Memorial Day:More Than Just a Picnic By Kristi Kates Contrary to the belief of thousands of happy three-day weekenders and returning summer visitors, there’s a lot more to Memorial Day weekend than just picnics, parties, and retail sales. Although all of those things do mark the official start of the summer season Up North, the holiday that all of this frivolity is based on sometimes gets lost in the yearly summer shuffle. Memorial Day was first known as “Decoration Day,” dedicated to honoring the nation’s Civil War casualties -- more than 600,000 from 1861-65. On Decoration Day, graves were decorated with flowers and other items, a tradition that began in small towns across America after a proclamation was made by General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic (an organization of former soldiers and sailors.) On the first official celebration of Decoration Day on May 5, 1868, General James Garfield marked the occasion by making a speech at Arlington National Cemetery in honor of the 20,000 soldiers buried there. By the late 1800s, most of the country was celebrating what was now called Memorial Day. It wouldn’t be long before the holiday was expanded to include those who had died in all of America’s wars, not just the Civil War. In 1971, the U.S. Congress finally declared Memorial Day as an official national holiday, and the date was changed to the last Monday in May; Veterans Day had already been established 17 years earlier, dedicating November 11 as a day to honor all veterans both gone and still living.
NATIONAL AND LOCAL Today, the national effort is still going strong. Much like that very first Decoration Day, there is a special ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day each year in which a small American flag is placed on each grave. Also each year, the U.S. president or vice-president gives a speech and places a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington, an event attended annually by around 5,000 people. Locally, Petoskey is just one of many communities that honor the holiday with special events and ceremonies. “There’s an organization in Petoskey that hosts a Memorial Day parade, and we also have a nice wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial here in Pennsylvania Park,” says Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce President Carlin Smith. Petoskey’s ceremonies will also include the placing of a memorial wreath in the Bear River, while neighboring communities will also present parades. Traverse City will host similar events, while Mackinaw City will present its annual Fort Michilimackinac Pageant, with 400 cast members re-creating events that took place between the French and British and the Native American tribes; and a road trip to slightly larger Michigan cities will highlight more extensive recognition of our war heroes. The Great Lakes Naval Memorial and Museum’s Lost Boat Ceremony in Muskegon on May 30, honoring the 53 submarines and 3,000 men who lost their lives during World War II, is one such Memorial Day event; but the larger-scale events are quite few and far between given the scope of those who were lost.
REFLECTION AND HONOR Part of the difficulty in keeping Memorial Day’s original meaning intact is that visitors and residents alike may simply become forgetful regarding what the holiday actually means during the busy weekend of Up North vacation activities. “I agree that there’s definitely much more to the holiday,” Smith says. “I’m actually the son of a veteran - he’s no longer with us - but we always use Memorial weekend as a reflective time in our family to honor my dad and his life with us. “As far as the community goes, don’t get me wrong - we do enjoy the fact that it serves as the kick off for summer, and it’s nice of course to have the extra time off,” Smith continues, “but Memorial Day was created for a reason, and I feel it’s important for all Americans to stop and pause during the weekend to reflect on the real meaning of the holiday, the lives lost, and the sacrifices that were made for our country.”
To find out more about local Memorial Day activities, visit your town’s community website.
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