Memorial Day Brings A Sense of Pride to Boalsburg

Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday in May all across the United States, but its roots stretch to our own backyard, in Boalsburg, just four miles outside of downtown State College. A sign reading “Boalsburg An American Village – Birthplace of Memorial Day” greets visitors to the quaint town.

Not everyone agrees with that sentiment. In fact, more than two dozen cities and towns lay claim to being the actual birthplace of Memorial Day.

The holiday, originally called Decoration Day because of the decoration of soldiers’ graves, began after the Civil War. General John Logan, the national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, officially declared Memorial Day on May 5, 1868 to have the graves of Civil War soldiers decorated at Arlington National Cemetery. President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, New York, as the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1966, but don’t tell that to the residents of Boalsburg.

Christopher Lee, President of the Boalsburg Village Conservancy, tells the legend like this:

Three women, Emma Hunter, Sophie Keller and Elizabeth Myer went to the community burial ground in Boalsburg. The cemetery had become the final resting place of fallen Civil War heroes beginning in 1864. Hunter and her friend Keller visited the grave of Hunter’s father. Dr. Reuben Hunter, a surgeon in the Union Army had died of yellow fever. The pair left flowers on top of his tomb stone.

Myer placed flowers on the grave of her son Amos who had died the previous year in Gettysburg. The two parties, previously unacquainted, ran into each other at the cemetery and got to talking.

“They liked what that they had done and said let’s do it again next year and every year after that,” Lee said. “The people of Boalsburg liked it and it’s happened every year since then.”

There are other places that also decorated graves in 1864 and 1865 but none before Boalsburg, according to Lee and the Conservancy.

And so on May 27 this year, over 20,000 people will come to Boalsburg, which has a population of 3,722, to celebrate Memorial Day and honor fallen veterans. Visitors and residents will meet in the village square shortly before 6 p.m. to walk to the cemetery for a memorial service.

“It also serves as a day when Boalsburg families have reunions,” Lee said. “People from Boalsburg come home for Memorial Day to see their families and appreciate the town.”

Of course, some people will argue that Memorial Day originated in the South or another city in Union territory. But the intent doesn’t change.

“What Memorial Day means is a time to remember those who came before us.” Lee said. “We appreciate the sacrifices made to create the community we have today. We try to emulate it and do the same for those who come after us.”

The people of Boalsburg, though, will proudly celebrate Memorial Day this year, 149 years after those three women made their fateful journey to that historical countryside cemetery.

“It creates a sense of community in Boalsburg,” Lee said. “It’s a shared activity and shared identity. That’s very important.”

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