According to one source, the first Memorial Day service took place on Belle Isle in the James River, at Richmond, Virginia. The school superintendent, Andrew Washburn, and F.B. May, the Mayor, planned a program for May 30, 1866. Several teachers, and Miss Gibson, a nurse, went to the burial ground of Union soldiers, who had died during the war in a Confederate prison located there. It was raining when Mr. May set up a cross and placed bouquets at each headboard, Miss Gibson sang a hymn, and the others joined in the refrain. R.R. Wilson, who described the scene in the New York Tribune, stated that 'suddenly the clouds parted and a bright ray of sunshine shone on the cross." It is generally conceded that it was General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic who designated May 30, 1868, "as a day for strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, or hamlet churchyard in the land...It is the purpose of the commander-in-chief to inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will be kept from year to year while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of the departed." The first official observance in 1868 included a program at the National Cemetery at Arlington and memorial services in various communities... the idea then gradually spread around the country and in 1873 New York was the first state to make the day a legal holiday....others soon followed and now the occasion is set by Presidential Proclamation. So, though no veterans of that long ago war remain, let us hope the memories of ALL the valiant men who served their country, in every war, will always remain with us, particularly on this day of remembrance. Have a safe weekend,shake the hand of every veteran you meet and say "thank you". Sandra