Show memory of older decoration day there was a time within the memory of those of us who mile have hae reached the age of discretion when ble memorial mortal day was a fine one holiday indeed with ith lively go goings ingson on to im press ts is significance upon ua in the morning main street would mould blossom out in a magnificent array of red white and blue and all through the tile forenoon there would be a hum in the air that betokened enterprises of great pith and moment ladles would dare hither lill lier and yon carrying treat baskets of sand and horses would trot up the street drawing drugging corralls cir ralls ful full of folk from the country in the lunch hour there BBS nos a lull while the i mere ere bel being ng con bunted but bill b the zero hour two clock in the afternoon berv thing thin ds as ready and things began to hippen on thata agren groin assembled the bomil N JM e the keeper of the tile hi pry aile the owmer of the acme furniture store the town constable the president of the first national bank the tile te icher of mathematics in the high school the lie driver of the tile express wagon magon the agent at the ft hart ind the judge of the circuit court prosaic old oil gentlemen all ind on other diva of the ci lendir barles to be greeted respectfully but nith ith no show of awe toay however ho neer they wore more an air of haq vast I 1 importance they were tugged in blue suits of 0 impressive cut somehow reminiscent of th tit pictures in the history book anil and they more ore hits of the sort affet affected ted by the late drederick cod hereof the lie crown cronn nos ft as adorned with mith a it gold wreith reith and the letters 10 G A R lending a very cry military appe e to the ft hole turnout order of march thebe u together with many kissir fry try abo also attired in III forms of various arlous colors and cuts and presently after a marshal wear ing in a red ash had up and down doun for a while on a black horre there a is a bug bugle le call and the p rade assembled the order of as as follows follos ills honor the mayor orpheus silver cornet rand band grand anny of t the Ite public anter litter atch fire company semper smells ure company lied led men junior order united american 4 chinks short pants ihrl brigade ade pre defes sors ors of the modern HOY boy scouts and mery PI cry bit as otlien hen all these had bad been into flat OIL march to the cemetery bebr As to what nhat took place there the memory of most of us will mill be inzy suffice it to siy that the exercises while mille som somewhat aling as to their import wen were agree illy itly iI ferous and when they had hall come to an end we me all ft mt it hat that a greit deal had nit been ac on the way balk back to own oun it there wis mis cot a thunder torm there was nas a great deal of lust fust so that the blue uniforms uniform to 0 impress impressive he in the afternoon were by ei evening ening the leist bit bedraggled younger folks take charge or were ere they perhaps Ier haps they aly seemed so for by this time lie tile heroes who ubo wore them were ere bulte forgotten the evening was liven ien over to a town toan dance and i lie tile young leople were in full tharle liall valiantly antly the veterans tiled to hold the limelight the of the he first national hank walked up to the post office to get his mall mail bis his blue coat hanged for an alpaca but his mill III lary ry hat hot still in place and not one if f the tile girls fluttering through the lusk paid the leist bit of atte attention atlon to 10 hlin him ills comrades tw top I 1 around in n the orners corners re retelling tellin 9 treat reat stories as inducement to all aho vho ho would bill and listen but few stopped and hardly any listened their stories had all been icard before and nobody seemed to see their hats occasionally one of them tried a brave buck and m wing ing to harmonica harmonies accompaniment but its whoops hoops died quickly as the fiddles tuned up in the town hall half civil war wara great issue low ow things haedt changed much except that the young peo pie take charle chiai ie early in the morn ing and there irean t seem to be any time for the old veterans at all many a town ton has not a single grand army member left in the few towns ft here one or two eur sur live the march to the cemetery ii usually omitted for it has been found that at the age of eighty five fire the strain of listening to vocie erous exercises may be too much even for a feirt that went through shiloh thus the day dry tends to become mire in re and more a romantic formality a legal holiday allows tired It lens to take a trip in an automobile with a ing flig stuck in the radiator cap cot perhaps this Is just as well lor tor the cliff nar nor is unique among our great wars mars in this respect the Is which it decided seem remote fantastic and without application in this day on the fourth of july as we listen to the declaration of independence cd the principles it enunciates seem startlingly close at hand ne me rub our ees and real ize that this document of the im mortal signatures Is very much alle today on armistice day as we ne listen to the I n points the world war nor scorns seems almost to be going on yet these fourteen points still orm the basis of sta teRmen s deliberations and how they are to be applied Is still a vital matter in briny alices on the earth but on memorial diy daiy ns as me listen to the Gettis bur speed everything seems lazy union slavery Is it possible that ameri amerl cans fought 01 oer cr atheni pid did the great conflict settle anything chidi mould not have settled itself had a vie been patient elou ii to wait a little longer new ew urk lork ilo frold ld |