Unofficial First Day of Summer

Today is a special day for gardeners. It’s Memorial Day, and it is considered by many to be the first “official” day of summer. Farmers and home gardeners in our area usually plant their vegetables on Memorial Day, as people often considered the day the unofficial signal to the end of nighttime frosts. Here in Rhode Island (the Ocean State), the beaches are traditionally opened (much limited this year due to COVID-19 concerns), signifying the beginning of summertime activities. Many people enjoy family outings, cookouts, picnics, visiting cemeteries, and watching parades. Many times, I have taken out my dad’s 1928 Ford to be in these parades and to enjoy the day.

The First Memorial for Union Soldiers

While we may all enjoy the activities of summer and the day off from work, we must reflect on the origins of the solemn occasions and the soldiers who died in battle that we are remembering. Many people think that these remembrances date back to a cemetery dedication on May 1, 1865 at Washington Race Course and Jockey Club, (a racetrack in Charleston, South Carolina), that was converted into a Confederate prison during the American Civil War. Many former slaves performed the ceremony that day for 257 Union soldiers and reburied them with honors, decorations, fanfare, formal burials, and a parade. They originally buried the Union soldiers in a mass grave at the racetrack.

In a book written by Yale Professor, David W. Blight, “At nine o’clock in the morning on May 1, the procession to this special cemetery began as three thousand black schoolchildren (newly enrolled in freedmen’s schools) marched around the Race Course, each with an armload of roses . . .” At the end of the procession and dedication one newspaper correspondent reported “. . . were one mass of flowers, not a speck of earth could be seen; and as the breeze wafted the sweet perfumes from them, outside and beyond . . .”

The First Official Remembrance – Decoration Day

Three years after the end of the war, on May 30, 1868 the first National Decoration Day was observed at Arlington National Cemetery by the proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, to remember those who died in the service to our country. The huge loss of life during the Civil War was very fresh and deeply buried in the minds of our country. The country needed healing from the great loss of life during the war. Americans observed Decoration Day for another 100+ years on May 30th until the name officially changed from Decoration Day to Memorial Day in 1971. At the same time, they also changed the the day of the celebration to be the last Monday in May. By 1971, the Decoration Day/Memorial Day celebrations included soldiers who died in all wars that Americans fought in. 

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Every year, the president (or other high-ranking official) places a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery in memory of the soldiers who were never identified and returned home. These soldiers were assumed lost in battle, and grieving family members can visit the tomb  with the belief that their loved one is within.

The End of the Civil War

I find it interesting that the original origin of Memorial Day happened a few weeks after Lee’s surrender to Grant at the Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, and months before Lieutenant Commander James Waddell disarmed the guns of the C.C.S. Shenandoah and took down the Confederate flag for the final time in August of the same year.

The Civil War was America’s bloodiest war, casualties far exceeding World War I, World War II, and all subsequent wars and conflicts that America has been in. People who died in the American Civil War from both sides were all Americans. They fought the war between friend vs. friend, brother vs. brother, father vs. son, family vs. family, and friend vs. foe. The American Civil War divided this nation like nothing else before or since. Some people may argue that the war did not solve all of the issues that divided us. While we may have thought that the Civil War ended with Lee’s surrender back in 1865, we may be still fighting parts of it today that were never completely resolved. May we all have the strength and courage to finally end these differences forever.

Memorial Day – the Rose

Many of the roses that I have in my garden memorialize people through their namesake roses (some of which I even created). There have been but a scant few that I have grown, that are named for veterans who lost their lives in battle. One notable exception is a hybrid tea introduced in 2001 by Tom Curruth, named for today (Memorial Day). I bought the rose back in 2005 when I first started getting serious about growing roses. I paid more for that rose back then than 98% of the other roses that I have bought since.

My experience

One of the things that drew me to this rose was its fragrance. Another is its lavender color. My plant was an own-root rose and I enjoyed it for many years. People often knock  ‘Memorial Day’ because the blooms still need to reach exhibition form. I for one do not necessarily concern myself with this perceived knock or “flaw”. Having roses with exhibition form is quite low on my list of priorities.

‘Memorial Day’ is hardy, healthy, has a great scent, and I even rooted a cutting of it during some early successful rooting experimentations. I planted the cutting and replaced the original plant with a miniature rose. ‘Memorial Day’ was too big and encroached on the steps to the house. Then, I gave the original plant to my local rose society for someone else to enjoy. I had the cutting growing anyway, and I didn’t think I needed two plants of it. A few years later, I noticed that the cutting wasn’t performing as well as the mother plant. Not too long after, I discovered that the plant had crown gall. I ended up discarding the cutting as well. I will, hopefully, find another plant of ‘Memorial Day’ to have in my garden for the new house.

We Must Remember

Fighting for freedom, fighting for country, fighting for us; we owe our way of living to the brave warriors of our armed services; many of whom give their ultimate gift in these fights – the gift of life. We need to remember this – the true meaning of Memorial Day – and why we celebrate it. It isn’t about the food, nor the picnics. It isn’t about the parades, and it isn’t about having the day off work; it’s about remembering the ones who gave their ultimate gift for our democracy, our way of life, and for our freedoms, just as the ex-slaves did for the Union soldiers who fought for their freedom back in 1865.

Epilogue

This story was originally composed with a Cross pen that was found at a yard sale for a couple of dollars. I ran out of ink with it, and went to the Waterman’s pen that I used to create my first blog. I subsequently ran out of ink with the Waterman’s pen and tried my dad’s old blue Esterbrook pen, only to find that one empty as well. Usually, I fill the pens before I leave for the weekend, but last Friday I forgot to do it.

This left limited options for me with my ink bottles some 30 miles away at my work. I found some vintage Shaeffer ink stowed away in my desk, but (of course) the blue was completely empty leaving only red ink to use. I filled my dad’s old Esterbrook with the red ink, and figured that I’d see what develops in my writing while being distracted with the red ink. It would have been interesting to see what happens when writing about our fallen soldiers while using red ink. Fortunately, there was enough black in the tip of the pen to finish the story. I have seen this before. When the color of the ink coming out of the tip catches up to the ink inside the bladder. When this happens, it creates a rainbow effect.

Well, I still have no roses blooming here in Rhode Island. I see a lots and lots of buds. Some are even cracking a bit of color, and soon they’ll be blooming. I don’t know which rose will be the first to bloom this season. We’ll have to wait until next time . . .