In our beautiful rural little (pop. 995, appox.) town. We had breakfast at the community center, served up by the Boy Scouts….biscuits and gravy, juice and coffee shared with local friends who are jumping off the daily busy-bus to give honor to those who gave their all so that we could spend this day in the sunlit city park we call home.
Arriving for the 10:00am ceremony, we are greeted by the haunting tones of a bagpipes, played by nearby rural resident, Neil Claus. 
The high school band was assembled………
The shaded grassy areas were filling fast………..
Legion Commander Dick Snow
gave a formal welcome followed by the posting of the US flag……
then, the“Colors”/flags of all the branches of the military, with the band playing the appropriate anthem……..
Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard. The singing of the National Anthem, the Invocation-delivered by Pastor David Wiersbe
, set the tone for the program that followed and the reading of the names of the 7 who have died in the preceding year. “America the Beautiful” (played by Mr. Claus), the gun salute,
and the placing of the wreath, by representatives of Boy Scouts……..
was followed by special music from the band, Benediction by Am. Legion Chaplain, Ron Belongie and retiring the Colors………….
completed our time of reflection and honoring those whom we hold dear.
Arriving home, we grabbed the lawn mowers and hit it hard! With rain in the forecast for this evening and tomorrow….and the lawn more than needing attention……..those couple of acres(!!!!) now look like our private park! I’m not a gardener but the gladiolas(edited: “Bearded Iris”) are gorgeous this year and a small bouquet made it into my kitchen
A short week ahead will keep me on my toes……quilting is my major attention-grabber and I’m anxious to have at it!!! Til next time………..
I think the flowers in the picture are Bearded Iris. We grow them too. We also live in a small town. I enjoy your blog posts. Thank you.
Thank you! I really am not a gardener!!!! LOL!!!
Your Memorial Day is similar to our Armistice Day which is held in November. Our small village remembers the fallen around the war memorial beside the village green. Most people here take the opportunity to garden and do DIY projects on public holidays especially if the weather is dry. Your flowers are bearded iris. Gladioli have more flowers on each stem.
Thanks so much for sharing. These types of gatherings really are so important!
I love these sweet, authentic, small-town celebrations on American holidays!
True “Americana” and ‘community’ being played out. We love living in this type of area and gravitate towards small rural towns when we travel. Personal interaction is a natural thing in these surroundings.
Thank you for this snapshot of your small town Memorial Day celebration. These are the best. Tradition. Simple honoring of those who have given the ultimate for country.
I love the table runner.
Thank you! I made that for my mom and, now, it has come back to me. It’s a pattern that was in the Saturday Evening Post magazine some years ago. Mom had spotted it and made a special request.