‘Lest we forget,’ Memorial Day is upon us

What would have been, under normal times, an extended weekend involving parties, barbecues and social functions, has unfortunately been put on hold this year.  Memorial Day is a somber, serious time for us veterans and the military. 

I will quote excerpts from a local Presbyterian Church service pamphlet dated May 30, 1943. It contains the names of 134 young men from Millerton serving overseas at that time. The cover included a pre-invasion quote from General Douglas MacArthur dated 1942: “At the alter, where I first joined the sanctuary of God, I ask you to seek divine guidance for me in the great struggle that looms ahead.”

Another excerpt in the pamphlet stated, “We are thinking tonight not only of the few score of men whose graves we have decorated, but the thousands upon thousands who sleep in other graves across the world, who have made it possible for this to remain the citadel of freedom and justice. We are thinking of the maimed and the broken, whose bodies were laid on the alter of sacrifice for us. We are thinking of those youths who are laying down their lives tonight, that we might live.” 

We vets, the military and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice, wish you patriotic readers and your families well this Memorial Day. Please take a brief moment for silent prayer for those thousands who gave up their lives to accord you the freedom to enjoy this weekend. 

We can never close our account with those who died on the field of honor. Perhaps the humblest tribute we can pay to their memory is to follow the wisdom of a young hero who died in WWI, who wrote to his mother just before he fell.

“The measure of a life is not its span but the use made of it,” he wrote.

I’ll end this column with my own remark: “Lest we forget those so many dreams buried forever — thank you.” 

Have a good weekend, count your blessings, cherish your family and close friends and say a brief prayer for yesterday’s fallen heroes as well as today’s heroes — our front line health providers — who are making supreme sacrifices saving the lives of those with COVID-19.  

Be safe, stay healthy and do a good deed whenever possible…

Millerton resident Larry Conklin is a member of both the Millerton American Legion Post 178 and the Couch-Pipa VFW Post 6851 in North Canaan, Conn.

Latest News

Amenia Town Board continues cannabis “opt-in” discussion

AMENIA — Preliminary discussion over whether or not the town will “opt in” to state regulations that guide the opening and operation of a local cannabis dispensary continued at the regular meeting of the Town Board on Thursday, March 21.

Town Supervisor Leo Blackman introduced the discussion, noting that to move ahead on zoning questions related to location of a dispensary, the board might need the services of a town planner.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tuning up two passions under one roof

The Webb Family in the workshop. From left: Phyllis, Dale, Ben and Josh Webb, and project manager Hannah Schiffer.

Natalia Zukerman

Magic Fluke Ukulele Shop and True Wheels Bicycle Shop are not only under the same roof in a beautiful solar powered building on Route 7 in Sheffield, but they are also both run by the Webb family, telling a tale of familial passion, innovation and a steadfast commitment to sustainability.

In the late ‘90s, Dale Webb was working in engineering and product design at a corporate job. “I took up instrument manufacturing as a fun challenge,” said Dale. After an exhibit at The National Association of Music Merchants in Anaheim, California, in 1999, The Magic Fluke company was born. “We were casting finger boards and gluing these things together in our basement in New Hartford and it just took off,” Dale explained. “It was really a wild ride, it kind of had a life of its own.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert Cray’s soulful blues coming to Infinity Hall

Robert Cray

Photo provided

Blues legend Robert Cray will be bringing his stinging, funky guitar and soulful singing to Infinity Hall Norfolk on Friday, March 29.

A five-time Grammy winner, Cray has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and earned The Americana Music Awards Lifetime Achievement for Performance. He has played with blues and rock icons including Albert Collins, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton and many more.

Keep ReadingShow less