by Pamela A. Moore,
Harvey C. Noone Legion Family
Some are 2020 style and some you can easily do this year and then continue as a tradition for your family and friends in the future. Whatever you do, please do not let Memorial Day slip by unnoticed. Please, at least take a few moments at some point over the Memorial Day weekend to reflect upon the sacrifices of those who died defending our nation and the freedoms you enjoy.
Memorial Day 2020 may feel different, but relying on our collective American spirit, we can prevent this enemy from robbing us of joining together, as best we can, but still unite in purpose and in a meaningful way to honor our fallen Hometown Heroes. In fact, it affords us with the opportunity to make some additions and changes that will make future Memorial Days, when we will again be able to gather together, even more meaningful. So, here are some ideas – follow them, or use them as inspiration to create your own experiences and traditions.
1. Fly an American flag. If you have a worn flag, Harvey C. Noone Legion Post will gladly take it for proper disposal. Go to www.harveycnoonepost954 for details and to obtain a print out of Flag Etiquette.
2. Wear red, white and blue.
3. Decorate your house, yard, or porch in a patriotic fashion.
4. Drive by, or drive through, one of our local cemeteries and pay your respects to the deceased veterans who are lying in rest beneath American flags that mark their graves and honor their service.
5. Send an e-mail to or call a veteran you know, and whom you will not see over the Memorial Day weekend and thank him or her for their service. Ask about what branch they served in and what they did.
6. At meal time on Memorial Day, ask each person present, before the meal begins to state why they are grateful to be an American and tell what Memorial Day means to them. The answers may surprise you.
7. Find on our website the “Little Patriots Corner” and download Memorial Day themed coloring pages and word games for the “Little Patriots” in your life. Send completed coloring pages to Harvey C. Noone Legion Post # 954, PO Box 605, Churchville, NY 14428 for distribution at the VA Hospital in Batavia.
8. View the PowerPoint presentation, prepared by Riga Newman Librarian, Lynn Brown, about the life and times of Harvey C. Noone.
9. Calendar Veterans Day – November 11, 2020 at 11 a.m. to attend the Annual Legion Veterans Day Service held at the Memorial Stone in the Riga Newman Library Park.
10. Calendar December 19, 2020 at noon to attend the Wreaths Across America ceremony at Creekside Cemetery.
11. Mail a donation to the support the Auxiliary’s new Virtual Poppy Distribution Program on our website.
12. Submit photos of local veterans or Legion activities to add to the Legion Website Photo Gallery. Send directly to www.memoriesbybriana.com or Brianalitolff@yahoo.com.
13. Walk along Westshore Trail to find the oak tree, lilacs, and daffodils planted in honor of Harvey C. Noone.
14. Listen to Army band performances of patriotic music on YouTube.
15. In 2000 Congress passed an Act that declared 3 p.m. on Memorial Day as a “National Moment of Remembrance.” Across the country, at 3 p.m. we are asked to pause and remember our fallen heroes.
16. The National Legion Commander just announced a new “Candles of Honor Program” for Memorial Day. In the evening, on the porches of homes across America, candles will be lit honoring those who have served our nation.
17. Drive by the Harvey C. Noone American Legion Post Home at 6444 Buffalo Road to see our beautiful Post Home that has served as a center of our community for over 50 years. View the WWII artillery piece in the lawn, and when the pandemic is over, stop by and visit the Memorial Room honoring Harvey C. Noone and his mother, Mary E. Noone, who is our foundress and who gave the Legion money to build a permanent home in honor of her son, Harvey, who was killed in WWI in France.
18. Buy a Memorial Brick for the Veterans Section of Churchville’s Memorial Brick Walk In Memory of a deceased veteran or as a Father’s Day gift in Honor of a Living Veteran (forms on the Legion website).
19. Take a walk along Churchville’s Memorial Brick Walkway near the Village Hall.
20. Take a walk along the driveway into the front entrance of the Churchville Elementary School where Crimson Maples are planted in memory of former students who died serving in WWII. Read the story about them and the rededication on our website.
21. Read the poem In Flanders Field about the poppies that sprung up in the battlefields of France the spring after WWI ended.
22. Visit the Memorial Stone in the Riga Newman Library Park.
23. Read Historian Ron Belczak’s article about Major Richmond who fought in the Civil War on the Village website or his article about Memorial Day on the Legion website.
24. Visit the Soldiers Monument in Creekside Cemetery that lists local men who died during the Civil War.
25. Tour the Riga Cemetery, established in 1806, to look for the graves of veterans who during the Revolutionary War served under George Washington and with him traveled through Riga and who after the War left their farms in Massachusetts and brought their families to settle and take up farming in the rich land of Riga.
