Memorial Day parade predictions weren't easy to make in Lorain County

This story has been updated. Memorial Day parades don't just come together. They can take months to plan. As COVID-19 vaccines started rolling out in January and February, Gerri Rice was among those waiting to learn whether marching veterans down the street might be possible by the tail end of May. "Like last year, we knew there was going to be something different. It's a matter of coming up with the best different you can," said Rice, who for years has been in charge of Amherst's Memorial Day parade. All across Lorain County, veterans groups, government officials and organizers were in the same bind. They waited and they consulted with public health experts, hoping vaccination rates would surge in time for the annual tribute to fallen service members. Some, like Elyria Mayor Frank Whitfield, decided early on that observances couldn't be canceled altogether — the city's cemeteries are the resting place of too many military men and women. He sat down far in advance to make contingency plans for every restriction that might still be on the books by Memorial Day weekend. "It was never an issue of if. If when more about how," Whitfield said. "... This is the right day to do the right thing." Others wanted desperately to follow suit, but plans simply did not come together. That was the case in Wellington, where an American Legion Post 8 committee has organized the village's Memorial Day parade the past 20 years. Veteran Brant Smith, who serves as quartermaster at the Wellington VFW, said the committee simply could not do so for 2021. Those Legion members are in their 80s, he said. The chair has moved to a nursing home in the past year and the remaining members were concerned about safety. "It's a lot to ask of people of that age to do something like this," Smith said. "We're not happy about it, but complaining about it and blaming people just isn't going to do anything for the future... With people not knowing what would happen, if restrictions were going to be lifted and if they were going to be enforced, it was just everything heaped into one basket." He vowed to form a new committee next year to ensure a Memorial Day parade happens in Wellington. Plans for a parade through downtown LaGrange were endangered. "It came close to not happening at all," said LaGrange Township trustee Gary Burnett. On the cusp of cancellation, the parade was saved when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it was safe for vaccinated people to shed masks and gather together closely, he said. "Things are easing up all over, and veterans called us to ask if there was any way we could have it," Burnett said. "With the vaccine working, we decided the parade was possible." Rice said county health officials wouldn't allow parades to go forward when she started looking to firm up plans in March. Instead, she worked to put together a tribute with a well-spaced procession of just a handful of veterans and attendees. It wasn't until last week that the restrictions on parades were lifted. Amherst's parade still won't look quite normal, Rice said. The Amherst Marching Comets won't be part of the line-up, since the Marion L. Steele High School band hasn't been able to gather on the field all year to practice as a unit, for example. The plan now is to start a smaller parade at 9:55 a.m. from the Church Street fire station. The parade will not take its traditional route down Park Avenue to the Town Hall bandstand. Instead, it will travel a new route up South Main Street to Tenney Avenue, then continue to Amherst's municipal parking lot at Tenney and Church streets, where a service will be held. The lot will be decorated with flags representing all 561 service members buried in the city's cemeteries. A brief program will be held, and Rice said she is still asking attendees to wear masks and stay socially distanced. "This year gives us the opportunity to really focus on the more intimate meaning of Memorial Day and what it is," she said. Memorial Day events in Lorain County Sunday, May 30 The Brownhelm Memorial Day parade will be held at 1:30 p.m. starting at the corner of North Ridge and Claus roads. "The Shortest Parade in Town" will travel to the Brownhelm Cemetery, led by the Amherst American Legion. A short ceremony will be held to honor veterans. Camden Township, Henrietta Township and the village of Kipton will hold a parade at 2 p.m. on Route 511 in Kipton, with a program at 2:30 p.m. The Village of Kipton's parade participants will gather at the water tower at 1 p.m. and the parade steps off at 1:30 p.m., circle the town and then head to Memorial Park, where Mayor Bob Meilander will give an opening welcome speech and a roll call of veterans will be read. Monday, May 31 Avon Lake will hold a Memorial Day parade at 10 a.m. with a ceremony at 10:45 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park. In collaboration with American Legion Post 12, Elyria will hold a remembrance ceremony from 9-10 a.m. at Ely Square Park. It will also mark the first time the updated Ely Square fountain will be turned on for the season, and a firing of the cannon at 10:15 a.m.The city's parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. from the intersection of Court and Broad streets. It will travel down Broad Street to Washington Avenue, then down Harrison Street and Glenwood Street, concluding near Ridgelawn Cemetery.Hot dogs, bottled water and other refreshments will be available at American Legion Post 12, 393 Ohio St., from the end of the parade until 1 p.m.A Memorial Day service will be held at 1 p.m. at Ridgelawn Cemetery, 285 Columbus St. Grafton will have a parade at noon from the police station on Chestnut Street to Village Hall on Main Street, where the VFW will lead a ceremony. LaGrange Township will hold a parade at 11 a.m. starting at the old high school on the east end of town and marching into the heart of the village. Lorain firefighters will hold a memorial service at 9 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park. North Ridgeville's Memorial Day parade will start at 9:45 a.m. at the Senior Center and travel down Bainbridge Road, concluding at Ranger Stadium. A memorial service there will be held with the North Ridgeville Lions Club and VFW Post 9871. Oberlin veterans organizations will hold a ceremony from 10-10:45 a.m. at Wright Memorial Park on East Vine Street. Sheffield Village will observe the presentation of colors and raising and lowering of flags at each of its cemeteries. Mayor John Hunter said one will be held in the morning and the other in the afternoon, but no strict times had been set. South Amherst will hold a parade at 10 a.m., starting from the corner of Kenwood and Charles streets and proceeding to Evergreen Cemetery. Wellington Memorial VFW Post 6941 will hold a free Memorial Day breakfast to honor veterans from 9-11 a.m. This breakfast open the general public, and everyone is welcome to attend. The menu includes scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, hash browns and fruit.At 11:30 a.m., there will be a short ceremony at the war memorial on the Town Hall square in downtown Wellington. At noon, veterans will gather at American Legion Post 8, with a rifle salute, reading of the names of the fallen and Taps. Seven caravans will visit every cemetery in Lorain County between 3 and 7 p.m. to pay respects and play Taps. The circuit will end with a brief ceremony at 6:45 p.m. at Brookdale Cemetery in Elyria, where approximately 1,400 service members are buried. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.