Memorial Day celebrations have a colorful history in Evanston.
In 1951 about 25,000 people attended a service at Evanston’s Fountain Square when Gen. Douglas MacArthur honored veterans. The names of 351 veterans who died in six U.S. wars from the Civil War to the Vietnam War appear on three brick pillars in the area at the intersection of Orrington and Sherman avenues and Davis Street, where the first fountain was dedicated on July 4, 1876.
Two local celebrations will extend Evanston’s patriotic traditions Monday.
The first will be held 8 a.m Monday at Memorial Park Cemetery service across from Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie.
The service will be near the Skokie Boulevard entrance, directly across from the shopping center. Members of American Legion post 42 and Boy Scouts, including Troop 3, will place American flags at the grave of every veteran buried at the cemetery. In case of rain, the service will be held in the adjacent chapel.
Bob Larson, who served in the Navy during World War II, said the change of the holiday from May 30 to the last Monday in May as a reason attendance has been lower. “Once they started to shift it to a three-day weekend, that hurt a lot.”
And, of course, a traditional observance will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Fountain Square.
About a dozen Northwestern Naval ROTC midshipmen will provide a color guard and a 21-gun salute. Evanston officials, including Mayor Lorraine H. Morton, will speak at the service.
Crowds are not expected to be as large as in 1951, however. “I would say we should have 500 or better,” said Hank Kmieciak, a member of the Legion and a bartender at the Evanston post. He said the attendance depends on the weather.
