Memorial Day services set for this weekend

Members of the American Legion Hewitt New Post  No. 248 march up North Fifth Street to Woodlawn Cemetery during last year's Memorial Day ceremony. (Journal file photo)

The Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer and all of the activities that entails – swimming pools and splash pads open, summer festivals are just around the corner, and with the last days of the 2023-24 school year now done, it’s time for summer vacations.

However, Memorial Day itself is the day every year that families take time to visit the graves of loved ones, placing flowers and maybe sprucing up the grave sites. It is a somber occasion, particularly for those honoring the men and women who died in military service to the country.

Several ceremonies will honor those veterans during Memorial Day services this weekend. Those cities include Centerville, La Cygne, Linn Valley and Mound City.

On Saturday, the service for Linn Valley is at 10 a.m. at the Linn Valley Lakes Memorial Park. It is part of a day full of activities including a fishing tournament (9 a.m.) and crafts (2 p.m.) for kids, the farmers’ market beginning at 9 a.m. behind the community center, and a drive-in movie at the clubhouse parking lot at dark.

The honor guard presents the colors during La Cygne's Memorial Day ceremony last year. (Journal file photo)

On Monday, the La Cygne program begins at 10 a.m. at the Oaklawn Cemetery located a few blocks north of Kansas Highway 152 on North First Street. The ceremony will include a color guard, a speaker, and singing. Following the service, a meal will be provided at La Cygne Christian Church at 406 N. Broadway.

Both Centerville and Mound City have services scheduled for 11 a.m. on Monday.

The Centerville service sponsored by the American Legion Arthur Jeffries Post No. 294 will be at the Centerville Cemetery about a mile east of town on West 1350 Road. A fried chicken dinner will be served at the Centerville community hall after the ceremony.

The American Legion Hewitt New Post  No. 248 will sponsor the Mound City ceremony. As is now custom, members of the post and their families will walk to Woodlawn Cemetery on North Fifth Street with the ceremony taking place at the soldiers lot. Retired Marine Lt. Col. Josh Randall will be the speaker.