Memorial Day in DeKalb

This Monday is Memorial Day in America. It’s time to give thanks and remember our Veterans who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

The observance, which began in the years following the Civil War, was originally known as Decoration Day. In 1950, Congress passed a resolution requesting that the President issue a proclamation calling on Americans to observe Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace. In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May, in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees. But Memorial Day didn’t actually become an official federal holiday until 1971.

Now, in 2015 in DeKalb, the day starts out at 8:30am with a Memorial Tank Service, at the corner of N. 1st Street and Lincoln Hwy.. Then at 9:am, the Memorial Day Parade steps off at the corner of N. 3rd St. and Lincoln Hwy. It will wind it’s way through town and end up at the Ellwood House on 1st. Street.

At 9:30am there will be a brief Memorial Day program on the Ellwood House east lawn, open to everyone in the community. At 10am the Ellwood House will be giving tours, free of charge, until 12noon.