Memorial Day services offer opportunities for all of us to remember those who served our country. Thank you to all of the servicemen and women, past and present, who made that choice.
Seward VFW Post 4755 and American Legion Post 33 will hold a Memorial Day program at 10 a.m. on May 27 at the north cemetery, located on Highway 15 and Waverly Road. Coffee and rolls will be served afterward at the VFW Club.
At 10 a.m. on May 27, Milford Legion Post 171 will hold a ceremony at Blue Mound Cemetery, south of Southeast Community College. The speaker will be District 12 American Legion Commander Bonnie Brewer, and the Milford High School band will play. There will be a brunch afterward at the Milford Fire Hall.
The Utica Legion Post 49 will start with a service May 27 at Waco Cemetery at 10 a.m. At 2 p.m., the Legion will hold its second service at the Utica Cemetery. Chaplain Jim Bulgrin will be the guest speaker. Following the services, the Legion will serve a spaghetti supper at the Utica Auditorium from 4 to 7 p.m.
Also in Utica, St. Patrick’s Catholic Church will hold a Memorial Day Mass at 9:30 a.m. at the Catholic Cemetery or at the church in case of rain. Refreshments will be served in the cemetery or in the Parish Hall. Guests are asked to bring their own chair, stool or blanket and to pick up flowers two weeks after Memorial Day. Those in containers on the cement bases can be left.
Beaver Crossing Legion Post 178 will hold two ceremonies, one in Goehner at Mound Prairie Cemetery at 10 a.m., and one at the Beaver Crossing at 11:30 a.m., both on May 27. Seward County Veterans Service Officer Jeff Baker will be the guest speaker.
The Pleasant Dale Legion Post 354 will host Memorial Day services at the Malcolm Cemetery at 9 a.m. with the Malcolm High band performing and at Pleasant Dale at 11 a.m. with the Milford High band performing. The Legion will host a luncheon in Pleasant Dale following the service.
Garland Legion Post 369 will conduct its Memorial Day service Monday, May 27, at 10 a.m. in Garland on Main Street. The guest speaker is Command Sgt. Maj. Shawn Griffith, who is the full-time Nebraska Army National Guard recruiting and retention battalion command sergeant major. He has deployed numerous times, including a 2001 deployment to Kuwait and again in 2006 to Iraq.
In Cordova, Legion Post 359 will have services at Zastrow Cemetery at 2 p.m. on May 27. The speaker will be Tim Wilbeck, a Vietnam veteran. Refreshments will follow at the Cordova Community Building.
On Memorial Day, the Davidson-Neujahr Post 13 of Gresham and the Sons of the American Legion will hold a service at 9 a.m. at Cedar Lawn Cemetery. York County Veterans Service Officer Nick Wollenburg will be the guest speaker. A community breakfast will follow at the Gresham Community Center.
Originally known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades.
Ride the rails with annual melodrama: The villainous Simon Darkway seeks to control the Walker Valley, Pine Bush & Pacific R.R. for his own vile purposes in “Love Rides the Rails (or Will the Mail Train Run Tonight?),” the Goehner Centennial Players’ melodrama. Assisting him are Dirk Sneath, a viper of a man, and Carlotta Cortez, the sultry siren with a heart of gold. Fortunately, the gallant Truman Pendennis, the beauteous Prudence Hopewell, the Widow Hopewell and staunch Harold Standfast oppose the sinister schemes of this wicked trio. Swiftly and hilariously, the classic melodramatic plot unfolds, leading to a tremendous climax. Shows start Thursday, May 30, and go through Sunday, June 9. Tickets are $35 for the prime rib dinner show (Thursday, Fridays and Saturday), $15 for the pop and popcorn show (Wednesdays) and $20 for the dessert matinee (Sundays). Doors open 30 minutes before curtain. For more information, call Lloyd Schulz at (402) 523-5025.
