A traditional observance honors sacrifices of fallen

SHARON — As they have done for generations, townspeople gathered on either side of Main Street to view the Memorial Day parade on Monday, May 29, and then move on to the Veterans’ Memorial by the clock tower for wreath-laying, rifle salute, prayers, patriotic music, and speeches.

Under perfectly sunny skies and a refreshing breeze, the parade brought out polished emergency vehicles, and cars, both antique and classic, honor guard, veterans, a contingent from the Sharon Center School, decorated bicycles, a motorcycle, tractors, and more.  All were cheered by onlookers some of whom waved small flags with enthusiasm.

At the Veterans’ Memorial, prayers were offered by the Rev. Sun Yong Lee of Sharon’s United Methodist Church.

“We gather to remember the sacrifices made by those who served our country to defend our freedom,” said Lee.

Guiding the ceremony was Bob Loucks, Commander of American Legion Post #126.

Marine Sergeant Tate Begley, with a long family history of service spanning four generations, gave the address, noting that less than 3% of Americans have served in the military.

“Our nation will always need heroes,” Begley said, speaking of the names engraved on the Veterans’ Memorial. “Because of these fallen heroes, we have a today and tomorrow.”

“Guide us and make us worthy of the sacrifices of the fallen,” Lee said in her closing prayer.

It took a team effort to raise the flag on Memorial Day. Photo by Leila Hawken

Photo by Leila Hawken

Photo by Leila Hawken

  
It took a team effort to raise the flag on Memorial Day. Photo by Leila Hawken
Related Articles Around the Web

Latest News

Juneteenth and Mumbet’s legacy

Juneteenth and Mumbet’s legacy

Sheffield resident, singer Wanda Houston will play Mumbet in "1781" on June 19 at 7 p.m. at The Center on Main, Falls Village.

Jeffery Serratt

In August of 1781, after spending thirty years as an enslaved woman in the household of Colonel John Ashley in Sheffield, Massachusetts, Elizabeth Freeman, also known as Mumbet, was the first enslaved person to sue for her freedom in court. At the time of her trial there were 5,000 enslaved people in the state. MumBet’s legal victory set a precedent for the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts in 1790, the first in the nation. She took the name Elizabeth Freeman.

Local playwrights Lonnie Carter and Linda Rossi will tell her story in a staged reading of “1781” to celebrate Juneteenth, ay 7 p.m. at The Center on Main in Falls Village, Connecticut.Singer Wanda Houston will play MumBet, joined by actors Chantell McCulloch, Tarik Shah, Kim Canning, Sherie Berk, Howard Platt, Gloria Parker and Ruby Cameron Miller. Musical composer Donald Sosin added, “MumBet is an American hero whose story deserves to be known much more widely.”

Keep ReadingShow less
history

A sweet collaboration with students in Torrington

A sweet collaboration with students in Torrington

The new mural painted by students at Saint John Paul The Great Academy in Torrington, Connecticut.

Photo by Kristy Barto, owner of The Nutmeg Fudge Company

Thanks to a unique collaboration between The Nutmeg Fudge Company, local artist Gerald Incandela, and Saint John Paul The Great Academy in Torrington, Connecticut a mural — designed and painted entirely by students — now graces the interior of the fudge company.

The Nutmeg Fudge Company owner Kristy Barto was looking to brighten her party space with a mural that celebrated both old and new Torrington. She worked with school board member Susan Cook and Incandela to reach out to the Academy’s art teacher, Rachael Martinelli.

Keep ReadingShow less
community

In the company of artists

In the company of artists

Curator Henry Klimowicz, left, with artists Brigitta Varadi and Amy Podmore at The Re Institute

Aida Laleian

For anyone who wants a deeper glimpse into how art comes about, an on-site artist talk is a rich experience worth the trip.On Saturday, June 14, Henry Klimowicz’s cavernous Re Institute — a vast, converted 1960’s barn north of Millerton — hosted Amy Podmore and Brigitta Varadi, who elucidated their process to a small but engaged crowd amid the installation of sculptures and two remarkable videos.

Though they were all there at different times, a common thread among Klimowicz, Podmore and Varadi is their experience of New Hampshire’s famed MacDowell Colony. The silence, the safety of being able to walk in the woods at night, and the camaraderie of other working artists are precious goads to hardworking creativity. For his part, for fifteen years, Klimowicz has promoted community among thousands of participating artists, in the hope that the pairs or groups he shows together will always be linked. “To be an artist,” he stressed, “is to be among other artists.”

Keep ReadingShow less
exhibit