Memorial Day
In 1865, Henry C. Welles, a
druggist in the village of Waterloo, NY, mentioned at a
social gathering that honor should be shown to the patriotic
dead of the Civil War by decorating their graves.
In the Spring of 1866, he
again mentioned this subject to General John B. Murray,
Seneca County Clerk. General Murray embraced the idea and a
committee was formulated to plan a day devoted to honoring
the dead.
Townspeople adopted the idea
wholeheartedly. Wreaths, crosses and bouquets were made for
each veteran's grave. The village was decorated with flags
at half mast and draped with evergreen boughs and mourning
black streamers.
On May 5, 1866, civic
societies joined the procession to the three existing
cemeteries and were led by veterans marching to martial
music. At each cemetery there were impressive and lengthy
services including speeches by General Murray and a local
clergyman. The ceremonies were repeated on May 5, 1867.
The first official
recognition of Memorial Day as such was issued by General
John A. Logan, first commander of the Grand Army of the
Republic. This was General Order No. 11 establishing
"Decoration Day" as it was then known. The date of the order
was May 5, 1868, exactly two years after Waterloo's first
observance. That year Waterloo joined other communities in
the nation by having their ceremony on May 30.
In 1965, a committee of
community leaders started plans for the Centennial
Celebration of Memorial Day. The committee consisted of VFW
Commander James McCann, chairman, American Legion Commander
Oliver J. McFall and Mayor Marion DeCicca, co-chairman,
along with Village Trustees, M. Lewis Somerville, Roscoe
Bartran, Richard Schreck, Tony DiPronio, and VFW
Vice-Commander, Kenneth Matoon. Their goals were: "to obtain
national recognition of the fact that Waterloo is the
birthplace of Memorial Day through Congressional action" and
"to plan and execute a proper celebration for such
centennial observance."
In May of 1966, just in time
for the Centennial, Waterloo was recognized as the
"Birthplace of Memorial Day" by the United States
Government. This recognition was long in coming and involved
hours of painstaking research to prove the claim. While
other communities may claim earlier observances of honoring
the Civil War dead, none can claim to have been so well
planned and complete, nor can they claim the continuity of
observances that Waterloo can.
The Centennial Celebration
that year brought dignitaries from government, military,
veteran's organizations and descendants of the original
founders of Memorial Day. A once luxurious home on
Waterloo's Main Street, built in 1850, was purchased from
the county and restored. Now the Memorial Day Museum, it
houses artifacts of the first Memorial Day and the Civil War
era.
Memorial Day is commemorated
each year in Waterloo. The parade, speeches, and solemn
observances keep the meaning of Memorial Day as it was
originally intended to be.
Government
GSA Contracted
