Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1897-06-04
BEAUTIFUL MEMORIALS
scatterered Ger the Mounds That Mark
the Resting Places of our Honored
and Sacred Dead.

| Scatterered Ger the Mounds That Mark
the Resting Places of our Honored
\ and Sacred Dead.
1 Of all the sweetly sad days of the
| year, when memories of other days and
friends that have gone crowd upon US
thick and fast, decoration day is most
sacred, and probobly no where in the
state is the day SO impressively OBJ.
served as in Hot Springs, for at no
other place in the state are SO many
of the beloved heroes congregated.
During the early morning of Satur-
day the special detail of veterans pro-
ceeded to Evergreen cemetery where
the graves of the fallen veterans we're
bedecked with small flags, and later on
many of them bore evidence of having
nearer and dearer friends than the
comrades whose sypathy and tender
ness is always loyal and heartfelt for
those who jostled by their side during
those memorable days of carnage.
At 10 o'clock procession consisting
of about 100 veterans, like number of
citizens, the w. r. c., and 2CO school
children, formed in front of the Sol
diers' Home, and under command of
Capt. Lucas marched to the Home
cemetery, where monument had been
erected "to the unknown dead" The
veterans marched into the cemetery
and formed in line on either side of
the monument, the school children
marching in between and forming an
oval encircling the monument, the
boys respectfully uncovering their
heads while passing beneath the flag
on the monument. A few fitting,
choice words were spoken by Capt
Lucas on the objects of the monument
After a touching prayer by by Presi-
dent Lymer the monument was dedi-
Gated by little Miss Matte Fairchild,
the daughter of soldier, by an appro-
pirate little speech, and as she finished
she deposited beautiful garland of
| flowers upon the monument. The
lines then moved along to the long row
OF veterans graves, the boys at the
head and the girls at the foot, the
former holding aloft the national col
ors, while the latter each carried IL
wreath of evergreens and wild flowers.
AS they were thus drawn up in line
fronting the mounds of the heroic
dead, with the battle scared aud gray
headed veterans in the rear, they pre-
sented magnificent appearance.
They then sang an appropriate song,
written and arranged by Prof. Moore.
Chas: Grippen, one of the bright young
high school graduates of this yea,
delivered Il brief but very excellent
address, speaking particularly upon
the education of the youth toward
patriotism and loyalty to country and
regard for our nations defenders,
whose ranks are so rapidly thinning.
The young boys were then called upon
to 'uncover" and as they raised their
flags they repeated the following
pledge: "We love our country and her
flag. We honor her brave defenders
who risked life in her defense; and
here, over their graves, We pledge our
lives and our all to preserve her honor
and defend her rights" And then the
boys placed the flags upon the graves.
The girls made this pledge: "We
honor thus our patriot dead with gar
lands of beauty and of love; and we
here pledge our loyalty to our country
aud her flag in AL that becomes us as
daughters of the land we love-" After
finishing this patriotic pledge the girls
placed their beautiful wreathes upon
the graves, with Il 5oquet of flowers in
the center. Then the audience sang
"America', the school stepped back,
and the veterans stepped to the front.
This ended the exercises by the school
children, which were extremely oeauti-
full and impressive, and reflects much
credit upon Prof. Moore aud the teach
ers who originated and planned the
exercises.
Capt. Lucas then spoke tenderly of
tho services they had witnessed and of
tho occasion that brought them to-
gether; the veterans dropped flowers
upon the graves of their departed com
rades, the bugler sounded Sights out',
and the cemetery of our soldier dead
had yain received all the homage that
mortals can pay the memory of the
departed.
At 2 p. m. tho veterans at the home
formed in line ut the sound of the
bugle and marched to to the opera
house, where Capt. Lucas called the
large assemblage to order and Presi-
dent Lymer opened the exercises with
an effective prayer. The ladies of the
w. r G. sang beautiful and appro-
pirate song, and Mrs. w. f. Palmer
sang a we'll selected solo. In q pleas
L