Author’s Note: my continued analysis and coverage of the Russo-Ukrainian War will resume in next week’s column. Thank you.

This Memorial Day, I am going to be honored to speak at the Middleburgh Rotary Club’s Memorial Day Ceremony, on Monday, May 25th, at Village Memorial Park, where I was asked to speak on the park’s history.

Organized by my friend and Rotarian Vicki Hoerz, this ceremony is among my favorite community events held in Middleburgh and I always make a point to attend this ceremony, regardless of what else is planned for the day.

Everyone involved does a fantastic and beautiful job of organizing this lovely ceremony, and I am always happy to be part of it. Attached below are a copy of my brief remarks that will be delivered on Monday morning at 10 AM.

A Solemn Occasion

Good morning.

Memorial Day is a solemn occasion that this ceremony captures appropriately: remembrance for those who – as Lincoln put it – gave their last full measure of devotion for this nation.

Here in Middleburgh, we host this solemn occasion at a solemn location.

Originally a burial ground for the Middleburgh Reformed Church, the Village of Middleburgh was gifted these lands in 1921, and they were first called “Pine Park.”

Over the following century, this place became a labor of love for two community organizations:

First, the Century Club, who were responsible for placing a monument in honor of our World War One veterans, and who made this into the “Village Memorial Park” we know today;

Second, the Rotary Club, who unveiled a monument in honor of our World War Two, Korean War, and Vietnam War veterans, as well as other improvements over the past quarter of a century.

Part of what makes this place special is the fountain only a few feet away from us. Installed in 1925 as a memorial to World War 1 Veterans, the dedication was attended by Civil War Veterans; few places and few memorials can lay claim to such a historical and patriotic connection through the generations as Memorial Park.

As our nation readies for its 250th celebration, it is important that we remember who made it possible from the Revolutionary War to modern day conflicts. This Park exists to remember our heroes, and their sacrifice. Their last full measure of devotion then means that our remembrance and our community is possible now.

May God Bless their memory.

Thank you.

Greetings! I am planning a “mailbag” edition of Coffee in Coby soon, so please send any questions you may have for me about Schoharie County politics, the Atlanta Braves 2021 World Series title or whatever else, and it might just be included. My email is timothycknight93@gmail.com.