Bill down at the icehouse has set out 800 lbs of ice to be taken to the park. Joe down at the Rib hut has cooked 500 lbs of ribs to be taken to the park. Ed down at the Chicken Hut has cooked a lot of chicken to be taken to the park, and Mel down at the Bank has thrown in plenty of steaks to be taken to the park.

The ladies of the VFW are already down at the park icing the first round of sodas and beer so they will be ready.

Veterans Day in Calhoun County has begun. Shortly everyone will gather at the cemetery to pay there respects to those they have lost over the years.

Memorial Day in Calhoun begins with those that have lost loved ones coming forward and talking about them if they wish.  No one that has died in Calhoun County since the inception of the Calhoun County Cemetery is without a relative in Calhoun County.

Calhoun County is the kind of place where people come, settle and stay. Where you can walk down the street on a summer’s night and stop and say hello to the people settled in their porch swings. Perhaps stop and have a glass of homemade lemonade and sit for a spell. The kind of place that when your daughter goes out with a fellow, you know she will come home safe to you. The kind of place where youngsters respect their parents and everyone respects those that have passed before.

On Memorial Day, they all gather at the Calhoun County Cemetery, lay flowers, and keep those memories alive and real to even those that have never met them.

About 10:00 AM Bill and the delegation from the VFW comes to the front form us and leads everyone to the veterans’ section where a short speech is given in honor of those whom have died serving there country. Then a snappy salute is given as Bill plays Taps on the bugle.

There is nothing sadder than the sound of Taps rolling over the hills of Calhoun county, and this Memorial Day it is made even sadder by the 8 new graves in the veterans section that have yet to have grass grow over them. Jimmy Watkins parents stand quietly by his grave still wondering why as they look at the American flag beside it as there is beside all of the graves. The Calhoun County VFW was here at 0600 to make sure no veteran that had died was not represented by a flag and a single red rose.

The Adams family is not here. The grave their son is buried in is the freshest; his remains were laid to rest last Tuesday and they just cannot come to visit him yet. His Sweetheart Jenny Sue is here though and has laid a dozen red roses with the one from the VFW.

Bill put his bugle to his side and the rest of the VFW slowly lower there salute.

Now that respect has been paid, some leave the cemetery and head for Calhoun County Park where the food will soon be laid out for all to enjoy. There is no cost for the food and everyone always helps serve it. First to the elders then to those younger in line until it gets to the youngest. Those that cannot walk are helped with there plates by volunteers and no one goes without. As the afternoon goes on there is often tears in the eyes of those gathered as they remember those gone but not forgotten.

As the sun begins to set things are being cleaned up and slowly the people start to leave for home. Memorial Day in Calhoun County has ended for the moment but later on the front porches, in the living rooms and kitchens the remembering will go on. Every day is Memorial Day in Calhoun County

GB and Happy Memorial day; keep safe and return to us when it’s over

TT