| According to the Sidney Journal, "At an early hour, people began arriving from the
country, and kept on so doing until the streets were crowded with vehicles of every kind
and description, and with the sidewalks thronged with a seething multitude, rendered the
scene animated, and gave to the streets the appearance of a circus day or a Fourth of July
celebration."
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day to
remember those who have died in the service of our nation. After the Civil War, many in the North and South
decorated graves of fallen soldiers with flowers. Decoration Day was officially proclaimed
on May 5, 1868, by Gen. John Logan in General Order No. 11, and first observed on May 30,
1868.
In 1882, the name was changed from Decoration Day to Memorial Day, and soldiers who had
died in other wars were also honored. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national
holiday to be held on the last Monday in May.
Details of the first observance in 1874 plus the Memorial Day activities in 1899, 1949 and 1974 (100, 50 and 25 years ago) appear on this
web site.
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