Gettysburg milestone in focus at Sandyvale's Memorial Day celebration

Russ O Reilly, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·2 min read
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May 30—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Their headstones were washed away from their original places by the 1889 flood, but the bodies of 440 Civil War veterans are still buried at Sandyvale Memorial Gardens and Conservancy in Johnstown's Hornerstown section, according to the gardens' association.

The Memorial Day ceremony Monday at Sandyvale was especially focused on the upcoming 160th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, the bloody turning point of the Civil War.

Retired medical doctor and licensed Gettysburg battlefield guide Rick Schroeder gave a keynote speech Monday about President Abraham Lincoln's famed Gettysburg Address, delivered after that three-day battle.

"What Lincoln was saying was for both the North and the South ... the democratic form of government is only going to work if we talk to each other," Schroeder said, adding that the speech's meaning remains relevant amid the country's current political divisions.

"It's kind of scary that the speech is apropos as it was then, but hopefully things are moving closer," he said.

The ceremony at Sandyvale, 80 Hickory St., included a wreath placement in honor of all veterans and the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.

The ceremony included the playing of the national anthem, taps and other songs followed by a classic car show, music provided by a DJ and Civil War reenactments.

Reenacting at Sandyvale held special meaning for Karen Largent, of Southmont, who said her great-great-great-grandfather, Capt. Patrick Graham, is buried there. He fought in the Battle of Newmarket, she said. In 1865, he returned to Johnstown and became a justice of the peace, she said.

"We love doing this so people can appreciate what life was like then," she said.

Shielded from the sun under the open hood of his 1978 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, John Wolff, of Moxham, listened to the music playing through the park as the smells of barbecued meat from Rayne's Backyard BBQ floated in the air.

"I came out to respect the ceremony and Memorial Day," he said, "and now it's just good fun."