Written by Lynn Allen, Executive Director/Curator Brown County Historical Society
This weekend is Memorial Day or Decoration Day if we step back in time or our history! May 26-27, 2023, is the Hiawatha Community Foundation Give Back to Move Forward fundraiser. For those of you who do not recall the history of Decoration Day, people decorated the gravestones to celebrate and mourn loved ones no longer with us. Decoration Day sprang to life to honor people who gave their lives protecting ours and our freedoms, many of which we still enjoy! The first officially recognized Decoration Day included a speech by James Garfield at Arlington Cemetery, where more than five thousand people attended, and the participants decorated twenty thousand civil war soldiers’ graves. If you wonder about the Civil War’s loss of life, more than 600,000 Americans died. Still later in our history, Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, “Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.” Roosevelt paid tribute to honor all fallen in service. The service applies to all circumstances and all human life. We can count ourselves blessed for those who valiantly defend our freedom. If you are even left to wonder, we are the “those” he is speaking of. Many towns and histories claim to hold the accolade of the “first” Decoration Day. In this instance, every community and individual should be given the honor associated with remembering and preserving our history for future generations. As always, there is so much more to every incredible story! Find it! Be sure to stop by and share with me what you uncover!
Brown County Historical Society is still working hard to complete our goals at the Bruning Barn! Our GBMF goals include tables and chairs for the Bruning Barn, a catering warmer, gravel, walking paths, lighting, adequate parking space, a silo for future wedding backdrops, and much more. In previous years, GBMF funds were utilized on the Windmill Lane Projects!
“History Mysteries” and “Chasing My Sparkle” are the intellectual property and creative inspiration of Lynn Marie Allen
Forest of Words 