Memorial Day ceremonies are planned around St. Lawrence County as the Monday Holiday approaches.

Many veterans groups have struggled to find help with volunteers, a problem faced by organizations throughout the county.

Although fewer parades are planned,  this year, ceremonies will be held in several communities.

Norwood

The Norwood American Legion will host a Memorial Day parade on Monday, May 30 beginning at 11 a.m.

A wreath dedication will take place at 10:45 a.m. on the Ridge St.  bridge, with the parade beginning shortly after at the Legion.

The parade route will start on Maple St. before turning onto Spring St., then turning by St. Andrew’s Church, turning onto Route 56 and ending on the Norwood village green.

A 21 gun salute will commence shortly after the parade is completed, with the Norwood Norfolk school band and Norwood Brass Fireman band performing.

The major events are expected to be finished by noon, with the community invited to attend a light luncheon at the American Legion on Maple St.

Potsdam

There will be no Memorial Day Parade this year, but Potsdam Amvets and the DAV will still have a Memorial Day ceremony at Ives Park on May 30 at 6 p.m. 

Organizers for the event are working around the current COVID outbreak to try to schedule speakers for the ceremony and are still firming up specifics. 

However, as in year’s past, the ceremony will include wreath layings in the river and on the memorial monument in Ives Park. 

A 21-gun salute will be fired and Taps will be played by two trumpeters from the high school, and an invocation will be delivered. 

Canton

There will be no Memorial Day Parade this year or ceremony in the Canton Village Park. Representatives from Edward C. Seymour Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1231 will conduct a wreath ceremony on the sidewalk of the Main Street Bridge at 10 a.m.

Ogdensburg

Ogdensburg Veterans of Foreign Wars will host a Memorial Day Ceremony at 11 a.m. at Groulx Park. 

John Cole will bring a small band ensemble for a taps ceremony. Scott Compo and Don Dietschweiler will officiate. Several other organizations will join in the memorial including City officials the Ogdensburg Moose Lodge, Elks Lodge and American Legion.

Dietschweiler said many volunteers throughout the community have helped prepare the site and will be working to place more than 200 flags.

Soup and sandwiches will be served at the VFW immediately following. 

Massena

Village officials, in conjunction with local veteran organizations, will host a Memorial Day parade on Monday, May 30 beginning at 11 a.m.

The parade will start at Sacred Heart Church, before moving down Main St. and up Andrews St., where it will end at Veteran’s Memorial Park.

Following the parade, a wreath laying ceremony will be held in the park.

Retired Major General Robert J. Kasulke will be the guest speaker for the ceremony this year.

Major General Kasulke earned a degree in medicine in 1975 and is a graduate of the AMEDD Officer Basic Course, the AMEDD Officer Advanced Course, Command and General Staff College and the United States Army War college, class of 1999. He was appointed to the Chief of Staff Army Retiree Council in 2017.

Waddington

There will be a banner dedication to honor deceased veterans on Monday, May 30. 

The Waddington Veteran Banner project started in the depths of Covid with a conversation between Champion-Hobkirk American Legion Post 420 Commander Mike McIntosh and Waddington Mayor Mike Zagrobelny. 

Commander McIntosh was asked if Post 420 would be interested in joining forces with the Village and Town of Waddington to recognize Waddington’s deceased veterans on banners hung from utility poles throughout the Village. 

After a meeting with Jim Fitzgerald of Impact Promotions to explain the way the banner program has worked in other communities and see the quality of the product, the response from Post 420 was an enthusiastic yes. 

The Legion felt that it is only fitting that the first banners should recognize Waddington’s men who gave their lives for their country in  WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. 

Waddington’s Town Square on the corner of Lincoln Ave. and LaGrasse St. is the site of the war memorial and a stone there recognizes eight of Waddington’s war dead. Commander McIntosh’s vision for the site was a backdrop of banners recognizing those who had made the ultimate sacrifice. Those banners will be officially dedicated at Waddington’s Annual Memorial Day Observance on May 30, 2022.