Memorial Day services planned

All around the Lakes Region this weekend, people will be gathering at Memorial Day observances to pay homage to family, friends and neighbors who have served or are serving in the U.S. military.

In the Lake City, activities actually kick off Saturday evening with a “Support the Troops” rally at 5 p.m. in Veteran’s Square.

The city’s official celebration on Monday begins early when members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion Post 1 join with family members and other supporters for visits in the six cemeteries in the city to honor their fallen comrades.

At 10 a.m., the group will meet at the Sacred Heart Cemetery for the last visit, then members of the veterans groups and other community organizations — including members of the Laconia Police and Fire departments, the Knights of Columbus, etc. — will begin the official parade down Main Street to Veteran's Square. Along the way, parade participants will pause at the downtown bridge off Main Street to throw wreaths into the Winnipesaukee River, a traditional sign of respect for those lost at sea.

After the parade concludes in the square, several prominent citizens, including Mayor Mark Fraser, will deliver speeches honoring those who have served in the military.

In Gilford, parade participants will gather at the Gilford Community Church at 9:15 a.m. on Monday. They will then proceed to the monument across from the church at 9:30 for special patriotic ceremonies including a placing of a wreath and the playing of “The Star Spangled Banner” by the Gilford Middle-High School Band.

At 9:45, the group will go on to the Pine Grove Cemetery where the band will play several marching songs, and then at 10 a.m., there will a raising of the flag, a placing of a wreath and other patriotic observances.

At the conclusion of the ceremonies, the GMHS Band will play the traditional Taps, commemorating men and women who have died in military service and, at 10:15, the group returns to the church for more marching music by the GMHS Band.

This year’s Memorial Day ceremonies will have extra significance in Belmont. Last month, in an apparent act of vandalism, a car toppled the Veteran's Monument, which has stood since World War I ended in 1919. The large stone was put back on its pedestal earlier this week.

On Friday, the Belmont Historical Society will host a special program devoted to the Veterans Monument and other Memorial Day celebrations. People are invited to share memories, photographs and other remembrances of past patriotic events in town. The event will be in the Belmont Mill, Friday, at 7 p.m. (Please enter from the riverside of the mill and use the elevator to get to the second floor.)

The town’s official observances on Monday begin with a gathering of parade participants on School Street near Belmont Middle School at 12:30 p.m. At 1 p.m., the parade will head down to Main Street, go past the Town Hall and Belmont Library, then turn left at St. Joseph Catholic Church and head towards the monument at the corner of Monument and Church streets. There will be several special events, including a flag raising ceremony and a speech by Capt. Al Nix of the U.S. Navy.

“We’re going to have the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts involved,” said Commander Bob Stevens of the American Legion Charles Kilborn Post 58, who helped organize the commemoration. “The Girl Scouts will put a bouquet of flowers into the (Tioga) River. The Belmont High School Band will play some patriotic songs. And then we’re going to have something different, a bell-ringing ceremony using the American Legion bell.”

Other ceremonies will be added to this year’s observances, Stevens said.

“We’ve got to keep some things a surprise,” Stevens laughed. “Otherwise how are we going to get people down there?”

In Meredith, the public is invited to gather at the Meredith Center Cemetery for Memorial Day observances at 8 a.m., and at the Meredith Village Cemetery at 9 a.m.

At 9:30 a.m., parade participants will gather at the American Legion Post 33 on Plymouth Street. At 9:50, the procession will stop to the Meredith Library on Main Street where there will be special ceremonies. The group will then go to the Swazey Cemetery on Lang Street for ceremonies there.

At 10:30 a.m., the group will march to the town docks for a special POW/MIA memorial. (Meredith has the longest ongoing POW/MIA observation in the state in the waterfront park on Thursday nights.)

Afterward, the public is invited back to the Legion Post for lunch.

Meanwhile, the residents, staff and volunteers at the New Hampshire Veterans Home in Tilton have invited family, friends and members of the community to the home for a traditional Memorial Day Ceremony on Monday. A social coffee hour will begin at 10:15 a.m., and the formal ceremonies will start at 11:00. Lieutenant Colonel Scott Normandeau of the New Hampshire Air National Guard will be the featured speaker. For additional information about the event, please call 527-4400.