EAST TAWAS – In the days leading up to Memorial Day 2023, communities across Iosco County will be host to activities ranging from parades and rodeos, to luncheons, a craft show and even the opening night of racing season at Whittemore Speedway.
Most importantly, though, formal ceremonies to honor the fallen are also slated for Memorial Day – on Monday, May 29 – as well as this weekend. Such services will provide an opportunity for the public to pay their respects to those who made the ultimate sacrifice, by reflecting on the military veterans who died while serving in the armed forces.
As outlined below, there will be plenty of chances for people to gather in celebration of the freedoms they have been granted, due to those who gave their lives to defend this country.
Oscoda
Oscoda American Legion Post 274 Commander Dave Lyons says that beginning at 9 a.m. this Friday, May 26, the public is invited to join the Legion as they place American Flags on the graves of deceased military personnel who have been laid to rest in Pinecrest Cemetery, on Adams Road.
Following this, the Legion representatives will continue their tributes by opening their doors to the community for a Memorial Day service on Monday, May 29.
It will be held in Post 274, located at 849 S. State St., and will start at 11 a.m. Along with prayers, a speech from Lyons and such other traditions as the Posting of Colors, flags on the property will also be raised to full staff at noon.
As the event concludes, a free luncheon will be offered in the Legion building, as well.
The Oscoda Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 3735 will also put on a Memorial Day ceremony on May 29.
Commander James Miller says that it will begin at 11 a.m. in the VFW venue, at 240 Chrysler Rd.
Following the Posting of Colors, words from Miller and the VFW’s auxiliary president, a recital of the Pledge of Allegiance and more, the public is invited to join in on a light lunch which will also be served at the event site.
Another occasion in the community that the general public is encouraged to attend, will be the Memorial Day Flag Raising Ceremony.
Joe Brinn, co-director of the Veterans Memorial Park of Northeast Michigan, says that all are welcome to help raise the new State Flags at the Circle of Flags – which is situated next to the visitors center of the park, at 4000 Skeel Ave. in Oscoda.
The official flag raising will begin promptly at 1 p.m., so participants are asked to plan on arriving no later than 12:45 p.m. to secure a flag pole location.
Brinn says that patriotic songs will also be performed by Danny Althouse, an invocation will be provided and, depending on weather, an aircraft flyover is also anticipated – as are riders and horses who will be bringing in the American Flag, State of Michigan Flag and POW Flag.
Iosco County Sheriff’s Office personnel and Oscoda Township police and fire department members will also be present, along with some of the vehicles from their respective departments.
Brinn adds that the visitors center will be open to the public, complete with the Mini Museum of Military Memorabilia Displays. The Military Vehicle Static Displays, a Deuce-and-a-half truck and the new Vietnam Parade Float will also be showcased.
Whittemore
Starting things off for Memorial Day Weekend in Whittemore, is a breakfast on Saturday, May 27, from 9 a.m. to noon. It will be hosted in Sportsman’s of Whittemore, located downtown at 200 S. Bullock St.
Other events this Saturday, include the community’s annual Memorial Day Parade. Commencing from the Whittemore Speedway, at 200 W. State St. (M-65), participants are to line up at 10 a.m. The procession will begin at 11 a.m., make its way through downtown and then conclude at the Whittemore Area Chamber of Commerce, at 405 E. Sherman St.
Events will continue on the chamber grounds this Saturday, with members of the Hale Area Veterans Honor Guard conducting a Memorial Day service after the parade. Terry Frank, Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) Chapter 882 president, says that the service will be held near the flag pole of the chamber property.
Representatives of the Burleigh-Reno-Whittemore Fire Department will also be on hand to once again host their yearly cookout fundraiser, which will begin at noon.
The Super Kicker Rodeo Company will then entertain the crowd at the chamber, with a rodeo that is set to start at 1 p.m. The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children. The event will feature bull riding, barrel racing, an appearance by “Funny Man Chris,” a beer tent and such family fun activities as a kid’s boot scramble.
For more information about the rodeo, go to www.superkickerrodeo.com or visit the chamber website at whittcham.org.
Wrapping things up on Saturday, the Whittemore Speedway will not only have its 2023 season opener, but will also be celebrating its 75th year in the community.
The races – with event classes consisting of limited late model, Legends, lead sleds and front wheel drives – will begin at 7 p.m. For prices and other details, go to whittemorespeedway.org.
From 9 a.m. to noon this Sunday, May 28, Sportman’s of Whittemore will host another breakfast, while a cornhole tournament has been slated at the Whittemore Area Chamber of Commerce.
For additional information, the chamber can be reached by calling 989-756-5231.
Making its way to the grounds of the chamber on Monday will be “The Salute,” a Rebellion Series Horse Show, beginning at noon. For further details, contact Cyndi Cowles at 989-390-1741, or Amy Barber at 989-619-6054.
Tawas City and East Tawas
The first event lined up in Tawas City, is the 30th annual Memorial Day Weekend Arts & Crafts Show, put on by the Tawas Area Chamber of Commerce (TACC). It will again be held in Tawas City Shoreline Park, located at 429 W. Lake St. (US-23).
The show will be open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 27, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 28.
“We are really excited for the show this year,” stated TACC Executive Director Samantha Duvall. “We are seeing a lot of new vendors applying to the show, with new products.”
She adds that Iosco County Transit will provide shuttle service during the show, on both days. The bus will stop in downtown East Tawas, behind Ben Franklin, as well as in Tawas City at Brugger’s Plaza, Veterans Park and Shoreline Park. Signs will be in place, to indicate where the shuttle will stop.
According to Duvall, the show will feature a diverse collection of leather goods, yard art, furniture, home décor, clothes, doll accessories, lotions, paintings, photography, jewelry, rugs and such food items as salsa, fudge, spices, nuts and kettle corn.
Those from TACC note that with more than 150 different crafters, artists and vendors, there will be something for everyone at the 30th annual show.
For more information, visit www.tawas.com or www.facebook.com/StrengthandProsperity, or call the TACC office at 989-362-8643.
On Memorial Day 2023, Tawas City VFW Post 5678 Junior Vice Commander Dennis Frank says that the VFW and Tawas Area Veterans Honor Guard will conduct a ceremony at 9 a.m. on May 29. It will take place in Memory Gardens Cemetery, located at 427 Meadowview Dr. in Tawas City.
It will include a reading of the names of the 60 brave veterans from Iosco County who are known to have died during combat in all wars, and who are listed on the War Dead Memorial granite at Veterans Park in Tawas City.
Also scheduled for May 29, in the neighboring community, Tawas Area Veterans Honor Guard Commander Tom King says that the annual Memorial Day Parade in East Tawas will start at 11 a.m.
Following the same route as in past years, it will begin from the Post Office on the corner of Newman and Lincoln streets, and conclude at the dock in East Tawas State Harbor.
Frank says that at this site, honors will then be given to those lost at sea, which will include a laying of the wreaths.
King adds that the ceremony will also feature the Honor Guard Firing Squad.
He and Frank confirmed that U.S. Coast Guard personnel will be taking part in both the parade and the service at the dock, as well.
They will also participate in another Memorial Day service, along with Legion and VFW representatives, at the American Legion Cemetery on Lincoln Street in East Tawas. Although the start time is dependent upon the conclusion of the event at the state harbor, King notes that it typically begins at noon.
The remembrance at the cemetery will include a guest speaker and a performance by the Tawas Area High School Marching Band, who will be playing “Taps.”
Frank notes that band members will also be paying their respects earlier in the day, by performing at the ceremony in Memory Gardens, as well.
Hale
Following their involvement in the Memorial Day Weekend activities in Whittemore, the Hale Area Veterans Honor Guard will continue their acknowledgements of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, with a series of services on Monday, May 29.
Consisting of members from VFW Post 7435 and its auxiliary, American Legion Post 422 and its auxiliary, VVA Chapter 882 and associates and Sons of the American Legion Post 422, the Honor Guard will be joining other procession participants, for the annual Memorial Day Parade in Hale.
Slated to start at 10 a.m., the route will again begin from Bernard Building Center, at 395 S. Washington St. (M-65). The parade will end at the Veterans Memorial in front of the Plainfield Township Resource Center, which is also located on M-65.
Terry Frank, who has served as VVA president for 22 years, says that the veterans organization will then hold a brief ceremony at the memorial site.
Legion auxiliary representative Marlene Polishak adds that the Honor Guard will be placing wreaths to recognize the fallen during the ceremony, and that band members from Hale Area Schools will be performing, as well.
From here, the public is also invited to join the group as they remember departed veterans during a formal Memorial Day service at Esmond Evergreen Cemetery, located on East Esmond Road.
The start time for the service depends on when the ceremony at the Veterans Memorial wraps up, but Frank notes that it usually commences at 11 a.m.
Polishak says that once the service at the cemetery concludes, the American Legion will offer a lunch at their post, which is situated one block west of the traffic light in downtown Hale, at 429 W. Main St.
The public is also welcome to follow the Hale Area Veterans members after lunch, as they go on to conduct similar services as those in Esmond Evergreen, at several other cemeteries in the area.
Again, the times may vary based on when the other activities finish up, but the remaining services generally get underway at about 1 p.m.
Frank says that the participants will split into two groups, with one heading to Oak Grove Cemetery in South Branch, and then Logan Township Cemetery.
The other group will make its first stop at Pioneer Cemetery, on Old State Road in Grant Township. They will then move to Reno Township Cemetery, on Towerline Road in Whittemore, where the service is expected to begin at approximately 1:45 p.m. Next will be Saint James Cemetery, just south of Whittemore, starting at roughly 2 p.m. The final service, beginning at about 3 p.m., will be held in Burleigh Cemetery, at 2736 Wilson Creek Rd.
