A series of events is planned in Walloon Lake for the official start of the summer season – Memorial Day Weekend.
The Village presents its inaugural Blessing of the Boats on Saturday, May 27 at 1pm. Deacon Paul from St. Francis Xavier Parish will be performing the blessing for a safe boating season on the docks of the Walloon Lake marina and one of the village’s newest businesses, Sweetwater Floral, will be providing mini bouquet to the first 15 boats that arrive at the blessing. There will also be a competition for the “best dressed” boat. Lake residents are invited to decorate and motor their boats to the marina for the opportunity to win a Barrel Back gift card. There is no pre-registration required and boats will be seen/previewed on the day of the event and voted on by staff in the village.
Blue Ribbon Events will also be hosting its 3rd Annual Wet Paint Art Show in the Village Green Park, Saturday and Sunday (May 27-28) from 10am to 5pm. This event encourages artists who demonstrate and create live and in person, with about 30 artists expected. This event is free and open to the public.
The Boyne City American Legion Post 228 is hosting its annual Memorial Day Service on Monday, May 29, visiting several local communities and townships:
- 8:00am – Memorial Park, Boyne Falls
- 8:25am – Melrose Township Park, Walloon Lake
- 8:50am – Evangeline Cemetery, Evangeline Township
- 9:15am – Dyer Cemetery, Bay Township
- 9:50am – Lost at Sea, Waterfront – Veterans Memorial Park
- 10:10am – Advance Cemetery, Eveline Township
- 10:45am – Wilson Cemetery, Wilson Township
- 11:00am – Maple Lawn Cemetery, Boyne City
Buses, donated by the Charlevoix County Transit, will leave from in front of the American Legion Hall at 6:45am and transport participants to the cemeteries and back to the American Legion Hall around 11:30am.
The Memorial Day Procession will leave the Boyne City American Legion Post (302 S Lake St,) at 11:45am and proceed north on Lake Street to the Veterans Memorial Park where the Memorial Day Observance will take place starting around Noon.
MELROSE TOWNSHIP PARK MEMORIAL
The World War II Memorial in Melrose Township Park was dedicated on Sunday, September 3, 1944. Made of stone, the memorial lists the names of 93 people from Melrose Township who were at the time serving in the Armed Forces. It was completed through the efforts of the Dean Scroggie Service Club, according to a 8/31/1944 article in the Northern Michigan Review. It also notes “two gold stars now appear on the list, by the names of Dean Scroggie and Russel Spaulding both of whom were killed in airplane crashes.” Another marker in the park recognizes veterans wo are buried in the Melrose Township Cemetery (sponsored by G.T. Lasater, Retired Sheriff with assistance from the Cub Scout Pack 53). Read more about Walloon Lake’s military/veteran memorials here: https://walloonlakewanderings.weebly.com/memorials-and-park.html.
MORE ABOUT MEMORIAL DAY
Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day. Established after the Civil War in 1868 by the Grand Army of the Republic – an organization of the Union veterans – it was a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the causalities of war with flowers. In the 20th century, both Union and Confederate holiday traditions were combined and Memorial Day was extended to honor all Americans who lost their lives while in the military service. Although the name was widely used for more than 80 years, Memorial Day was not declared the holiday’s official name until a Federal law established it so in 1967. Then, in June 1968, Congress passed the “Uniform Monday Holiday Act” which moved four holidays – including Memorial Day – from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend (primarily for federal employees and the country’s growing tourism industry). That act moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May, effective in 1971. However, it took a few years for all states to formally comply with this change.
