The 40th Annual Old Fashioned Memorial Day Observance will be held Monday at Prospect Hill Cemetery.
David Harding is the co-president of the Prospect Hill Cemetery Board of Trustees and tells NewsRadio 1110 KFAB, "It is an unusual Memorial Day observance for a number of reasons. We kind of jokingly brag that there are no politicians allowed on the premises at the time. There is an accent on the "old fashioned" because Prospect Hill is Omaha's pioneer cemetery. The first residents of Omaha are buried here."
Rachel and Billy Snowden, Omaha's first settlers are buried there as well as William Brown who ran the Council Bluffs-Nebraska Ferry that took the Snowden's and many others to Nebraska across the Missouri River. You will also see names like Poppleton, Lake and Woolworth, all once prominent members of Omaha.
Harding says the first Memorial Day Ceremony was held in 1979 and every year about 40 or 50 musicians from the Omaha Symphony to high school band members gather to provide traditional patriotic music.
The Boy Scouts placed flags on veteran’s graves and they will provide the Pledge of Allegiance. The guest speaker is local writer and historian Ryan Roenfeld who will talk about the founding fathers of Omaha. That will be followed by a 21 musket salute, Civil War reenactors and more.
Following the program, Jim Fogarty will again memorialize Anna Wilson at her grave site. A tradition of laying a yellow rose on her grave will continue, one that dates back to 1912.
Those attending are asked to bring a lawn chair or a blanket. They ask you leave dogs at home as the musket salute may frighten them. Visitors are welcome to walk around the cemetery following the observance to learn more about the history of the city.
The official observance starts at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 27th. Prospect Hill Cemetery is located at 33 and Parker Street.