- A80 -

Historical Educational Benevolent Memorial Patriotic As early as 1866 ladies across the South began to decorate the graves of soldiers with flowers. What they called Decoration Day eventually became our Memorial Day a day to remember the men who fought for their states homes and families. But for those who never came home who were missing or killed in action only to lie in graves far from home there was no place for local women to gather reflect mourn or decorate. These ladies formed Memorial Societies and began to save nickels and dimes to erect local monuments to their veterans both living and missing ones.