Local Memorial Day events scheduled

Local communities plan to observe Memorial Day weekend. Events begin on Friday in Fort Recovery.

Celina

Memorial Day observances in Celina will be held on Monday with services at 11 a.m. at Lakeshore Park's memorial site.

Mercer County Veterans Service officer Tom Risch will welcome the crowd and provide commentary. Amy Vasquez will sing the national anthem. The Rev. Ty Watson of Celina First Church of God will give an invocation and benediction.

Keynote speaker is Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of Ohio Auxiliary President Darlene Black. Music will also be provided by the Celina High School band.

Members of the Celina VFW and American Legion auxiliaries will place wreaths at the memorial. A salute to deceased veterans will be conducted with a firing squad.

Other participants will be the color guards of the American Legion and its ladies auxiliary. Lunch will be served to participants and their families after the services at the Celina VFW Post 5713.

Memorial Day also will be observed at Mercer Memory Gardens on Monday. The group will assemble at 10 a.m. The speaker will be Celina VFW Post 5713 Commander Karl Hagaman. Area auxiliaries will present wreaths.

VFW Chaplain John Schmidt will offer a prayer and a firing squad will conduct a salute to the dead before the playing of "Taps."

Rockford

Rockford will celebrate on Monday with a parade and a guest speaker. The parade will begin at 11 a.m. The guest speaker will be the Rev. Chip Steffy of the Rockford United Methodist Church.

Fort Recovery

Memorial Day services organized by the American Legion Post 345 and VFW Post 6515 will begin at 7 p.m. Friday with a service on the Wayne Street Bridge.

Afterward, a parade will proceed from the bridge to Monument Park. Guest speaker Robert Howell, senior vice president of the Celina VFW, will give a short speech at Monument Park. The Fort Recovery High School band will play several patriotic selections and an honor guard will fire a salute and play "Taps."

The Memorial Day Mass will be at 9:30 a.m. Sunday at Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church. A Memorial Day service will be held at 10:45 a.m. Monday at Mary Help of Christians Cemetery.

Coldwater

Memorial Day services will take place in front of the pool at Coldwater Memorial Park beginning at 10 a.m.

Mendon

Memorial Day services will begin at 8:30 a.m. Monday with people assembling at the park before marching to the river. The invocation will be given by the Rev. Rob Glenn of the Mendon Church of God. Flowers will be cast into the river followed by a gun volley for deceased veterans, and "Taps" will be played by the Parkway High School band.

The group will reassemble and march to the park, where the band will perform the national anthem. Keynote speaker is Alvie Louth. Wreaths will be laid by the VFW and American Legion auxiliaries. Also participating will be color guards from American Legion Post 210, VFW Post 5713 and Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 783, all of Celina. Also scheduled to take part are Girl and Boy Scout members, auxiliary units, the Rev. Jake Boroff, Mendon Recreational Association and Mendon Festival of Trees Committee. A breakfast will be served before and after the parade. Free-will donations benefit the youth group.

Osgood

The patriotic rosary will be said at 8:30 a.m. followed by a memorial Mass at St. Nicholas Church at 9 a.m. Monday. A service at St. Martin Cemetery will follow the Mass. The Osgood American Legion invites the public to the Mass and service afterward.  

New Bremen

The New Bremen American Legion Post 241 will host a memorial service at 11 a.m. Monday at the German Protestant Cemetery. The guest speaker will be Auglaize County Commissioner John Bergman. In case of inclement weather, services will be held at the Legion Hall at 6458 State Route 66 in New Bremen.

St. Marys

American Legion Post 323 will host a Memorial Day parade on Monday with lineup beginning at 9 a.m. at the Chestnut Street parking lot. The parade route will conclude with Memorial Day services at Elmgrove Cemetery.

Maria Stein

Memorial Day Mass is at 9 a.m. Monday at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. Services in the church cemetery will take place immediately after Mass, followed by lunch at the American Legion hall.

Burkettsville and St. Henry

Memorial Day Mass is at 9 a.m. Monday at St. Bernard Catholic Church at 71 W. Main St. in Burkettsville. St. Henry Catholic Church will not host a Memorial Day Mass this year as the two parishes alternate service years.