On Monday, May 29, a Memorial Day parade will begin at 9 a.m., on Clearview Drive in Strasburg. The parade will feature several local service organizations, veterans and active-duty military members, and it will be open for the public to participate in.

"It's an old-fashioned, patriotic parade," said Brian Barr, parade chairman and member of the Strasburg Area Sertoma Club. "It's a way to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country."

The Lampeter-Strasburg Community Band and the Lampeter-Strasburg High School and Martin Meylin Middle School marching bands will perform in the parade, accompanied by local Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops. The procession will make stops at the cemeteries of Wesley United Methodist Church and Saint Michael's Lutheran Church. At each cemetery, members of the parade will lay flowers at veterans' gravesites, and taps will be played.

Once the parade reaches the town square, a color guard made up of local veterans will change the flag. The procession will conclude at Strasburg Cemetery with a Memorial Day service, which will feature a keynote speaker and a few readings. The service will end with a song.

The Strasburg Area Sertoma Club organizes the event each year with the goal of recognizing the original meaning of Memorial Day. The holiday was created to remember veterans who gave their lives during the Civil War and was first called Decoration Day. The cemeteries in Strasburg that the parade will visit contain many graves of veterans from as early as the Revolutionary War.

This is the 76th year that the parade will be held in Strasburg, a tradition that was started by the former Paul R. Strubel VFW Post 8710. Around 15 years ago, the VFW was unable to continue managing the parade, so many veterans of the former post collaborated with the Strasburg Area Sertoma Club to ensure that the tradition was carried on. "We continue to do it not only to honor veterans who gave their lives, but also to honor the guys who started the parade. It was important to them, and we want to make sure it continues," Barr said.

Barr noted that anyone who lives along the parade route is encouraged to decorate their yard with flags and streamers, a tradition that residents of Strasburg began around seven years ago. "It's always nice to see people celebrating the good things about this country," said Barr. "The patriotism I see is really neat, and I'd like to see it continue."

Any veterans or active duty military personnel who wish to participate in the parade may contact Barr at sgt30th@yahoo.com for more information.