Published: May 24, 2008 12:02 am         

Remembering lost loved ones

Services show Memorial Day a solemn time

A country cemetery tucked away in far western Garvin County will be the site of a solemn Memorial Day gathering sure to be duplicated at places all over the country.

With a special focus on military veterans, members of the Purdy Cemetery Association are planning holiday services Monday really meant to remember all lost loved ones.

Lavern Russell, president of the Purdy Cemetery group, and Diana Bowen, secretary-treasurer, are certainly not alone when it comes to understanding the importance of Memorial Day.

“The services mean a lot. It’s in remembrance of our relatives that are buried out there, and I’ve got a lot of relatives there,” Russell said.

“This is something we can give back to them. They’re gone but never forgotten. This is a day just to remember, a time set aside, a special day for them.”

“This is about remembering people we’ve lost and we’ve loved,” Bowen added.

Both said Purdy Cemetery, located a few miles south of Lindsay and northwest of Elmore City, will hold its annual Memorial Day services starting at 11 a.m. Monday with a pot luck lunch to follow.

The free cemetery is reserved for relatives of those already buried there, in addition to residents of the Purdy area.

The planned services with a definite slant toward military veterans will include a 21-gun salute, the playing of taps and the presentation of colors.

“We do remember our men and woman out of the country fighting for us and keeping what we hold dear to our heart — freedom. We recognize our military men and women who are serving our country,” Bowen said.

“It’s a patriotic thing. We decorate the pavilion with red, white and blue.”

Also in the plans are services by Keith Low and songs from Jerry Billingsley and Bowen’s 15-year-old daughter, Rebecca.

After the services comes a pot luck lunch featuring all kinds of food in a true community gathering.

“People bring all kinds of food and the kids, well they run around and play and just have a good time,” Bowen said.

“It’s a special, special time for all of us. We eat, have fellowship and just remember.”

Russell is quick to offer her slant on the post-service lunch.

“This one lady brings fried chicken every year and she doesn’t just bring a little; she brings a lot,” she said.

Memorial Day itself was first widely observed on May 30, 1868 to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers.

During the first celebration of Memorial Day, then known as Decoration Day, Gen. James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried in the cemetery.

This celebration was inspired by local observances of the day in several towns throughout America that had taken place in the three years since the Civil War.

By the late 1800s, many communities across the country had begun to celebrate Memorial Day and, after World War I, observances also began to honor those who had died in all of America’s wars.

In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be celebrated the last Monday in May.

     

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