How to celebrate Memorial Day in Centre County virtually and with social distancing

For the first time since the Memorial Day tradition started in 1864, Boalsburg is unable to have its large celebration to honor the lives of the fallen, but there are still ways to participate amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Known as the “birthplace of Memorial Day,” Boalsburg has adapted, inviting the community to take part in activities virtually and with social distancing.

On Monday, there will be a virtual service at 6 p.m. that will be livestreamed on the Memorial Day in Boalsburg Facebook page and will include a small (invite only) crowd that will participate in the annual Walk to the Cemetery. The ceremony will also be taped by C-Net for rebroadcasting.

“Boalsburg is the earliest substantiated place for Memorial Day, or ‘Decoration Day,’ as it was originally called,” said Bob Cameron, director of the Columbus Chapel and Boal Mansion museum. “It started with three ladies who went to decorate the graves of their fallen husbands, brothers and sons.”

The museum usually hosts Civil War re-enactors and museum tours for Memorial Day.

“(Memorial Day) is typically a very big deal for our community,” Amy Farkas, Harris Township manager, said. “Tens of thousands of people come (to Boalsburg) for the carnival, craft fair, music and food.”

Hundreds of flowers will be available in a tent at the Boalsburg cemetery Saturday, Sunday and Monday so that residents can “decorate graves ... throughout the weekend using social distancing and masking,” Farkas said.

Jeff Fisher, the overall chairman for Memorial Day in Boalsburg, said he still hopes people participate in Boalsburg’s altered Memorial Day, even in these unforeseen circumstances.

“Memorial Day isn’t about vendors, parades and carnival rides, it’s about remembering those who have served,” he said. “People can participate just by being in Boalsburg.”

The Pennsylvania Military Museum will feature an online lecture from 2-3 p.m. Saturday on the 75th anniversary of World War II, in lieu of the in-person lectures the museum usually hosts for Memorial Day weekend. For more information, visit pamilmuseum.org.

“Even if it’s only on the calendar for one day, Memorial Day is more than just one day a year for Gold Star Families,” Tyler Gum, director of the Pennsylvania Military Museum, said. “The point of the day is to honor the fallen.”

In place of its annual carnival, the Boalsburg Fire Company will offer barbecue chicken dinners Saturday, and saw so much support for the event that pre-orders led to the event being sold out earlier in the week.

“We will not let coronavirus take this piece from our community,” Farkas said. “Our community tradition will not die because of a virus.”

Gum, in his article entitled “Never Forget” on the military museum’s website, suggests that the best way to celebrate Memorial Day is “to take five minutes and silently reflect on the meaning of the day” and to “consider the profound sacrifice and responsibility of an all-volunteer military force.”

Nationwide, Boy Scouts will be participating in the National Moment of Remembrance at 3 p.m. Monday by saluting the American flag in full uniform and saying the name of a fallen service member.

This will be followed by horn/bugle players nationwide playing “Taps” at 3:01 p.m., according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

This story was originally published May 23, 2020 at 12:40 PM.