Photo Shoot: Memorial Day Traditions

Steve Heaslip, Cape Cod Times
·2 min read
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Long before Memorial Day was considered the first long weekend of summer, it was called Decoration Day. The first observance was in May 1866 according to the U. S. Dept. of Veteran Affairs, honoring the Civil War dead on May 30. A date selected because flowers would be in bloom to place on the graves. The name changed after WWII and the holiday moved in 1971 to the last Monday in May, providing a three-day weekend.

Growing up, Memorial Day was a full day of activity, marching in the town’s parade, first as a Scout and then band member. The village’s veterans always led the short march down Main Street from the Grange Hall up to the Evergreen Cemetery nestled in the rolling hills of western New York.

A Coast Guardsman's well-decorated grave at the Evergreen Cemetery after students from the Eastham Elementary School visited graves there in honor of Memorial Day. Steve Heaslip/Cape Cod Times
A Coast Guardsman's well-decorated grave at the Evergreen Cemetery after students from the Eastham Elementary School visited graves there in honor of Memorial Day. Steve Heaslip/Cape Cod Times

The American Legion vets would circle a memorial stone and fire off a salute. Kids would race in to collect the spent shells, I still have one in a box of grade school ephemera. The band’s best trumpeter, positioned up the hill among the headstones, sent the 24 solemn notes of Taps down the Canisteo Valley to end the ceremony.

Then the entire parade cast, and a good number of spectators headed back to the Grange for a hot dog and soda lunch. As youngsters, the afternoon was likely a trip back to the cemetery to decorate graves. The flower of choice was lilacs, dependable late May blooms with a wonderful scent. Time speeds up as the years gather and Memorial Day seems to arrive earlier each year.

I can’t remember the last time I spent the holiday in my hometown. But I still make it to the Evergreen Cemetery, joining the students of Eastham Elementary. Their long-standing tradition continues, raising the flag, marching the long route to the cemetery with handfuls of lilacs and other blooms to decorate the veteran’s graves. Such holiday traditions are the glue that hold together the years, no matter how fast they pass along.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Photo Shoot: Memorial Day Traditions