The time to remember our loved ones

Memorial Day on May 30 conjures images of hamburgers, hot dogs, swimming pools, and summertime for many Americans. But the last Monday in May serves, most importantly, as a time to honor those who died while fighting in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Don Estep is publisher of the News Journal.

It’s a holiday steeped in somber American history and tradition. The day actually began as “Decoration Day,” following the Civil War, when mourners placed flowers on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers. Yes, Memorial Day has also come to signify the “unofficial” start of summer, but let’s remember the heroes who made it all possible.

Most holidays are different from year to year, but for me Memorial Day has been constant.

I have made the annual trip to Corinth Cemetery on Memorial Day since I was a child.

Back then I knew it as “Decoration Day.” It seemed that the entire neighborhood was involved in making flowers out of crepe paper to go on the graves. I recall seeing the women on our street taking colorful sheets of crepe paper and turning them into flower pedals. Most of the activity took place on front porches.

That was a time before the supply of wreaths were found in stores and flower shops. The people made their own flowers by taking their thumb and stretching the crepe paper into a pedal and then attaching them to a wire, or at least that is how I remember it. Most graves would have row after row of these colorful homemade flowers.

But for my mother she preferred live flowers.  There were four graves we decorated, a baby’s grave that was born dead, a baby that lived two days and a sister that died at age two. She would cut flowers that grew in our yard for these graves.

But the one that received the big bouquet from the florist was my brother’s grave, Howard, who was killed in a plane crash during World War II. Until her death at age 101 and a half, she made sure that live flowers were put on the graves.

I feel for the many mothers who had to raise large families many years ago. Basically it was the mothers because years ago the man of the house went off to work and the wife stayed home to raise the children.

I came from a family of 13. I was number 12. The little one after me that lived two days was number 13. There were only four of us that lived to adulthood. So after my brother’s death, at which time I was only four years old, I was left with seven sisters and I was the youngest one.

My wife and I have three daughters, so you may understand why I have a soft heart for the female sector and I don’t appreciate a bunch of old men telling women what they must do with their bodies.

But now that I have enraged or pleased some of you with that statement, back to Memorial Day. After my parents died, along with my wife and sister, we have carried on the tradition of decorating the graves of our loved ones in three area cemeteries.

There are many of you that can share a similar story of decorating the graves of your loved ones year after year. For the most part people in this area observe this custom. I also notice the out of state car tags of the people who travel for this purpose.

So, not much has changed in the many years I’ve been around other than there are more graves to decorate. It is sad, but it is certain that all of us will join our loved ones some day and we also want to be remembered.