Memorial Day services this week
The American Legion, Post 172 in Mount Ayr, will honor our fallen this Memorial Day.
Thursday May 25, at 9 a.m. the holes for the flags will be marked at the Rose Hill Cemetery. Later that day, flags will be placed by the fifth grade students from the Mount Ayr Elementary school on Veteran graves. Afterwards they will be treated to ice cream.
On Friday, May 26, at 5 p.m. flag poles will be placed in marked holes.
On Saturday, May 27 at 8 a.m. the flags will be put onto the poles, and markers set. After the flags have been placed there will be biscuits and gravy for those that help. The public is welcomed to come out and help. Over 336 flags are on display for the weekend once a year. A donation box for the flags is at the main entrance. Donations are very important. Last year after the flags and poles were taken down half had to be mended, and poles had to be replaced.
On Monday Memorial Day, May 28 the ceremonies will start at 9 a.m. at the Benton Cemetery. The color guard will move to the “ Grave of the Unknown”, at the Rose Hill Cemetery. At 11 there will be a ceremony at the Legion with Al Rusk speaking. Afterwards there will be a luncheon, with a free will offering. At 3 p.m. the poles and flags will be taken down and stored. All this is depending on the weather, however.
The Legion would like to thank John Peter that is in charge of this program. If you would like to purchase a flag and pole for a Veteran that has passed you can contact John. Again we welcome anyone to come out and help and a thank-you to the future leaders Mount Ayr Scouts, Auxiliary, and SAL.
Diagonal American Legion Post 395 will conduct its traditional Memorial Day services on Monday, May 29. The Legion color guard will meet at the Community Building at 7:30 a.m. prior to traveling to Mortimer Cemetery for an 8:30 a.m. service. From there, the Legion will move to Bethel Cemetery at 9 a.m., to Marshalltown Cemetery at 9:30 a.m., Bohemian Cemetery at 10 a.m. and Diagonal Cemetery at 10:30 a.m. The morning will conclude at Knowlton Cemetery at 11 a.m. for the community observance with speaker Reverend Ed Wegele. The community is invited to a Memorial Day luncheon at the Community Building following the Memorial Day activities.