To many people Memorial Day weekend means a lot of things. To all the students it means the ending of another school year.  To all the sports enthusiasts it means getting ready to go boating and enjoy all those water sports.  To many families it means the beginning of vacation season.  To the gardeners it means the beginning of planting season. Baseball season is in full swing and the list goes on and on. But what is the true meaning of Memorial Day?

 

Memorial Day, as we know it now, was once known as Decoration Day.  Around the late 1800's people began referring to this holiday as a time to remember all those fallen soldiers.  They designated this as a time to visit the graves and decorate them for these individuals who had given their lives for our freedom. Later the name was changed to Memorial Day and the custom of visiting all grave sites and decorating them became very popular.

 

As a young girl I remember well visiting the graveyard with our beautiful baskets of live flowers that we had collected throughout the neighborhood.  Back then I do not remember that we had artificial flowers as we now have. One of the most popular flowers to be included in these arrangements was the peony that by Memorial Day was in full bloom.  We would collect wild ferns as a background and then add whatever other flowers were in bloom.  In our neighborhood, Miss Mattie's beautiful roses were always a favorite addition to our arrangements.  She was always so wonderful to share them with us.  A visit to the graveyard was really an experience for us and even if we did not have any fallen soldiers in our family we remembered all the members who had gone before us.  It was a visit filled with reverence and remembrance.  It was a time when our parents and grandparents told us the stories about our dead relatives.  You might say it was kind of a history lesson. We stood in awe of this history lesson learned at the local cemetery.

 

I encourage you to set aside a day this weekend for a visit to the graveyard.  It will be so simple to just purchase an artificial flower or even a fresh basket of flowers to place on the grave site. Take along the children in your family and talk to them about those individuals who have gone before them. This will be an excellent time to share family history.

 

But most of all tell them just exactly what this holiday stands for. It is wonderful to remember it as then end of a lot of things and the beginning of the summer, but it holds a far greater meaning.  We are so fortunate to have the Grafton Cemetery here and it is sometimes overwhelming to think that all those buried there are military individuals and their families. Remember the true meaning of Memorial Day.

 

Congratulations to all the graduates in our area. Have a safe summer as you make plans for the rest of your lives.

 

The Tunes at Noon sponsored by the Harrison County Commission will start this weekend.  Plan on spending your Friday lunch hour listening to some great music and enjoying your lunch which will be available for purchase by the PWA of Harrison County.

 

A reminder to mark your calendar for the Women of Distinction luncheon to be held on June 10 at noon at the Uptown Event Center.  It is being sponsored by the PWA and will honor ten local women who have made contributions to our community.  Keynote Speaker will be Dr. Carroll Morrison. The public is invited and tickets and reservations can be made by contacting the PWA at 304 624 6881.

 

If you have not completed your spring cleaning and are looking for a place to donate all those goodies that you no longer need call the PWA and drop them off for their semiannual rummage sale.

 

Plan on a safe summer and do not forget to attend some of the wonderful festivals and fairs being held in West Virginia.  A call to the Greater Clarksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau can get you a schedule.

 

Be safe, keep in touch and until next week "Now You Have Heard It through the Grapevine."