Bringing Flowers to the Graves: Grandma Macbeth Carried on a Tradition
Nora Elsie Hoffman Macbeth: 1899-1994
This week’s prompt, Tradition, had me struggling. I had
written about our family’s primary traditions in previous years’ posts. Then I
glanced at the calendar and noticed that Memorial Day was just a few weeks
away, and that made me recall my grandmother’s tradition of decorating the
family graves on “Decoration Day”, the original name for Memorial Day.
Americans began observing Memorial Day after the Civil War as
a way to honor fallen soldiers on both sides of the war. They decorated the
graves with flowers. The first national proclamation of the Memorial Day Order
was issued by the Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, General
John A. Logan, on May 5,1868. It read in part:
“The 30th day of May, 1868 is designated for the purpose of
strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died
in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie
in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land.”
My grandfather’s maternal grandfather, Jerome Dane, had
served in the Civil War, and had been active in local GAR chapters, so following
his death, his children and grandchildren honored his grave each Memorial Day. Grandpa
Macbeth probably made many trips to Tivoli Cemetery over the years, and my
mother remembered visiting Great-Grandpa Dane’s headstone as a child.
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| Captain Jerome Dane, Union Army, Civil War Photo |
As the years passed, the holiday grew to honor the graves of
all individuals who had served in the military, not just Civil War soldiers. Family
members served in WWI and WWII, so their graves were honored as well. Below is
a photo of my granduncle Harold Macbeth who served as an Army private in World
War I.
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| Harold Macbeth, World War I, taken in 1918. |
My grandmother and her sisters eventually expanded their Memorial
Day observances to include non-military family members. They used the day to travel
to the local cemeteries to leave flowers on the graves of their parents and
other important family members. Grandma often used her own garden flowers for
her grave tributes—I remember that peonies from the bushes at the bottom of the
hill were some of her favorites if they bloomed early enough. She also bought
artificial flowers or arrangements and left those instead of live flowers.
I have fond memories of running around the cemetery while my
parents and grandparents placed their floral offerings. I remember the graves
of soldiers having tiny flags on them—probably the work of a Boy Scout Troop or
the local VFW chapter.
While this may not have been the most significant of my family's traditions, it still brings back sweet memories for me. I have been unable to continue this tradition since I no
longer live near my ancestors’ graves. But I try to travel to a family cemetery
whenever I visit Minnesota, as seen in the photo above. This year, I will be honoring
my ancestors’ memories from afar.
Sources:
National Cemetery Administration, Memorial Day History. https://www.cem.va.gov/history/Memorial-Day-history.asp
Family photos.
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