Memorial Day Memories

Today we have perfect weather to celebrate Memorial Day. Some towns have parades - some were on Saturday, others on Sunday or today, and the weather has been perfect. What a great way to start off our "official" summer season!

Memorial Day means different things to just about everyone. For veterans and many others who are mindful of the origin of this holiday, it was initially a time to honor the thousands who lost their lives in the Civil War, and now includes all wars since then. Originally called "Decoration Day," it is also a time to remember family and friends who have passed, and to take flowers to  decorate grave sites. It has also become a gathering time for family and friends, to share a meal, picnic or BBQ.

When I was growing up, it usually meant the end of the school year, and I confess I was much more interested in the traditional picnic on the last day of school than learning poems and songs related to wars I didn't understand. Sometimes we marched over to the cemetery on the Plain and placed flags on the graves of every soldier buried there. Now the Cabot Cemetery Commission places flags at every veteran's grave; but I don't believe students go to any one of the seven cemeteries in Cabot, but perhaps they have Memorial Day Exercises of some sort.

Recently I was told about how a former classmate of mine, the late Larry Thompson, who retired from the United States Navy and eventually drove a school bus in Cabot for several years, celebrated Memorial Day. Here's what his wife, Maire, told me:

 Larry drove the  bus  for the Cabot school, a few years, maybe three or four years, not sure.  Sometime in the month of May, the school children did a program on the the Common,  they  did the poem, "Flanders Field" and other poems.  My son, Tom (in Uniform), did a gun salute.  One year a few of the younger children were upset over the noise so he didn't do that anymore.  After those programs  Larry (in uniform), drove the bus down to  Elm Street to the cemetery.  Some of children, some parents and I, also a WWII man in uniform, went on the bus. 

That must have made lasting memories for those children. Cabot doesn't do a parade on Memorial Day, but they have a great Fourth of July parade. Larry had a deep respect for our country, even when we were in high school. Soon after graduation, he and his cousin, Howard Carpenter (also in the Class of 1948), entered the service. After Larry retired and came to live in Cabot with his family, he always marched in the Fourth of July parade, was the master of colors for many years seeing that the flag in front of Willey Memorial Hall was properly cared for, and was part of the committee that erected a granite memorial with names of those from Cabot who served in the military. Above, veterans John Hobbs (left) and Frank "Larry" Thompson, at the dedication of the War Memorial in 1992.

I was pleasantly interrupted here when my late cousin Wesson's son Chuck Bolton and his wife, Linda,  stopped in on their way to visit various cemeteries in Cabot where Chuck has family buried. I haven't seen them for several years, and it was wonderful to chat with them today. Chuck's father and mother, Wesson and Barbara Bolton are in the Plains Cemetery, his grandparents (and great grandparents) are in Durant Cemetery, and I believe some of his Walbridge relatives are buried in the Elm Street Cemetery. It is this sort of Memorial Day pilgrimage I recall when I was growing up - with relatives in the Barre and Montpelier cemeteries as well as in Cabot's, it usually took more than one trip to visit all, weed where perennials were already planted, and replant as needed.

Whatever you are doing this Memorial Day, pause a moment to remember and honor the brave men and women who gave their all for their country.

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On a very sad note -- I'm sure some of you knew Val Covell, who lived on Brickett's Crossing Road and worked at the Joe's Pond Country Store back in the day. Val has had serious health problems for several years, and she passed away this weekend. This was also the anniversary of her marriage to David. She will certainly be missed by many who knew her, and my sympathy goes to David. Condolences may be sent to:  David Covell, III, 1625 Brickett's Crossing Rd., Cabot, VT 05647.

Our first Joe's Pond Association meeting was on Saturday. It is always special to be at the first meeting of the season when folks are back from their winter homes, tan and energetic, ready for an active summer at the pond. It was a lively meeting, with very good attendance.

Top of the discussion list was fireworks, but no decision was made on whether there will be fireworks in the summer of 2024. There will NOT be any JPA sponsored fireworks at the pond this year, because of the excessive cost to put the show on. Many people are sorry to not have fireworks, but a poll of members last winter showed a majority was against spending so much money on that. Another factor was brought to the attention of members was that the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail cannot be closed to hiking/biking traffic, and in previous years, the end of the trail was were the fireworks were set off from, by the bridge on Channel Drive. It was suggested that trail users be routed onto Route 15 from the North Shore Road Crossing to Channel Drive, but that seems like a very dangerous re-route, and probably not a good idea. We won't need to figure it out this year, but if we vote for fireworks in 2024, that may be a showstopper - literally. It's difficult to find a safe spot from which to fire off the barrage of pyrotechnics needed. We'll see what happens, and keep everyone posted. We were reminded at one point however, that the Joe's Pond Association is made up of mostly old people. That got a quick rise from lots of us, and it's a good thing we all really like the speaker (who will remain nameless) and that he routinely pitches in to help with dinners and other events, otherwise, there might have been mayhem at the meeting! 

Enjoy your long weekend. Weather is great for the coming week - great time to be a Joe's Pond!