Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

Empty Chairs

On Monday, May 25, Memorial Day, we, along with several of our grandchildren, attended the Memorial Day program at the Bertha-Hewitt High School. There were a fair number of people in the bleacher section of the gymnasium, but there were row upon row of empty chairs on the floor of the gym. There were, perhaps, a dozen people sitting in the chairs.

As I looked out over all those rows of empty chairs, I was reminded of other events I have attended there. Christmas concerts, spring concerts, graduations, etc. At those events not only were the bleachers full, but every chair was taken.

I felt more than a little sad that our community can turn out for school events, which is good, but so few can find an hour to remember those who died in the service of our country.

The people who brought their children and grandchildren are to be commended, as it teaches them the importance of remembering the fallen, but also teaches them patriotism, a commodity sadly lacking in today’s society.

The band played beautifully, the speaker was inspirational, and it would have been nice if the band members, speaker, and veterans attending had been able to look out and see all those empty chairs filled with members of our community who thought taking an hour out of the holiday weekend to pay tribute to our fallen heroes was just as important as grilling, fishing, camping or anything else they did that day.

Peggy Freyholtz

A member of the

Bertha-Hewitt community