I remember Memorial Days in the 1940’s and 1950’s in my hometown, Berwyn, Illinois, just a few miles southwest of the Chicago Loop. Those were always fun days for my family, our relatives, and our friends. We always thought of it as the beginning of summer.

The first Memorial Day I remember was the one in 1946. We also called it Decoration Day. I was five years old, turning six in September.

My mother, her father, and her sisters who lived with us and I left home about 6:45 AM to attend 7:00 AM Mass. After church, we drove to St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery a few miles north of our home. We brought flowers to decorate the graves of my mother’s mother and my mother’s sister, Edna, who died in June 1940. She was only 20 years old. We said prayers for each of them.

A few yards from their graves was one belonging to Bobby Franks, a 14-year-old Hyde Park boy murdered by Loeb and Leopold in 1924. We stopped by his grave and prayed for him. I didn’t learn what happened to Bobby Franks until I was a few years older.

We returned home and had breakfast. Then we walked over to see the parade.

The parade began at 11 o’clock and ran down Oak Park Avenue, two short blocks west of our home.

Many members of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars marched in that parade. I remember seeing four very old veterans of the Spanish-American War (April-August 1898).

There were also quite a few veterans of World War One in that parade.

What was most memorable were all the veterans of World War Two who marched in that parade in 1946, only 10 months after the war ended. There must have been a thousand of them! They marched proudly in their uniforms. Everyone cheered and cheered, so happy to have their loved ones home at last! The American Legion band played Glenn Miller’s “American Patrol” and “The Saint Louis Blues March.”

The parade started at 11 o’clock at 16th Street and proceeded about three miles south down Oak Park Avenue to Auburn Cemetery in Stickney, where there was a prayer ceremony and a 21-gun-salute. The parade ended about one o’clock. We watched it go by at 31st and Oak Park.

Thousands of people lined the parade route in 1946, anxious to welcome the veterans home.

After the parade, we had a picnic in our backyard for our friends and relatives. There was an empty lot across the alley from our home. We called it a prairie. My dad, my uncles, and some of the men in the neighborhood broiled steaks, hamburgers, chicken, and corn on the cob on a makeshift grill. My mother, my aunts, and the other women prepared potatoes, salads, and desserts.We ate about three o’clock.

Everyone remained sitting around the picnic table in our backyard until dark, drinking coffee, soft drinks, or beer. The women helped my mother with the cleanup while the men played cards and listened to the Cubs or White Sox. My cousins, playmates, and I played in the yard or on the street in front of our house.

Everyone went home by nine-thirty. I was already in bed. My folks and my aunts listened to the ten o’clock news on the kitchen radio. The news ended at 10:15 PM. They were all in bed by 10:30 PM.

George Spink
Los Angeles

I’ll get back to everyone later for thoughts and plans for the weekend.

Talk to you all soon.

Sunny

I’ll get back to everyone later for thoughts and plans for the weekend.

Talk to you all soon.

Sunny

I’ll get back to everyone later for thoughts and plans for the weekend.

Talk to you all soon.

Sunny

Gosh this week went so fast…I have been a maid..a secretary…a therapist..a gardener..and I am ready for a day of rest..granny is tierd..

Weather is great..it is very..very warm..and I feel some humidity today…so it is almost HOT!!

Sorry you gotta work this weekend…try to find a little Turtle Time for yourself!

Take Care..JD..
Deb

I love the picture of the turtle! Thanks for brightening up my day. I’m sorry you have to work this weekend. I’m leaving work a couple hours early and I can’t wait to head out of town! The only problem is with these ridiculous gas prices, it cost me $10.00 yesterday just to top off my tank. You don’t get much gas for $10.00 these days! They raised our gas prices to $3.859 a gallon just in time for the holiday weekend. Be thankful you don’t drive a car! I’ll probably use about $50.00 worth of gas for the weekend. I think it still will be worth it to get away from the frustrations of life here in Cumberland. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Margie