Alliance's Memorial Day events set for Monday
Veterans groups in the Alliance area are preparing for Monday’s commemoration of Memorial Day.
Events will take place throughout the early part of the day in the city.
A Memorial Day breakfast will run 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday at American Legion Post 166, 141 W. Main St.
The Alliance Memorial Day pre-parade ceremony will take place 9:30 a.m. on Freedom Square in downtown Alliance. Contact Parade Marshal John Molesky at 330-821-7427 with questions.
The city’s parade will kick off at 10 a.m., and a Memorial Day service will be held at noon at Alliance City Cemetery.
More: Alliance Memorial Day Parade: May 30, 2022
During the parade, American Legion Post 166 Auxiliary will walk the parade route and pass out flags and candy provided by American Legion Post 166.
American Legion Post 166 color guard will lead the parade, which is expected to take one hour. Organizers say participants should arrive at the cemetery about 11 a.m.
The parade lineup will be printed in Friday’s edition of The Alliance Review, and will be available at the-review.com.
Memorial Day service to feature Alliance parents
Mark and Irma McVicker will be the speakers for the cemetery service.
Mark McVicker and Carey Meissner had three children – Danny, Mollie and Eddie.
Son Danny McVicker died in 2005 in Al Quaim, Iraq, at age 20. He had been in country for six weeks when he died while driving a Humvee.
More: Stark County honors veterans on Memorial Day
Mark McVicker and his wife, Irma, have been married 26 years. “I am Danny’s stepmom,” Irma McVicker said. “Although this is a title this world gave me, it is not a title that my heart wears.”
Mark McVicker worked as a supervisor at T&W Forge for 27 years before retiring, as Irma said, for “the sole purpose of taking care of our three grandchildren. We call it Grandpa bootcamp.”
Mollie McVicker-Handy and her husband, Nick, have a son, 3-year-old Max; and son Eddie Ricci and his wife, Kelsey Ricci, have a 4-year-old daughter, Danielle, who was named after Danny McVicker, and son Cannon, age 2.
Irma has been employed at Wieland Metal Services for 42 years.
“We love this small city of ours and truly don’t know what we would have done without the support, love and compassion this community has offered us and our family over the years,” Irma said.
More: Gold Star families dedication: May 28, 2022
Poppy fundraiser to aid veterans in nursing homes
American Legion Auxiliary will offer poppies at various locations around Alliance for a donation that will be used to provide needed items to veterans in nursing homes around the area. Among the locations selling the poppies from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday are BellStores Marathon, Lowe’s, Walgreens, Chase Bank and Save A Lot. Poppy donations are the main source of funds each year for the Auxiliary to continue to assist veterans.
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Alliance's Memorial Day events set for Monday
