LANSING, Mich. — The pandemic may change the way we celebrate Memorial Day this year. Or not
Before the pandemic hit, Dimondale hosted a Memorial Day parade every year.
“It's Memorial Day. And that's the time to remember those who have sacrificed for all of us. So we can't stop doing that. It's important to always, always remember what the price people paid, you know, for freedom,” said Dimondale Village President Ralph Reznick.
This year, the village will host a virtual tribute.
The pastors from Dimondale First Presbyterian Church, Dimondale United Methodist Church and West Windsor United Brethren Church will say a prayer to the fallen soldiers.
“This year, we're adding something though," Reznick said, "since we haven't been able to do the parade for the second year in a row, we are going to show a montage of pictures from the parade, from past parades."
Michigan plans to lift restrictions on outdoor gatherings, but not until June 1, the day after Memorial Day.
But while Dimondale is keeping it virtual, Michigan’s Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall and Museum is not letting the pandemic rain on their parade.
Chris Allen, chair of the Memorial Day committee, said the museum plans the parade every year, but due to the pandemic last year, they weren’t able to have one.
“This year. It's something that we need to do to honor our veterans,” Allen said.
The parade will start in Eaton Rapids on the south end of Main Street and will travel north until they reach the Quality Dairy.
“We do a brief ceremony in the middle of the parade, we stop at what they call the Blue Star Memorial downtown and do a wreath-laying at that memorial, and play taps and then the parade ends,” Allen said.
Both the parade in Eaton Rapids and the Dimondale Facebook tribute will happen at 11 o’clock on Memorial Monday. The tribute can be found on the Dimondale Facebook page.
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