The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-05-29
Good evening.
 o-O--u
 MEMORIAL DAY

They dream of the yesterdays silent Their spirits make living eact
 slab.
 With faith as their leaven. they
 tramp on to heaven. The Blue and the Gray and thu
 Drab.
 The call of the bugle is silent. The darkness of night hovers low, The Gettysburg sound. seems stil
 on the ground.
 As they wait for the signal to go, "A beam passes over Gods acre. There is life under every cold slab With faith as their leaven. they
 tramp on to heaven, The Blue and the Gray and the
 Drab.. The dawn of the morning is nearing, The Stygian gloom seems to fade, Aecourtrements in rattle, the signal
 of battle,
 Once more they are out on
 parade,
 The people are cheering, hurrahing, The light of their God shows the
 way.
 With faith as their leaven they
 tramp on to heaven. The Drab and the Blue and the
 Gray. @
 o-O-o
 Is Memorial day slipping? A noted editor asked the question a short time agb. Not any more than any other holiday. True, the Memorial day program, in solar as the public Is concerned seems to consist of dash to the shore or country, there to spend a few gay hours commun- ing with things of the moment.
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 But am told that before go- ing on the trip, preferably the day previous, visits are made to cemeteries and graves decorated in honor of the memorial spirit. We do things bit different nowadays, that's all. But feel quite sure the sentiment is much the same.
 5e o-O-O
 I well recall Memorial days of other years, long before the horseless carriage came into popularity. It was mostly q day of hanging around the house, once the morning devOtions had been concluded. But to be per- fectly frank, feel quite safe in saying that meditations then were no more extended than now. It was taken as one of those annual affairs that come and go, much like the winds of the heavens.
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 Memorial day seems to have it's greatest effect during school years. We always awaited the coming of the Grand Army man., Clean blouses were donned, hair was watered down, shoes were polished. There would be a lot of buzzing among the teachers, until finally the Grand Army man. would hobble ito the room in his faded blue uniform. Then we'd stand and sing "The Star Spangled Banner" or as much of it as we knew, after which there would be recitations and finally a few words from the old soldier.
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 His words were almost much the same, be good and true, brave in battle and unafraid of death. Then he'd tell us we had pretty teacher, and the kids would giggle while teacher blushed and wondered if the old soldier was cockeyed or just giving her a little run around. once the Grand Army man." had gone, school would recess and the pupils would rush home to tell doing parents what had happened. And heaven help the youngster who forgot line of the "piece" he had to speak. For weeks afterwards he'd be re- minded of the fact.
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 Sometimes there'd be a party in the. neighborhood with lem- onade-that was before orange ade came in--and with the com ing of night the goodbyes were ..ia anA 4hot that
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 To-day, with the break of Memorial dawn, the family is up and about. The car is wait- ing for a trip, sandwiches are packed and junior is told for the tenth time to keep the flag stick out of his mouth, he's H. able to fall and suffer q severe wound. Pop puts the tin of to- bacco in the pocket of the car, everybody tumbles in and the good folks are off for a day in the open.
 They hardly stop at all while the parade passes. traffic is go- ing to be heavy, 70 "we'd better keep going" Dad had visited the cemetery the day before so the youngsters could have full day to enjoy themselyes. But they seem just as patriotic as the tots of years ago, in fact q Dit more 70, if you don't mind. They're building health, health that will come In mighty handy should the nation Do ailed 70 war. And that's when patriot ism counts most. o--~0-o Yes, we celebrate q bit differ. antIy 10 he euro. but tho old hDlrit Ia hafo iunf Inc same,