May 31, 2000

Volunteers honor spirit of Memorial Day

Area veteran groups, auxiliaries and residents prepare ceremonies

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
       For many, Memorial Day is about more than just a day off from work, a trip to the beach or a cookout with friends.
      For members of area auxiliary and veteran's groups, plus a host of dedicated non-veterans, this typical recreational weekend is a time of much behind-the-scenes work. These volunteers work to prepare area cemeteries and ceremonies for memorial services, which include flags, food, music and speeches plus tears and gratitude.
      "The recognition and remembrance of what they've been through and done for us is really important to the veterans," said Mary Ellen Salenski, member of the Vietnam Veteran's Association and the Grand Traverse Veterans and Auxiliaries Association. "I learned over the years how much they appreciate our appreciation."
      The Grand Traverse Veterans and Auxiliaries Association, an umbrella organization that includes all area veterans' groups, coordinates local Memorial Day celebrations. The association hosts Traverse City's Memorial Day ceremony at the Memorial Gardens Cemetery and coordinates color guards for the event from as many units as possible.
      Salenski, chair of the Association's Memorial Day committee this year, knows how important these efforts are to surviving veterans, their families and the families of deceased veterans. While not a veteran herself, she comes from a family with a long history of military service, including two brothers who served in Vietnam. She became active in area veteran's groups during the Gulf War, determined that soldiers in that war would be appreciated, not spit on as her brothers were when they returned home.
      "Our purpose is to get all veterans together in a big brotherhood, no matter where or when they served," Salenski said.
      And in the days leading up to Memorial Day, the brotherhood swings into action.
      Members of the American Legion spearhead the work at Oakwood Cemetery, where on Friday volunteers placed more than 1,500 small flags of graves of war veterans buried there. The graves in this cemetery include veterans dating back to the Civil War and the Spanish-American War, each one marked with a flag to honor their service.
      The VFW takes the lead at Memorial Gardens, where for the 40th year they have coordinated extensive flag ceremonies over the weekend. Each morning and evening for three days, at sunrise and sunset, volunteers come to raise or lower more than 500 flags at dedication plaques lining the cemetery's main road.
      Many volunteers are veterans themselves, like Ray Williams, a World War II vet who has been coming to lend a hand for 21 years. Others are not veterans and often have families and young children in tow, help out because they believe it is the right thing to do.
      "We brought the kids and thought it would be a good way for them to get the real meaning of Memorial Day," said Cathy Nelson of Williamsburg, who came with her mother and four children on Saturday evening.
      Volunteers from the extended Bostwick family, who founded and still own Memorial Gardens cemetery, are an integral link because they put the flags and poles out every morning. With military-like precision, these family members match each flag with the corresponding dedication plaque, laying a 20-foot pole next to it. Every evening, after the community volunteers take down the poles and fold the flags, the family reverses the process, packing each flag in order and stowing the poles.
      Their efforts have been an annual event in the family since Gorden Bostwick started the tradition in 1960, glad to find a way to honor veterans and memorialize them.
      "We all rotate through the weekend, with everybody helping," said Elizabeth Cram, whose brother, Alan Bostwick, is the current cemetery owner. "It's a family thing because we've all done it for so long."
      The efforts of her family would be for nothing without the dedication and commitment of the volunteers who come to raise and lower the flags each morning and evening. It is the community that has really kept the tradition alive, she noted.
      "This would not be possible without the volunteers," agreed Bob Randall, commander of the VFW post in Traverse City. "We had 36 volunteers the first morning and people kept coming all weekend. A lot of faithful people came, even on Monday evening."