Girl Scouts, marching band help Center Harbor mark Memorial Day

Town staff organized a Memorial Day parade in Center Harbor on Monday afternoon. The parade lined up at Chase Circle, then made stops at the James E. Nichols Memorial Library for a flag-raising and wreath-laying ceremony led by Navy veteran David Johnson and playing of "The Stars and Stripes Forever" by Inter-Lakes Marching Band and prayer by Rev. Cathy Turrentine of Center Harbor Congregational Church, followed by the town docks where the marching band played "The Star-Spangled Banner" and first-year students David Najem and Aaron Smith, both 14, played "Echo Taps" and Boy Scouts laid a wreath in Lake Winnipesaukee. The last stop was at the Lakeview Cemetery on Main Street, where the marching band played "A Sousa Celebration," Turrentine gave a reflection on the occassion, and a final wreath was laid in the cemetery. On Memorial Day, flags fly at half-staff for the first half of the day, then are raised to full height from noon to sundown. This custom remembers the dead in the morning, and living veterans for the rest of the day. Other groups who participated in the parade were Daisy Girl Scouts Troop 65100, Girl Scouts Troop 58666, Boy Scouts Pack 55, and the Center Harbor Fire Department.