Parades, ceremonies to recognize veterans

15 years ago
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer

    PRESQUE ISLE – Under the direction of the American Legion Ray Goding Post 88 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2599, the Star City’s annual Memorial Day parade will be held Monday, May 25 at 10 a.m.

    According to Burns Weeks, adjutant of Post 88, the parade will form on the back street of the University of Maine at Presque Isle campus at 9 a.m. A memorial service will also be held at 9 a.m. at the Fairmount Cemetery on the Houlton Road.
    “We’ll have a small ceremony – a salute to the veterans – at the Civil War monument at the cemetery,” said Weeks.
    Lineup for the parade will begin at 9 a.m. at the south entrance of UMPI.
    “The parade will step off at 10 a.m.,” Weeks said. “We’ll travel north on Main Street with a stop at the Park Street Bridge for a service honoring the Naval veterans where we throw a wreath in the stream, and then the parade will proceed to the Veterans Memorial Park on Main Street where we’ll have another ceremony honoring all veterans.
    “This service honors both those living and those who gave their lives for their country in all the wars and conflicts in which our great country has been involved,” he said.
    The order of parade lineup is as follows:
    • City Police, State Police and Sheriff’s Department;
    • Color Guard;
    • Firing Squad;
    • Grand Marshall, Acting Chaplin and bugler;
    • Commanders of the VFW, American Legion, DAV, Vietnam Veterans;
    • Masses Colors (all units listed above);
    • Veterans’ floats and cars;
    • Auxiliary;
    • Knights of Columbus;
    • Presque Isle High School band;
    • Knights of Columbus float;
    • Presque Isle Fire Department Auxiliary;
    • Presque Isle Fire Department;
    • Young Marines;
    • North Star Search and Rescue;
    • Girl Scout, Brownies, Junior troops;
    • Boy Scout and Cub Scout packs;
    • Anah Temple Shrine Indys; and
    • Queens (Miss Presque Isle, Maine Potato Blossom, and others as they arrive).
    Anyone wishing to register for the parade should contact Carl McGlauflin at 762-6971 or Burns Weeks at 769-5391.
Mapleton parade
    In neighboring Mapleton, the Lion’s Club will once again host its annual Memorial Day parade starting at 2 p.m.
    According to Steve Hanning of the Mapleton Lion’s Club, participants will line up on the Dudley Road at 1 p.m.
    “We’ll come down Main Street and end at the elementary school,” said Hanning. “We’ve been averaging between 50 and 60 parade entries each year.
    “Fifteen minutes after the parade, the Mapleton Lion’s Club, with the assistance of local veterans organizations, will honor all who served in our nation’s armed forces,” he said. “The special remembrance ceremony will occur for those who sacrificed all to preserve this nation and our freedom. All veterans are welcome to attend this special recognition.”
    The ceremony will be held at the memorial site in front of the elementary school.
    Hanning said anyone wishing to participate in the parade can either call him at 764-5170 or just meet at the Dudley Road.

 

ImageStaff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
    PRESQUE ISLE’S Memorial Day events will include a parade beginning at 10 a.m., as well as a ceremony honoring all veterans at the Veterans Memorial Park on Main Street.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Staff photo/Scott Mitchell JohnsonImage
    FLAGS HAVE BEEN PLACED at the Fairmount Cemetery in Presque Isle to honor those servicemen who gave their lives fighting for our country. A remembrance ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. Memorial Day at the cemetery on the Houlton Road. A parade will follow down Main Street beginning at 10 a.m.