It is spring in Calhoun County and once more the flowers and crops are pushing their way through the earth to blossom and grow. Sooner than we would like to think, Memorial Day will be upon us.

Memorial Day is a special day in Calhoun County as the people get together to remember those that have gone before and keep their memories alive.

There will be the gathering of the American Legion, AMVETS, and VFW at the flag in the war memorial part of the Calhoun County Cemetery, which has sadly had 5 new graves added to it over the last year.

There will be the picnic in the park where one and all will get together to remember those that have gone before both young and old.

Time will move on but for just a little while it will stand still as those remember those that have gone before and talk about them as though they are still with us.

That is one thing I like about Calhoun County that is not seen in most places. They remember the past and what those that have gone before were like and are able to, for one day, to bring them back to life if only in their memories.  People who die in Calhoun County never really die. Yes, their bodies may be committed to the earth but the memories they have left behind are carried on from generation to generation so they live on.

I was afraid last Memorial Day that perhaps the tradition would end, but Mrs. Blankship at the Calhoun County High School made it a point to make sure her history class remembered by asking them to write a story about one of their relatives, living or dead. She was surprised by the responses she received as most of them were not of those living but of those that had died years before.

Perhaps we do not give our youngsters credit for what they remember or choose to remember of the past.  Perhaps, as long as they remember those that have come before, the mistakes that have been made, and the fact that Memorial day is not just the beginning of summer but is also a time to remember not only those that have fought in our wars but also those that have come before, there is hope for the future and what it might bring.

I’ll go over to the flag pole and salute those that have died serving our country. As usual tears will fill my eyes as the sound of Taps echoes across the cemetery and I will remember those that we have lost serving our country.  I’ll go over to the park and listen to the stories of those long and not so long gone from us and try my best to remember those stories, as I do not want to let the past that we have go any more than anyone else in Calhoun County.

© Tina Rice

11 May 2007