compiled by Bea Peterson
This year Memorial Day Rites will start at 8 am sharp in Wood Park with a flag raising ceremony under the direction of American Legion Post #40 Commander Walter C. Zwinge. Immediately afterwards wreaths will be placed at the new Veterans Memorial Wall. A short service will follow, and the Color Guard will fire a salute for all deceased veterans. Taps will be sounded.
[private]The Legion and Auxiliary will then assemble in the street, followed by the Hoosick Falls High School Band. They will march to the Shop Bridge to honor men of the Navy who lost their lives at sea. The Legion will again fire a volley and taps will be sounded.
The Parade Committee, with Legionnaire Don St. Hilaire, will honor the dead of the Civil War at Monument Park, located at the junction of Classic and High Streets at 8:45 am.
The Memorial Day Parade, under the direction of long time Director Donald Bogardus and consisting of four units, will step off sharply at 10 am.
The Parade will proceed down John Street and up Church Street to the NYS Armory and the Town of Hoosick Community Center where it will pause for a brief tribute to the men and women who served during World War II. The Line of March will then continue to the intersection of Main Street. At this point there will be a momentary pause while Pastor Michael Benoit offers a prayer for deceased veterans. The American Legion Honor Guard will fire a volley, and taps will be played by a member of the HFCS Band. The Parade will then continue down Main Street, marching into Wood Memorial Park. All units are asked to march into the Park and to remain assembled while Master of Ceremonies Legionnaire Don Bogardus, followed by Hoosick Town Supervisor Keith Cipperly and a member of the Hoosick Falls Village Board, will deliver official welcomes.
A few Words of Remembrance will be spoken during the ceremonies by County Legislators Stan Brownell and Lester Goodermote and representatives from the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Legion Auxiliaries and principal speaker William K. Ely, Master Sgt., US Army (retired).
At the closing of the ceremony the American Legion Honor Guard, under the command of Walter Zwinge, will fire a Volley Salute. Taps will be sounded, followed by chimes from St. Mark’s Church playing “America.”
Father Tom Zelker, Pastor of Immaculate Conception Church will give the invocation and Rev. Mike Benoit, Pastor of the Cornerstone Fellowship Church, will pronounce the Benediction.
The program will close with the “National Anthem” played by the HFCS Band under the direction of Robert Allen.
William Ely – Memorial Day Principal Speaker
William K. Ely, First Sergeant, US Army (Retired) will be the principal speaker at the Hoosick Falls Memorial Day celebration in Wood Park on Memorial Day, May 28.
Ely was born in Cambridge, NY. He has lived on Potter Hill in Hoosick and attended Hoosick Elementary School and Hoosick Falls High School. He entered the military in 1963. He was stationed in Korea, 25 months in Vietnam, Bangkok, Thailand Frankfurt, Germany, New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Virginia.
First Sergeant Ely received the Bronze Star for service in The Republic of Vietnam in 1969. He retired in 1984 with 21 years of honorable service.
Eugene Vogt – Memorial Day Parade Grand Marshall
Eugene Vogt has been chosen by Hoosick Post #40 American Legion as Memorial Day Parade Grand Marshall. Vogt served in the US Army’s Fourth Far Western Air Force under the command of General Lynd.
Vogt is well know in the community as Past Grand Knight of the Immaculate Conception Knights of Columbus Council. He is a member of the Augustinian Order Secular, a Knight of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, a Eucharistic Minister at Immaculate Conception Church and a member of the Albany Diocesan Curcillo.
Vogt is a retired Fleet Manager for the U.S. Postal Service. He is a past member of the Hoosick Falls Village Board and the Hoosick Township Historical Society.
Parade Lineup
Formation of the Parade will start at 9:15 am with inspection at 9:45. The parade will step off at 10 am sharp.
First Division
(line up along right side of Main Street at Key Bank)
Police Car
Legion Colors
Grand Marshall Eugene Vogt
Parade Chairman Donald Bogardus
Legion Auxiliary (walk and ride)
Veterans (walk and ride)
Hoosick Falls Central School Band
Town, County and Village Officials
Hoosick Area Church Association
St. Mary’s Academy (Marchers and Float)
Hoosick Falls Fire Dept.
Antique Cars
Hoosick Rescue Squad Vehicle
Uncle Sam’s Chorus
Second Division
(line up right side of Main Street starting at Eddy Place)
Hoosac School
Girl Scouts and Brownies (float and marching)
Tinkham Real Estate
Republican Party
Town of Hoosick
Cheney Library
Trustco Bank
Buskirk Fire Dept.
Hoosick Rescue Squad Vehicle
Third Division
(line up right side of Main Street starting at American Legion)
North Hoosick Fire Dept.
North Hoosick Fire Dept. Auxiliary
Hoosick Falls Community Band
Boy Scouts
Mom’s School of Baton
Float
West Hoosick Fire Dept.
Fourth Division
(line up right side of Main Street starting at Richmond Avenue)
Taconic Pipe Band
Miss Olivia’s British School of Ballet
Mason Float
Polish Hall Float
Big Moose Deli
Ice Kreme Kafé
Hill Country Cloggers
Jeannie’s Sweet Dreams Bakery
Rensselaer County Beauty Queen
The Fiesta Band
Hoosick Rescue Squad Vehicle
White Creek Fire Dept.
Unlisted entries and all Americans who wish to participate
All entries which include horses, riders and floats with horses must form at the end of the lineup.
At 9:50 am all units will advance to fill empty spaces in the Parade lineup.
Hoosick Cemetery Association Rites
The public is invited to gather at the Hoosick Rural Cemetery on Sunday, May 27, at 7 pm to honor the more than 100 veterans buried there. A brief ceremony will include a prayer and the playing of taps.[/private]