Keeping the focus on community, service ... and good weather
By Bob Allen May 25, 2012
Not long after the sun comes up on Memorial Day, and hours before Westminster's 145th Memorial Day parade kicks off at 9:30 a.m., Arnold "Skip" Amass will be on site, helping set up the TV cameras and tying up last-minute loose ends.
Most of all, he'll be praying for good weather during an event that he's been busy planning almost from the moment that last year's 144th Memorial Day parade wrapped up.
"To give you some idea of the scope of this project, the committee that's working on this with me has about 145 people on it," said Amass, who for the past 15 years has also been the voice of the parade, providing commentary for Carroll County's public access TV channel 19's live coverage of the event.
This is the first year he's taken on the far more demanding role of principal coordinator.
"The people on the committee, who meet at the American Legion, represent just about every organization and every government in the county, including the library, the farm museum, the police departments," said Amass, 80, himself a Korean War veteran and long-time member of Westminster's Carroll Post 31 American Legion Post.
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Eagle Archive: Wampler's life of service made him an apt participant on #Westminster #Memorial Day http://tinyurl.com/7vojfmx
Atlee Wampler was a tall man who maintained a military bearing forged in heavy combat throughout WWII, all his life
Wampler served as the #Westminster #Carroll Co #Memorial Day parade marshall from 1947 until his death in 1991 http://tinyurl.com/7vojfmx
By Kevin Dayhoff, May 19, 2012 http://twitpic.com/9pbno6 http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/ph-ce-eagle-archive-0520-20120519,0,5649787.story
On May 28, Carroll County and Westminster will mark the 145th observance of Memorial Day with an expanded parade and three-days of activities — thanks to all the hard work of American Legion Carroll Post No. 31 and leaders like Skip Amass, coordinator of this year's activities.
The tradition of the parade and ceremony in Westminster began in 1868, when Mary Bostwick Shellman followed General John A. Logan's May 5, 1868, General Order No. 11 — which called upon people to adorn the graves of Union soldiers with flowers.
She gathered a group of schoolchildren for that task, and they walked from the old schoolhouse on Center Street to Westminster Cemetery.
As with all the many stories in Carroll, the hands and hearts of countless individuals and community organizations have guided and nurtured the observances over the years. The list is long and celebrated.
However, one of the names historically synonymous with Memorial Day is particularly worthy of note — Atlee Willis Wampler Jr… READ MORE: http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/ph-ce-eagle-archive-0520-20120519,0,5649787.story
Labels: Annual Memorial Day, CIA, Dayhoff Media The Tentacle, Dayhoff writing essays military, History Military, Military Memorial Day
http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/2012/05/eagle-archive-wamplers-life-of-service.html Labels: Annual Memorial Day, CIA, Dayhoff Media Explore Carroll, Dayhoff Media The Tentacle, Dayhoff writing essays military, History Military, Military Memorial Day
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Recently on Explore Carroll and Eagle Archives: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/search/label/Dayhoff%20Media%20Explore%20Carroll
Dayhoff Media Explore Carroll, http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2012/05/recently-on-explore-carroll-and-eagle.html
[20120526 To those who serve thank you] http://tinyurl.com/7q46ksr
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Reflections on #Memorial Day by Kevin E. Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/br3hams The Tentacle Wednesday, May 23, 2012
The Tentacle Wednesday, May 23, 2012 Reflections on #Memorial Day by Kevin E. Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/br3hams
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Recently on Explore Carroll and Eagle Archives: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/search/label/Dayhoff%20Media%20Explore%20Carroll
Dayhoff Media Explore Carroll, http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2012/05/recently-on-explore-carroll-and-eagle.html
[20120526 To those who serve thank you] http://tinyurl.com/7q46ksr
To those who serve thank you http://tinyurl.com/7q46ksr
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Reflections on #Memorial Day by Kevin E. Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/br3hams The Tentacle Wednesday, May 23, 2012
The Tentacle Wednesday, May 23, 2012 Reflections on #Memorial Day by Kevin E. Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/br3hams
Next Monday is Memorial Day. For many it is more than a holiday, it is a day when we gather as a community to express our gratitude to our country’s men and women in uniform, who by their sacrifice cannot be with us to enjoy the day… http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=5122
This year, Westminster and Carroll County will mark its 145th observance of Memorial Day with an expanded parade and four-days of activities.
The tradition of the parade and ceremony in Westminster began in 1868, when Mary Bostwick Shellman followed General John A. Logan’s May 5, 1868, General Order No. 11 to adorn the graves of Union soldiers with flowers. She gathered a group of schoolchildren for the task and they walked from the old schoolhouse on Center Street to Westminster Cemetery.
[…]
Last week I wrote about a local community leader, Atlee Willis Wampler, Jr., who served as the Westminster Memorial Day parade marshal for more than 44 years, from just after World War II until he passed away March 11, 1991.
[…]
That said, I have grown exhausted with the gut-wrenching existentialism and overwhelming fatigue that accompanies covering military funerals for the paper.
I was quite struck by a May 6 article in The Washington Post by Ian Shapira, “Barbara Robbins: A slain CIA secretary’s life and death,” about a little-known Vietnam War casualty from a bombing that occurred in Saigon March 30, 1965.
According to the article, “The CIA director revealed only a few details about the 21-year-old woman, a secretary among spies. In the agency’s annual memorial service for employees killed on the job, then-Director Leon E. Panetta announced that a new name had been inscribed with calligraphy inside the CIA’s Book of Honor: Barbara Annette Robbins, who had volunteered to go to Saigon during the Vietnam War…
[…]
The story of Ms. Robbins is compelling and evocative. Yet for me, what I found particularly haunting was the black and white picture of a very young American, in a far-off land, defending our freedoms, staring right at us.
The Tentacle Wednesday, May 23, 2012 Reflections on #Memorial Day by Kevin E. Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/br3hams
Labels: Annual Memorial Day, CIA, Dayhoff Media The Tentacle, Dayhoff writing essays military, History Military, Military Memorial Day
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Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/ or http://kevindayhoffart.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/ or http://www.westgov.net/ = www.kevindayhoff.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net Explore Carroll: www.explorecarroll.com The Tentacle: www.thetentacle.com
