Mountville Memorial Day Parade organizer Michael Gieniec is seeking businesses and community members who wish to participate in the event.

The parade will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 24, two days prior to the holiday.

It follows an approximately mile-long route, starting at Mountville Area Community Center on College Avenue and running down Main Street before ending at Froelich Park.

The Reese Hall Post 8757 VFW honor guard will follow a police escort with a VFW auxiliary float next. "It's to honor people who fought in wars, the people who we lost," said Gieniec. "That's what it's all about."

There will be bands, including the Hempfield High School marching band. Scouts and state Rep. Brett Miller participate annually.

Local businesses bring their equipment. A steam calliope signals the end of the parade.

Shuttle buses transport people back to the starting point or to the Mountville Cemetery for a ceremony featuring the honor guard and a guest speaker. The ceremony will conclude with a bagpipes performance.

"Anybody in the community can participate," Gieniec said. "I remember when I was a kid, we decorated our bicycles, and we were in it."

Businesses are invited to join. Floats and antique cars are welcome. Anyone interested should contact Gieniec by calling 717-205-3834 or by emailing gieniec105@comcast.net.

Gieniec is in his fourth year as the parade's organizer. "I got involved being in the VFW as a treasurer for the auxiliary," Gieniec said. When the 2020 parade was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gieniec was asked to oversee the Hometown Hero banners project along Main Street. He was then told, "You're doing all these banners; you could probably do the parade."

The Memorial Day parade has special meaning to Gieniec. His son-in-law, John Lewis, served seven tours in Afghanistan with the Marines. Gieniec has gotten to know a lot of Lewis' friends while visiting their base.

Reese Hall Post 8757 VFW is named in honor of 1st Lt. Earl Reese, the first soldier from Mountville killed in World War I, and Staff Sgt. William E. Hall, the first servicemember from Mountville to die in World War II.

The VFW auxiliary donates to the Lebanon VA Medical Center, the VFW National Home, suicide prevention for veterans, and blankets for veterans causes. Before Memorial Day, the auxiliary places flags on soldiers' graves in at least six cemeteries. It also buys wreaths for post members who are buried at Fort Indiantown Gap and donates to multiple charities in the community.