Memorial Day Festivities Bring Families to Boalsburg

After three eventful days of weekend celebration, Memorial Day has finally come to town.

As always, the holiday made itself known in Boalsburg.

Vendors lined the streets. The carnival was in full swing. Bands entertained the masses. Vintage cars were on display near the Military Museum.

For just about anyone who lives in this area of central Pennsylvania, Memorial Day is somewhat of a tradition. Many towns around the nation claim to be the birthplace of the holiday, but it’s not likely that they all do it as extravagantly as Boalsburg. 

If you walk down Main Street or Pine Street, you can find plenty of Centre region natives who have been coming to town on Memorial Day weekend for decades upon decades, first as children, then as parents, and then as grandparents. 

The Juarez family is just getting started on forming that tradition, spending their first Memorial Day in Boalsburg.

“We’re new to the area and we heard this is the place to be locally for the holiday because it’s the birthplace of Memorial Day,” says Briton Juarez.

Her husband, Carlos Juarez, says the couple wants to start the tradition of bring their kids to the Boalsburg activities each year, starting with 2015. They had their young son Rowan with them on Monday afternoon, and while he didn’t have much to say, he was certainly soaking in the Memorial Day events in downtown Boalsburg.

While taking Rowan to the carnival or the concert may be an exciting family experience, the Juarez family is cognizant of what this holiday truly means.

“There are still a lot of things that people in the military do that we don’t even know about or realize,” Carlos Juarez says. “We do enjoy because of their sacrifices this freedom, so it’s a good opportunity to really recognize that families are sacrificing their time. It’s a good time to bond hopefully as one nation.”

Serving as a stark contrast to the Juarez family’s newcomer perspective to the events of Memorial Day in town is the Ostrowskis. Mark and Joann Ostrowski both served in the Navy and come from families with military backgrounds, and they’ve been partaking in the Boalsburg festivities for many years.

“It’s important to honor what people have gone before us and done or we wouldn’t be standing here right now,” Joann Ostrowski says. “It’s in the blood and in the family and we recognize that it’s a sacrifice.”

Her husband adds that they were primarily in town because their son is serving as a re-enactor, manning a cannon in the service, but he too feels strongly about what this holiday means.

“Today’s a day to really think about fallen comrades,” he says. “We gratefully served in relative peacetime. I can’t imagine coming home and having served with men and women who would have fallen. There are those who pay the ultimate price and it’s important to remember that freedom comes at a price.”

And there’s no better place to recognize that sacrifice than Boalsburg, adds Ostrwoski.

“Here we are in central Pennsylvania and this is, granted disputably, the birthplace of Memorial Day,” he says. “The fact that it’s a key component of who we are speaks volumes to the makeup of our community and the communities that comprise the Centre region here. It’s great heritage.”

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