100 years ago in The Saratogian

Wednesday, May 30, 1917

“It seemed as if the heavens had intentionally changed from a frown to a smile for the purpose of permitting the living veterans of Saratoga to pay their annual Memorial Day tribute of respect to the comrades who have gone on,” The Saratogian reports.

In Saratoga Springs, “the atmosphere even was tempered to just the degree suitable to the occasion, for it was neither too hot to cause discomfort to the aged soldiers, nor too cool to expose them to danger from colds.”

Parades and memorial services are held throughout Saratoga County on the holiday formerly known as Decoration Day. Created to honor the fallen soldiers of the Civil War, the occasion now honors soldiers who fought in the 1898 Spanish-American War.

In 1917, many participants in today’s observances can’t help looking forward to future Memorial Days honoring American soldiers preparing to fight in Europe. The U.S. declared war on Germany last month.

As Rev. C. G. Martin says at a Ballston Spa ceremony, “there was an added meaning attached to the celebration of Memorial Day at this time by the fact that our nation is at war and it may not be long before other bodies will be laid beside the bodies of the veterans at whose graves the exercises are held.

“It is for us to fulfill all the promises that are now being given or we shall suffer in our pride,” Martin warns, “It means the need of extensive and large preparation. For if Russia makes a separate peace, if England is prostrated by the submarine warfare and France subdued by the loss of her men, then this country must fight the fight alone.”

Martin adds that “We can fight it alone to a successful finish.” Democracies like the U.S. move slowly, he observes, but “when they get under motion they are hard to stop.”

In the Spa City, the Memorial Day parade marches down Broadway, led by grand marshal James E. Clarke. The procession stops to lay flowers at the 77th Regiment Monument before continuing to Greenridge Cemetery.

“As an impressive finale there came the sound of ‘Taps’ from a distant part of the cemetery, and the L company firing squad then gave a salute to the dead,” one reporter writes.

In Schuylerville, a highlight of the parade is the participation of a recentlyformed Boy Scout troop. Grand marshal James H. Carscadden leads the procession from the Engine House to the Soldiers’ Monument at Prospect Hill cemetery.

In Corinth, village president Oscar S. Putnam leads the parade, while Rev. E. A. McMaster delivers a “masterpiece of eloquence” at the village hall.