LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - NOVEMBER 13, 2022 by Lynne Belluscio In LeRoy, the American Legion gathers at the Soldier’s Monument on Trigon Park at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day, in the eleventh month to honor thosemen andwomen who have served their country in all the wars. This year, the Legion will then go to the St. Mark’s Cemetery on Church Street to dedicate a new flagpole that was recently put in place by the Town Highway Department. It is one of several new flagpoles that will be placed at the abandoned cemeteries in the town. Last year, the Legion, in a solemn ceremony, dedicated a flagpole at the Myrtle Street Cemetery. The Town which oversees all the abandoned cemeteries, did not have it in their budget to buy the flagpoles, so three donors came forward and graciously made it possible for each cemetery to have a flagpole. St. Mark’s Cemetery was chosen this year because St. Mark’s and the Cemetery were placed on the National Register of Historic Places this year. The cemetery has at least three veterans: John Miller and Hugh Miller of the Civil War and Ezra Platt of the War of 1812. St. Mark’s Cemetery was the burying ground of the old St. Mark’s Church which stood on the site of St. Mark’s Street. When the old church was torn down, some people chose to move bodies to Machpelah Cemetery although Machpelah Cemetery records do not include all of that information. If you walk through St. Mark’s Cemetery, you will notice that new gravestones have replaced some of the old stones. A survey of the cemetery was begun several years ago with funds from the Town. A system of twenty foot squares were taped off, and all the stones within that square were photographed and anything written on the stone was recorded. It can be a laborious task, and sometimes the writing cannot be deciphered. Sometimes the stone has to be looked at with raking light and sometimes the stone has to be cleaned first. It is important work and each year more stones are broken. Parts of stones are piled against other stones, and the exact location of a burial cannot be determined. People often do genealogical research from cemetery records, or even more important, they want to visit the cemetery. That’s why it is so important to maintain and protect these abandoned cemeteries. Looking at the weather report, there may be significant rain on Veterans Day unfortunately, but it is important to remember, these men and women who are being remembered, fought and died in all kinds of weather. A little rain should not deter us from gathering. In Canada, Great Britain, and Australia, Veterans Day is called Remembrance Day. It is held on the Sunday closest to November 11. It is the day that they wear red poppies. In the United States, it wasn’t until 1938 that Congress approved November as a legal holiday. Later, a Congressman from Emporia, Kansas presented a bill and it was signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on May 26, 1954. The Uniform Holiday Bill was passed in 1968 so that events would be celebrated on the closest Monday and for some strange reason, the bill set the fourth Monday of every October for Veterans Day. Under the new bill it was held of October 25, 1971. Folks weren’t too happy, so a new bill was introduced and on September 20, 1975, President Gerald Ford signed another law which returned the commemoration to its original date – starting in 1978. One last note. . Veterans Day does not have an apostrophe. It is explained that veterans do not own the day. And I personally haven’t figured out what the greeting should be, because when you think about it, “Happy Veterans Day” isn’t appropriate. There is a certain solemnity that needs to be remembered. Hope to see you on Veterans Day. Veterans Day 2022
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