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Community Corner

Memorial Day Maplewood Parade

A march through town on a sunny day

Over 20 groups marched in this year’s Maplewood Memorial Day parade. Participants were drawn from schools, civic groups, youth organizations, town officials and more. Attractions included three musical groups—the Columbia High School Marching Band, the Maplewood Community Band and musicians from Maplewoodstock—and highlights included Clinton School's float made from recycled materials.

The parade kicked off from the parking lot of Columbia High School at 9 a.m. on Monday. After marching a route through Maplewood village and by Memorial Park, the parade ended at the Municipal building, where a ceremony honoring soldiers, who died in service, was held.

“The ceremony is solemn, but the parade isn’t,” Joan Crystal, who co-organized the parade with her husband Bernie, said. The full text of Maplewood Mayor Vic De Luca's Memorial Day speech can be read on Maplewoodian.

Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, was established after the Civil war to commemorate soldiers who died during that war. After World War I, it became a day celebrating the service of soldiers who gave their lives during any war.

A number of local veterans, drawn from Maplewood’s Veterans of Foreign Wars group and elsewhere, marched in the parade, including Maplewood VFW member and artist B. John Kaufman, who carried the flag.

Patch photographer Nilsa De La Cruz was at the parade, snapping photos to commemorate the occasion.

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