Memorial Day 2024
May 30, 1966 Howard E. Krause took this picture of the Waterville American Legion Auxiliary Juniors getting ready to march up the hill with the Memorial Day parade. The America Legion participated in the festivals every year. The girls identified are Karen Linn, Kathy Hess, Yvonne Blauvelt and Dorothy Hess, a member of the Waterville American Legion Auxiliary. Can anyone help to identify the others?
The night or so before there would be a great gathering of members at the American Legion hall where freshly cut branches of evergreens would be laid on the table and along with the paper poppies to be made into corsages to be placed later at the cemetery. The next day there would be a procession of cars and marchers from the American Legion Hall on Mechanic Street with the American Legion men in front carrying the flag. They would stop at the bridge where they would place a wreath in the river to honor those unknown or known service members “lost at sea.” Then on along the River Road to Farnsworth Road and up to Wakeman Cemetery followed by the AW band. Many people followed along walking to the cemetery to hear the devotions and the military salute. At earlier times they stopped at the Civil War Monument to have the service at that location and place a wreath on the monument
Today we continue on to the new American Legion monument that was placed there after the closing of the Waterville American Legion where many will gather to hear a talk by a local person or distinctive person. The Boy Scout Troop 101 will be included in the ceremony. What an impressive site to see the AW band march in from the street as they do every year. The traditional ceremony to honor the dead will be held. Flags have been placed at all of the veterans markers. Our sexton likes to see the flags there year round to keep their memory alive. People will visit each other after the services and walk the cemetery to see where their loved ones are buried. Today the Whitehouse American Legion puts on the Memorial Day program of remembrance at both the Whitehouse and Wakeman Cemetery beginning at 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. respectively on Monday May 27th.