Memorial Day

Last night, BFF Jill and I went to the Ford City Park and attended the Memorial Day candle light ceremony that the Lion's Club and VFW put on every year. It's been years since I've attended one of these ceremonies, so I was really happy when Jill asked me to go.

The ceremony is always on Sunday night at 10:00 pm. They block the streets off. They turn all the street lights off and encourage all residents to turn off their lights for the ceremony. The town is dark. Then everyone lights candles. As a kid, I remember lighting our candles and sticking them to the sidewalk in front of our house.

The town has a speaker system that plays then entire ceremony to the town. I live approximately two miles from town and I can hear parts of the ceremony from my yard. It usually starts with the Heritage Days Choir singing, a key note speaker and more singing. It concludes with the Honor Guard shooting guns and the playing of Taps.

It is a very moving ceremony. It is very touching to see how many people strolled down to the park and stood with candles. Small children, standing quietly, babies in strollers sleeping. All ages were represented.

We are getting older. A former classmate, Mike Klingensmith is now the head of the Lion's. It's time for our generation to take over these traditions and make sure they continue. Mike ended the evening by saying, "Thank you, God Bless and God Bless America."