Big Sandy observes Memorial Day

Big Sandy's Memorial Day observations took place May 30th. The holiday has been taking place in America for 154 years, after being instated to honor Union Soldiers killed in the Civil War. Incidentally, the first Memorial Day also landed on May 30th. All of the standard Big Sandy events took place this year. During the breakfast, parade, and service, I took the time to visit with locals regarding how they observe the day.

At the museum entrance, I stopped to visit with Amy Sibra, who was distributing poppy flowers and collecting donations for the American Legion. The American Legion provides support and assistance to veterans, their families, military personnel, and their families. Amy explained to me that the poppies have been tradition associated with a poem written about Flanders Field, which was the site of much military action during WW1 and the place where over 150,000 soldiers died. There is a large military cemetery there now. Poppies are on the graves in the poem and it has come to represent American servicemen who died in battle. Amy explained that the Memorial Day fundraiser is the only one that the local American Legion does, with the proceeds going to support three veterans homes. She remarked that the community is always very generous to support the Legion and its work.

At the breakfast itself, I stopped to talk to Tina Rodewald about the Historical Society and the annual breakfast. She explained that the fundraiser started when the museum was first built. It was a means of raising money for the Historical Society. "They go hand in hand. This gets the people together, they have breakfast, and then they go to the rest of the events." Though the pancake breakfast helps raise money for the Big Sandy Historical Society, there are other goals. "I would like to see it give more awareness to the people that live here of what this museum actually is. There's an awful lot here that they don't realize." One of the things the museum contains that is pertinent to the holiday is a listing of every Big Sandy Resident that has died in military service. Near the entryway, the list is hanging on the wall. There are also uniforms and rifles on display that are associated with past service.

Rebecca Wiehe told me about one of the more unique observances that takes place in Big Sandy. She had just finished leading a class at Lift Fitness, the gym on Main Street downtown. Every year they hold a gathering to do 'the Murph.' She explained that, "We do it every Memorial Day to celebrate Lieutenant Michael Murphy who died in service in Afghanistan protecting his team." Lieutenant Murphy won the congressional medal of honor for his actions. "He did a workout similar to it many times, and he called it the body armor. And then when he died, they renamed it Murph in memorial of him." The Murph workout involves running one mile, doing 100 Pull Ups, 200 Push Ups, 300 air squats, and finishing up by running a mile wearing a 20 pound vest for men or 14 pound vest for women. The Murph workout on Memorial Day is always a well -attended event.

After the breakfast, the community lined the streets to watch the annual parade. An honor guard led the way, followed by a truck decked out with a flag and the High School Band playing the various service branches' songs. The Shriner's "Rat Patrol" was in the parade as well this year, driving little yellow go-carts and swerving around to the delight of the kids.

Memorial Day services took place at the High School Auditorium. Ron Otto spoke of his time in the service this year.