The Memorial Day Parade in Northeast Harbor, Maine
Everyone loves a parade.
The charming town of Northeast Harbor, near my home in Seal Harbor, Maine, hosts its own Memorial Day Parade every year, which I love - I always try to attend. It starts on Memorial Day morning at 10:30. It’s a great opportunity to get reacquainted with the year-round locals and many of the summer season residents. It's also a wonderful time to visit all my favorite shops and eateries in town. Attending the parade is especially fun now that I can bring my grandchildren, Jude and Truman, along with me - they are so curious, and love learning about everything they see. It was a splendid day for us all.
Enjoy these photos.
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- This is the Main Street of Northeast Harbor. Northeast Harbor is a village on Mount Desert Island, located in the town of Mount Desert in Maine. I love attending the annual Memorial Day parade every year.
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- Two marching bands from the Mount Desert Island high school and middle school, veterans, and elementary school children participated in the parade.
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- Here are some of the “cyclists” from the local elementary school.
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- There was one beautiful draft horse in the parade. A draft horse, draught horse or dray horse, is a large horse bred for hard tasks such as plowing and other farm labor. Its young riders were so proud to ride through Main Street on their handsome steed.
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- There is always an ambulance, or two, in the parade.
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- And, the fire departments always make a great showing – proudly displaying their shiny equipment – that hopefully won’t have to be used.
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- Here are my weekend guests – Katie Hatch, Hannah Milman, Kate Berry, Douglas Friedman and Kevin Sharkey. Douglas is holding a red, white and blue donut from the Colonel’s Restaurant and Bakery, a longstanding cafe in town.
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- Hannah, Jude, Truman and I walked together to The Joseph Musetti Veterans Memorial Park green for the Memorial Day Remembrance ceremony.
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- Jude had so much fun carrying her red, white and blue balloons. She’s grown so much this year.
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- We all stood on the green and listened to the bands, watched the marchers and heard the speeches commemorating those who died while serving in the country’s armed forces.
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- Here is the concert mistress leading the young players. The students played saxophones, trombones and other woodwind and brass instruments.
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- A local veteran from each of the country’s armed forces was represented. The US Armed Forces includes Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard.
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- The event is sponsored by the Northeast Harbor American Legion, Post 103, a US wartime veterans organization. https://www.legion.org
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- The ceremony draws a nice crowd to the green every year.
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- This is the daughter of Peggy Knox, who worked for me at Skylands for several years.
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- This is one of my favorite photos of the weekend – my grandchildren, Jude and Truman along with their friend, Quinn.
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- During the ceremony, veterans showed the traditional folding of the flag, and explained what each of the 13-folds represented. The flag is folded twice lengthwise followed by 11-triangular ones. Over the years, symbolic meanings have been given to each fold. The first fold is a symbol of life. The second is a symbol of belief in eternal life. https://www.legion.org/flag/folding
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- The third fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veterans who died, and who sacrificed life for the defense of our country. The fourth fold represents trust in divine guidance.
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- The fifth fold is a tribute to the United States. The sixth fold represents the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.
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- The seventh fold is a tribute to the armed forces. The eighth fold is a tribute to the lost soldier, and to mothers.
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- The ninth fold is a tribute to womanhood, and the 10th fold is a tribute to men and fathers.
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- The 11th and 12th folds recognize the beliefs of those of different religions.
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- And, when the flag is completely folded, the stars are uppermost, reminding everyone of the national motto, “In God We Trust.”
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- The folded flag is given to this woman who lost her son in combat.
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- The ceremony ended with another performance from the participating bands.
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- And a salute to the American flag.
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- The children were so mesmerized by the ceremony – they listened to every word. When the Gettysburg Address was mentioned, Truman said, “I know who gave that address – President Abraham Lincoln.”
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- We stopped at Lisa Hall’s shop of seaglass jewelry fame. In addition to her natural seaglass and renaissance-inspired collections, the working studio also showcases the work of Lisa’s several apprentices. Lisa’s works have been featured in my magazine. http://www.lisahalljewelry.com/
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- Another stop included Wikhegan Old Books on Main Street. The owner gave the children a bag of books to read while we were there.
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- The book shop is one of our favorite stops – so many old and rare books.
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- After the parade, we went to Eagle Lake. It is the largest fresh water lake in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island.
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- The children were so excited to visit this beaver lodge. We didn’t see any beavers, but we did see their amazing home.
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- Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges. The beaver is North America’s largest rodent, weighing 45 to 60 pounds when full grown. Beavers build and maintain lodges like this conical shaped dwelling surrounded by water. It is made from sticks, mud and rocks.
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- To get food and building materials, beavers are well known for their ability to topple large trees using specially adapted incisor teeth and powerful lower jaw muscles.
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- On our way home, Jude took out her camera and began taking her own photos. This is one of Douglas, who is a very talented photographer. He was very impressed with Jude’s photography skills.
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- Jude also took this photo of her favorite tio, Kevin. You can see more of Kevin’s photos from the weekend on his Instagram account @seenbysharkey.
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