Letters to the Editor

A Memorial Day Observance will be held at Evergreen Cemetery at the flag pole on Monday, May 26, 2008, at 11 a.m. [See calendar.]

I transferred my membership in the American Legion from Oregon to the East Oakland Post 471 in 1967. The Post has had a Memorial Day program at Evergreen Cemetery nearly every year since. In those early years, we paraded up Foothill Blvd., then from Seminary to Camden and into the cemetery, where a pageant was performed by Abraham Lincoln, General Lee, and other Civil War portrayers. I became a participant in the Rifle Squad (seven rifles, three volleys) 21-gun salute. The special events coordinator of the Oakland Police Department won't allow any gun firing in East Oakland (even ceremonial). Hence we now have a Fireman's Bell Ringing Ceremony.

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