Despite a rainy start to Monday morning, Memorial Day parades and commemorative services in Easthampton and Florence were well attended as skies cleared.
In Easthampton commemorations began at roughly 7:15 a.m. as members of the American Legion Dalton Lavallee Post 224, including the Sons of the American Legion, and the Post 224 Legion Riders, toured the city’s cemeteries and memorials.
“We went to each cemetery and memorial and did a flag-raising and played taps, we had a firing team and a prayer was read,” said Ernest LaBerge, vice commander of the Sons of the American Legion.
Prior to the parade, from 7 to 10 a.m. veterans and their families and friends gathered at the Easthampton Community Center at 12 Clark St. for a traditional pancake and sausage breakfast.
“It is a beautiful experience all the way around because we get a nice range of people here,” said Maggie Bialecki, 30, of Framingham. “We have older vets to new vets, active-duty people and some recently back from deployment as well as all the families and friends. It is a really nice community.
Bialecki’s mother is Robin Bialecki, executive director of the community center.
“I come back every year to help out. It is a tradition and it is something that I look forward to doing,” Maggie Bialecki said. “Last year we had about 150 at the breakfast in total.”
Eleanor Kwolek, 83, of Easthampton, who attended the breakfast, said she has long been an active supporter of veterans, volunteering her time in the auxiliary at Easthampton VFW Post 224 and at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke.
“My husband was a Marine and I had five brothers in the military, three fought in World War II and two fought in Korea and Vietnam,” Kwolek said. “I also have a grandson in the Army and granddaughter in the Air Force and a grandson in the Coast Guard.
Johnathan Leuca, 19, of Easthampton, a member of the Navy, enjoyed breakfast with his uncle and Navy veteran Frank Picard, 72, of Huntington, who hoped the weather would clear as he was to drive his restored green 1979 MG in the parade.
“I do the parade every year,” Picard said. “I don’t normally drive that car in the rain or foul weather, but today is a special day. It’s not pouring, it’s just a little annoying rain. I’ll just leave the top up.”
Mayor Karen L. Cadieux, whose husband Bob Cadieux is a veteran, said she attends the Memorial Day events every year.
“It’s important to recognize our veterans. And after what these people have seen in the line of service, a little rain doesn’t bother them at all,” the mayor said.
By 10 a.m. the rain had subsided and parade was well attended.
“Actually we had more people at the parade and the memorial service in front of the library this year, than I have seen in a couple of years,” LaBerge said. “It was a nice turnout.”
In Northampton, the traditional Memorial Day parade in Florence center also started after the rain ended.
As Chris Murray, 61, of Florence, and his wife Gisela Murray, 60, waited for the parade to begin, they reflected on why they show up every year.
“My father was a career Marine so I grew up in the military,” Chris Murray said. “We come every year to pay our respects and it is a great time to see everyone you grew you with.”
Gisela Murray said the event draws current residents, as well as others who have left Florence.
“You may see three or four generations from families,” she said. “People come back for this parade all the time because it is an awesome parade!”
John Smolenski, 57, of Florence and his wife Ella Smolenski, 65, both have relatives who were disabled veterans.
“We owe it to those that have made the supreme sacrifice for us. It is important to show our respect and it brings the community together,” Ella Smolenski said.
“It is great for the kids to see that there is a lot more to the holiday than just cookouts,” John Smolenski added.
Joining the parade in Florence were Mayor David Narkewicz and members of the City Council, Northampton police and fire departments, United Veterans of America Inc., Florence VFW Post 8006, re-enactors from the 10th Massachusetts Regiment Volunteers, 1861 to 1864, and the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Northampton High School marching band, the Red Cross, the Northampton Recreation Department, Northampton Baseball and Little League, and Boy Scout and Girl Scout contingents.
“This parade has been consistently taking place for 148 years. It would take a little more than a few showers to stop this community from celebrating Memorial Day,” Narkewicz said. “I am very proud of our community for its long devotion to Memorial Day and to all of those men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice.”
Parade participants and spectators proceeded to the Park Street Cemetery for a short ceremony, where Scott McAllister, a veteran and intern in the Northampton Veterans Services’ Department, was the guest speaker.
McAllister told those gathered that the best way to honor the men and women who gave their lives for their country is to preserve and pass down the knowledge and history of our past and our conflicts, and to always remember that before these men and women were “heroes” they were human beings.
“Keep alive their stories,” McAllister said. “Make their favorite foods, cook their favorite recipes. Remember the love and happiness that they brought to your lives.”