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Article: Dozens claim original Memorial Day Cities and towns across the nation assert that the tradition started with them
- Article from:
- Oakland Tribune
- Article date:
- May 26, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2003 Oakland Tribune. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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BOALSBURG, Pa. -- It was a somber show of respect and love that
brought three women to the village cemetery in 1864 to lay flowers
and ferns on graves of Civil War soldiers.
Residents say that act 139 years ago marked the nation's first
Memorial Day observance. But some two dozen communities across the
United States -- from Columbus, Miss., and Macon, Ga., to Richmond,
Va., and Carbondale, Ill. -- also claim to be the birthplace of
Memorial Day.
"It's very competitive," said Sara Amy Leach, the senior historian
at the National Cemetery Administration, who helps coordinate
Memorial Day events for the federal government.
"I think there was a lot of need to come to conciliation after the ...