This weekend, the 142nd annual Memorial Day Parade will be celebrated in Bay Ridge. It is the longest continually running Memorial Day parade in the country. It could not in fact be any older. The holiday was declared in 1868 and “Brooklyn began the observance of what was then known as Decoration Day as early as any of the large cities in the Union, really being ahead of New York in the matter,” according to an 1896 Eagle article.
From the first year, Brooklyn held the parade and has been doing so ever since. “Never a year been missed. That’s why we continue to do it. We don’t want to beak the line,” says current parade chairman Pete D’Angelis
The very first chairman was John J. Walker of Rankin Post 10, “which is generally given the credit for arranging the first Memorial Day parade,” according to an Eagle archive report. Rankin Post 10 closed in 1940.
Though the tradition has been steadfast, the location has changed. For most of its 142 years, the parade marched down Bedford Avenue to Eastern Parkway and then to Grand Army Plaza. The photo above, taken in 1895, shows the parade on Bedford near Heyward Street, not far from the Navy Yard. The parade has been held in Bay Ridge for the past 18 years.
This year's parade will be held on Monday, May 25 at 11 a.m., and will kick off on 87th Street and Third Ave and end at John Paul Jones Park, for a ceremony that will include a wreath laying, flag raising, playing of taps and a 21 gun-salute.
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Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues. So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc at att.net
