Celebrate Memorial Day in the Five Towns

If the weather cooperates, the Five Towns will be triply-blessed with parades in Inwood, Lawrence through Cedarhurst and Woodmere through Hewlett to commemorate the Memorial Day holiday. Last year rain washed out the Hewlett-Woodmere and Cedarhurst-Lawrence parades.

Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, is a day to remember all those who have died serving in the U.S. military. Coming out of the Civil War, the holiday was first officially designated on May 30, 1868.

New York was the first state to officially recognize Decoration Day five years later. The upstate town of Waterloo celebrated Decoration Day on May 5, 1866. The community is federally recognized as the holiday’s birthplace.

In 1971, three years after Congress passed the Uniform Holiday Act, Memorial Day became the last Monday in May. The National Moment of Remembrance resolution was passed in 2000. It asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans, “To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listing to ‘Taps.’”

The Inwood parade steps off Sunday at noon and heads north on Doughty Boulevard. Marchers will gather at the Inwood Long Island Rail Road train station at 11:30 a.m.

Participants include, Atlantic Beach Rescue, the Inwood and Meadowmere fire departments, the Inwood Civic Association, the John J. Oliveri Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1582, the Lawrence High School marching band. the Leonardo da Vinci Lodge 2385 Sons of Italy and Our Lady of Good Counsel Church.

A memorial ceremony with be held at post headquarters at the intersection of Doughty Boulevard and Mott Avenue after the parade.

George Miller, a 50-year member of the Inwood department, will serve as the parade’s grand marshal. Miller is currently an Inwood Fire District commissioner and is an ex-chief of the department.

Woodmere resident Ann DeMichael will lead the Hewlett-Woodmere parade. DeMichael was last year’s grand marshal, but her stint was rained out. DeMichael has been an active member of the Five Towns for more than 55 years and is the director of community affairs for Nassau County. A liaison for the Five Towns, she has been instrumental in helping with an array of community projects.

Hewlett-Woodmere parade participants will line up at the Woodmere firehouse parking lot on Irving Place in Woodmere at 8:15 a.m. on Monday. The parade will begin at 9 a.m. It proceeds up Broadway and ends at Hewlett High School.

In addition to the Hewlett and Woodmere fire departments, the Hewlett High marching band and many local groups taking part, a post-parade community celebration at the high school will take place, including military veterans speaking, live music and hamburgers, hot dogs, beverages and dessert.

At noon on Monday, the Cedarhurst-Lawrence Community Memorial Day Parade will step off from in front of the Lawrence-Cedarhurst firehouse at the intersection of Washington and Central avenues.

Organizing officials called this one “the largest parade in the Five Towns,” and it will included three fire departments — LCFD, Inwood and Meadowmere — American Legion Lawrence-Cedarhurst Post 339, the Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 3, Community Chest South Shore, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, the Inwood Civic Association and the Lawrence High marching band.

Marchers proceed down Central Avenue to Cedarhurst Avenue to Andrew J. Parise Cedarhurst Park, where a Memorial Day ceremony will be held. Refreshments will be served.