historic Pond Road Chapel in Vernon, Vt. The theme will be Civil War monuments and memorials in this region and stories of the soldiers they commemorate. The guest speaker will be Don Streeter of Hampstead, N.H., the great-grandson of Philander A. Streeter, who served as a private in the 2nd Vermont Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. The Vernon Girl Scout Troop also will participate in the program.