Volunteers Help Prepare For Memorial Day Observance
Oskaloosa High School and Middle School Student Council members volunteered their time on Saturday to help set larger flags in place for the upcoming Memorial Day observance.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Memorial Day preparations are underway around Oskaloosa.
On Saturday, volunteers from the community gathered at Forest Cemetery to line the roads there with American Flags. Members of the American Legion and the Oskaloosa Middle School and High School Student Councils worked for just over an hour.
Darrin Alderson, Oskaloosa Legion Post Commander, spoke about the efforts to prepare for Memorial Day observance in Oskaloosa.
On Wednesday volunteers swarmed Forest Cemetery attaching an American Flag to veterans markers. That effort took nearly 2 hours to complete. “It’s great help,” says Alderson.
On Saturday, many of those same volunteers returned to place the larger flags along the roadways within Forest Cemetary. Those efforts took nearly an hour, with nearly 60 students on hand to help place the flags. “Without the help of them, we couldn’t do it,” Alderson said.
“It’s great to see the kids get involved and wanting to volunteer,” says Alderson. “It makes Oskaloosa look good when you see this. It makes the veterans proud to see the support they get.”
On Monday, May 30th, Memorial Day, the Veterans Parade will depart from the Legion Post #34 located at 302 High Avenue East. Veterans are encouraged to arrive at 9am. From there, the parade will walk its way down High Avenue before eventually turning north on N. 9th Street towards Forest Cemetery.
The service at Forest Cemetery is scheduled to begin at 10am near the large pond.
After the service at the cemetery, a luncheon will be held at the American Legion.
Alderson said that donations can be made that day to help replace nearly 50 flags that have been damaged by weather. Each flag is approximately $50.00 to replace. “It’s going to take a lot of effort and donations to cover that cost,” says Alderson.
If you are interested in donating to the replacement of American Flags, you can make checks payable to the Memorial Day Committee. Checks can then be brought or mailed to the American Legion Post on Memorial Day, or any other day the Post is open.
The Memorial Day Committee is looking for volunteers, and will meet once again in January of 2017 to prepare for the next ceremony. Alderson said to watch the Legion’s Facebook account for the announcement.
