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May 23, 2010
WOLF CREEK HERITAGE MUSEUM NOTES by Virginia Scott MUSEUM HAPPENINGS The week went by quickly with work slowly down on the book. It is not completed yet but the pace is better. I want to repeat what I wrote last week about our email box. While I was gone some stories were rejected because they were too big for my box quota. If you receive an email from the mailbox, please resend. These email also get filtered out sometimes by the virus and junk mail programs so you might check there if you emailed us a story during the week of May 10. If you are not sure, call us to check. Thanks to everyone who has worked so hard on this project. We now know why people only do this kind of project every 10 to 20 years but it is worth it and the work is not yet finished. With summer comes at lot of our traditional festivals. Please send us a poster of your events to post for our visitors. People email, call, etc wanting to know what is going on in our area so they can plan their trips. I like to send them as much information as possible so please put us on your mailing list. For those of you who need our address,telephone, etc. Here it is
PO BOX 5 13310 HWY 305 LIPSCOMB, TX 79056 WEBSITE: www.wolfcreekheritagemuseum.org EMAIL: wolfcrk@amaonline.com TELEPHONE: 806-852-2123 FAX: 806-852-2172 HISTORICAL MUSINGS Next Monday is Memorial Day. This day was first declared a holiday by Retired Major General Logan in his order #11 which read "The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country and during the late rebellion(civil war), and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit." Originally known as Decoration Day, it was formally changed to Memorial Day in 1882 and soldiers who had died in previous wars were honored as well. In 1971, along with other holidays, President Richard Nixon declared Memorial Day a federal holiday on the last Monday in May. Memorial Day is not limited to honor only those Americans from the armed forces. It is also a day for personal remembrance. Families and individuals honor the memories of their loved ones who have died. Church services, visits to the cemetery, flowers on graves or even silent tribute mark the day with dignity and solemnity. It is a day of reflection. At Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, the nation's largest national cemetery, in the early hours of the Friday morning before Memorial Day, soldiers of the Third U.S. infantry walk along the rows of headstones. Each soldier stops at a headstone, reaches to a bundle of flags he is carrying, pulls one out and pushes it into the ground. These soldiers are part of a special regiment, the OLD GUARD. Most consider it a privilege to place flags on the more than two hundred thousand graves of soldiers who served in the wars or who died in them. "They have done their job, " said one soldier, "now it's my turn to do mine." On Memorial Day, the President of the United States gives a speech and lays a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier(s). Members of the armed forces shoot a rifle salute in the air. The Tomb actually holds four soldiers from two World Wars, the Korean conflict, and the Vietnam War. The Army's Third Infantry guard the tomb twenty-four hours a day. Veterans and families come to lay their own wreaths and say prayers. Locally, our Veterans join the various schools in ceremonies at the school and at the cemeteries to honor our soldiers. Please join them this year in remembering our military of the past,present, and future. Celebrate and Remember. |
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