Brothers, The offices of the Portland Valley will be closed on Monday May 26th, in observance of Memorial Day.

On Tuesday May 27th the Portland Valley will install the remaining Officers who couldn’t attend the original Officer’s Installation. This will be followed by a review and discussion of the 19th Degree. Dinner will take place at approximately 6 pm. The Dinner for Tuesday will be MAC & Cheese/Potato Salad/Garden salad/roll and Desert.

PLEASE CALL AHEAD FOR DINNER RESERVATIONS

Please review the article on our recent change in hat storage.  Thanks to Michael Robinson, 32° for cleaning all the hat lockers; assigning new places for all the hats and taking an inventory of all remaining hats.  It’s a job that should have been done decades ago, but no one wanted to “tackle it”.

• 05/27- Officer Elections Installation. Review/Discussion 19th Degree
• 06/3- Awards Ceremony

WHY MEMORIAL DAY IS OBSERVERED

Early Observances of Memorial Day

The Civil War claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history, requiring the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries. By the late 1860s Americans in various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.

Did You Know?

Each year on Memorial Day a national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00 p.m. local time.

It is unclear where exactly this tradition originated; numerous different communities may have independently initiated the memorial gatherings. Nevertheless, in 1966 the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day. Waterloo-which had first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866-was chosen because it hosted an annual, community-wide event, during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.

Decoration Day

On May 5, 1862, General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance later that month. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.

On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there. Many Northern states held similar commemorative events and reprised the tradition in subsequent years; by 1890 each one had made Decoration Day an official state holiday. Many Southern states, on the other hand, continued to honor their dead on separate days until after World War I.

Evolution of Memorial Day

Memorial Day, as Decoration Day gradually came to be known, originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. But during World War I the United States found itself embroiled in another major conflict, and the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars.

For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30, the date Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees; the change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.

Memorial Day Traditions

Cities and towns across the United States host Memorial Day parades each year, often incorporating military personnel and members of veterans’ organizations. Some of the largest parades take place in Chicago, New York and  Washington, D.C. Americans also observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries and memorials. On a less somber note, many people throw parties and barbecues on the holiday, perhaps because it unofficially marks the beginning of summer.

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETARY

ARLINGTON, Va. – It was a simple but meaningful process repeated on hallowed ground about 220,000 times on Thursday: Toe of the combat boot placed against the center of a headstone, flag planted at the heel.

With that small gesture, about 1,000 soldiers paid respects as they fanned out at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day weekend, each pausing to stake an American flag into the soil of each grave to honor those buried there.

“They’ve given the ultimate sacrifice for their country,” said. Pvt. Juan Garcia. “We wouldn’t be able to live the lifestyle that the entire country does if it wasn’t for the men and women we’re honoring today. “It’s not something that should be taken lightly. It’s an actual person that died. That’s someone’s brother, someone’s sister, someone’s mom or dad.”

The participating soldiers were all members of the Old Guard. The event is known as the “Flags In” ceremony and has taken place annually since 1948, when the Old Guard was designated as the Army’s ceremonial unit.

The soldiers also placed flags at the cemetery’s columbarium, which holds cremated remains. Four flags were also placed at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

The flags will remain throughout the holiday weekend until Tuesday.

And despite the holiday usually being celebrated with cookouts, Staff Sgt. Francisco Armenta said he hoped that everyone would take a minute to remember those who have sacrificed their lives. “It’s not just for barbecues, beaches, anything like that,” Armenta said. “It’s to remember the soldiers that fell in the past.”

HAT STORAGE – Michael Robinson, 32°

Upon completion it was found that there were 1120 slots in 80 lockers, about 350 hats were removed and about 266 were left. With permission of the PR on April 10-11, 2014 all hats were relocated. Lists were placed on the outside of each locker to help members find their hats. Everything was placed in alphabetical order and each shelf inside was labeled.

Each locker was filled halfway and we still filled less than half of the lockers. The bottom 3 slots in each locker were let empty as they gather the most dust and are difficult to access. We now are using lockers 1-43 on the south and west sides. The north side is empty and the east side houses available hats. Lockers 66 – 79 have hats in boxes labeled and in order by size. Lockers 80-82 have KCCH, 33rd and 50 year hats

Attention: After a thorough cleaning and purging of the metal hat lockers, all hats have been moved to lockers 1-43 on the south and west sides. Each locker has a list on the front of which hats are in it. Everything is in alphabetical order and each shelf is labeled. Find your name on the list open the locker and your hat should be on the shelf above your name. A list will be in the office as well. My apologies for any inconvenience, and to those who discovered the change before this notice was given. ***Any problems contact Michael Robinson at sleepingdragon777@yahoo.com

I have about 200 hats to still sort through and will maintain the list and lockers as best I am able. I have included the most updated list of locker assignments. Also included is a list of all the hats that were taken out. Although I have already given some hats out I will try to note who is given what hats in case a problem arises. If someone’s hat was removed by mistake I will make every attempt to recover it and if needed replace it.

Fraternally Michael D. Robinson 32° KSA

Remember to make reservations for dinners by calling the office (By 10 am on the Friday before the event) (503)226-7827 or e-mailing Officemanager@PortlandSR.com

Dear Brothers, please take note of the new email addresses for the Portland Valley Business Workgroup.

• PR@portlandsr.com (Brian McDowell) Portland Valley Personal Representative
• clarktrust@portlandsr.com (Eric Gazow) Clark Trust
• orientcfo@portlandsr.com (Eric Gazow) Orient of Oregon CFO
• treasurer@portlandsr.com (Larry Roberts) Treasurer Portland Valley
• blog@portlandsr.com (Larry Roberts) Blog Administrator
• buildingmanager@portlandsr.com (Michael Shebora) Portland Building Manager
• officemanager@portlandsr.com (Patrick Knowles) Portland Office Manager
• secretary@portlandsr.com (Rick Komraus) Portland General Secretary
• exc.director@portlandsr.com (Walt Johnson) Executive Director for the Orient of Oregon
• orientpr@portlandsr.com (Warren Gray) Orient of Oregon Personal Representative