![]() ![]() ![]() Henderson County, Illinois
| History & Genealogy
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1901 June 5, 1901 DECORATION DAY EXERCISES
For the first time, the Decoration Day services were held in Ellsworth
Park. It has generally been the custom to use a church for that purpose
and there are distinct advantages for the speaker and those who wish to
hear in that plan. |
Judge RAUSELDON COOPER was orator of the day and gave a scholarly
address, replete with patriotism and honor for our nation's brave
defenders. He was not forgetful to pay glowing tribute to the women of
the nation who bore heavy burdens, toiled and suffered in lonely homes
while the fate of the nation trembled in the balance. An unusal feature
of the address was words of praise for the generally condemned
money-lender, who supplied the sinews of war for many a battlefield. He
was docidedly useful and necessary. The speaker deplored the tendency to
make of this a gala day, with games and sports to attract crowds and
divert attention from that which the day was set apart. | A male quartet added to the interest of the service. At the close, the line of march was taken up for the cemetery and graves of 57 soldiers and 10 members of the Relief Corps were garlanded with flowers. After that labor of love, the procession wended its way to the river and in strewing flowers upon the water remembered those who surrendered life in their country's service at sea. The names of soldiers at rest here are as follows: |
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