Fourth of July Issue

Towns Mark Memorial Day Traditions with
Simplified Services, Visual Reminders
Story by MELISSA SUMMERS
Photos by KAREN FUCITO
Memorial Day is always a day to
remember veterans and fallen heroes,
but in most communities across the region, it
looked a little different this year.
Gone were the lavish parades decked out
in red, white and blue and the crowds filling
the streets, waving flags and cheering on
the procession. Services were a bit quieter,
and limited to fewer than 25 people, due to
restrictions barring large gatherings as a result
of the coronavirus pandemic.
Several towns did manage to commemorate
the day by taking ceremonies back to the
basics; stripping away some of the
pomp and circumstance;
and getting
back to the true meaning of the holiday.
Jefferson Township was forced to cancel its
parade, which normally steps off from the
American Legion Post 245 on Espanong Road,
then continues down East Shore Road to Brady
Bridge. The parade includes a marching band,
fire department apparatus, youth groups and
local girl and boy Scout troops.
Despite having to cancel its usual pre-parade
roll call and poppy ceremony at the Legion
pavilion, Post 245 held onto one of its oldest
traditions—the tossing of a wreath off Brady
Bridge into Lake Hopatcong. A small gathering
of officials and spectators watched as the
wreath was blessed by the Rev. P. Christopher
Muldoon from Our Lady of the Sea Church
and then, with the help of township Mayor
Eric Wilsusen, tossed into the lake.
“We have never cancelled it,” said Legion
Officer Carmine Maratta, who spoke briefly as
part of the ceremony. “It was the right thing to
do. Hopefully we can do it bigger, better and
noisier next year.”
Across town, American Legion Post 423 of
Oak Ridge wasn’t able to put together a service
for Memorial Day, but instead focused on
another important ritual. In the days leading
up to the weekend, members placed more than
1,000 flags at the graves of veterans interred
in eight cemeteries across the township,
according to Larry Brain, post commander.
The group also adorned the gates leading into
each graveyard with a wreath.
Missed this year was a 21-gun salute at
each cemetery, followed by a tribute at the
Legion and welcoming the community
for refreshments. “It’s a such a nice
ceremony, and it’s a shame we couldn’t
do it,” Brain said.
Roxbury Township begins planning
their Memorial Day parade and
ceremony in January, and it involves the
entire community. “Due to COVID-19, we
were not able to manage that,” said Christine
Houtz, committee chair. “We still wanted to
do something for the fallen veterans of our
township.”
Houtz, who has managed the parade for
11 years, said each event was significant, but
there was something about planning this year’s
commemoration. “It still had to happen,” she
said. “Even if there were two people in the
room, words needed to be said.”
The decision was made to hold a ceremony
at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2833 in
Kenvil, rather than at Horseshoe Lake, because
of concerns it would draw too much attention.
John Lehnert, post commander, led the
outdoor ceremony that included the placement
of white (symbolizing purity), red (in memory
of the heroic dead) and blue (on behalf of the
auxiliary) flowers onto a large wreath. A small
wreath and a flag were also placed in front of
the post.
Lehnert said he missed the community
presence and the sights and sounds along
the parade route, but he felt the abbreviated
ceremony got the message across.
“It was just as meaningful,” he said. “We had
the same reverence and feeling for our fallen
veterans and it had significance because it was
outside our post.”
Members of V.F.W. Post 2833 also planted
flags on veterans’ graves throughout Roxbury
the week prior to the holiday, Lehnert said.
In Hopatcong Borough, the mayor and
council implemented an intimate wreath
laying at Veterans Field the Saturday before
Memorial Day, when the traditional parade
and ceremonial activities could not take place.
About 40 people showed up despite a steady
heavy rain throughout. The ceremony began
A 20- by-40-foot flag hangs off a Mount Arlington
ladder truck in honor of Memorial Day.
Rev. Christopher Muldoon and Jefferson Mayor Eric Wilsusen toss
a wreath over Brady Bridge into Lake Hopatcong as part of the
township’s Memorial Day ceremony.
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