The entrance to the Cannon City Cemetery is decorated for Memorial Day.
THERE’S A CERTAIN SENSE of comfort in tradition. For nearly 100 years, folks have gathered each Memorial Day at the Cannon City Cemetery to honor our veterans.
This shows a portion of those gathered for Monday’s semi-formal program.
In the shade of spruce and cedar trees and surrounded by gravestones, I listened to natives read The Gettysburg Address, Freedom, What Heroes Gave and more; recite In Flanders Fields; and recall the history of this celebration. A Civil War veteran initially asked students from the village school to put on a Memorial Day program. In those early years, pupils marched from the school to the cemetery bearing floral wreaths. Today the cemetery board organizes this annual observance.
Mel Sanborn, left, emceed the program.
Song sheets were distributed to those in attendance and then collected to save for next year.
Don, on the guitar, and Judy Chester lead the singing.
We sang patriotic songs like The Star Spangled Banner, The Battle Hymn of the Republic, and America the Beautiful, some accompanied by a guitar, some not. Voices rose 40-plus strong above the shrill of a cardinal and the distant muffle of gunfire. Sun shone. Breeze rippled.
A bronze star marks a veteran’s grave.
The Cannon City Cemetery offers an ideal setting for a grassroots remembrance of those who have served our country. Therein lies its appeal to me.
Giving the history of and then reciting In Flanders Fields.
I have no connection to this place where nearly 50 veterans are buried. But this ceremony reminds me of the Memorial Day programs of my youth. As an aging senior recited In Flanders Fields, I mouthed the words I recited so many years ago on the stage of the Vesta Community Hall.
Fields surround the cemetery where American flags marked veterans’ graves on Memorial Day.
In its peaceful location among farm fields, this cemetery reminds me of home. Of tradition.
Sam Wilson ends the program by playing taps.
And when taps sounded, I was reminded, too, of just how much some sacrificed so that I could stand here, in this cemetery, on Memorial Day, hand across heart reciting The Pledge of Allegiance.
Cannon City native Bob Lewis is a fixture at the annual Memorial Day program. Locals are already tapping his historical knowledge in preparation for the 150th anniversary celebration in 2017.
FYI: Next year the Cannon City Cemetery turns 150 years old. Plans are already underway for a special celebration to mark the occasion. If you want to experience grassroots Americana on Memorial Day, this is the place to be.
© Copyright 2016 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Thank you for this beautiful and very moving essay. It is so important that Memorial Day always be commemorated with such sincerity and love. The many other social/political events that take place that day are fine, but we need to keep the focus where it really belongs.
Precisely. And you are welcome, Carol.
In all the hustle and bustle of todays life it’s nice to know tradition still stands the test of time, I certainly appreciate it!
The older I get, the more I appreciate tradition.
Age does have a way of tenderizing the heart.
Yes, it does.
Such a heart-warming tradition! I love that there is singing of patriotic songs,and also read the Gettysburg address. Where exactly is Cannon CIty?
Cannon City is an unincorporated village a few miles northeast of Faribault on Rice County Road 20/Cannon City Boulevard.
I’ve again beautiful pictures. Young man playing Taps old knowledgeable man watches on
Thanks for pointing out the age span in those attending this ceremony.
Traditions are what binds and educates the present with the past.
Well summarized.
This is such a lovely cemetery in such a secluded spot. I have only had the occasion to visit it a couple of times. It is the resting place of my great grandparents, Frank and Martha Teply and now my great aunt Elizabeth “Betty” Teply tomorrow, 1/21/2019. My grandpa, Frank, was the groundskeeper at the cemetery for some years. I see why it was chosen for his final resting place. It is a lovely, thoughtful spot. I do not live near and am thankful for how cared for it is. It is so nice to know it is not forgotten.
I am sorry for the loss of your great aunt. She is being buried in a quiet and lovely setting that speaks of history and family and peace in rural Minnesota.
I’ve met some absolutely wonderful individuals while attending Memorial Day services here. Love for this cemetery runs deep.