By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
After decades of being observed on May 30, Memorial Day—previously known as Decoration Day—has been celebrated on the last Monday of May since 1971.
This year, Memorial Day is on Monday, May 29, providing citizens throughout the United States to pause and mourn the military personnel who lost their lives while serving in the armed forces.
As in years past, the communities of Otsego and Plainwell will mark the occasion with parades and memorial services.
VFW Post 3030 is sponsoring the event in Otsego, which begins with a ceremony at Mountain Home Cemetery at 8:45 p.m. A parade will follow south down Farmer Street to Memorial Park.
A short ceremony will be held at the Veterans Memorial at Memorial Park at the conclusion of the parade. A free lunch will be served at the Otsego VFW following the morning’s events.
Plainwell’s Memorial Day event is hosted by the Plainwell VFW Post 9377, with Cheryl Parente-Roggow serving as the event coordinator.
“Memorial Day is a day to remember those that gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom,” Parente-Roggow said. “It’s so important that we let them not be forgotten.”
Staging for the Plainwell parade begins at 10 a.m., at begins at 11 a.m. sharp at South Anderson Street and East Bridge Street.
“We will have bands, floats, walkers, fire trucks and have invited the public to march in support of remembering our fallen,” Parente-Roggow said.
The parade will end at Hillside Cemetery, where a short service will take place.