Annual Memorial Day ceremonies set for Monday

Veterans and grateful citizens will gather at local cemeteries on Memorial Day Monday, May 27, to honor servicemen who have made the ultimate sacrifice, as well as others who have served.

The annual ceremonies will be held in three locations in north Big Horn County: 8 a.m. at the Byron Cemetery, 9 a.m. at the Cowley Cemetery and 10 a.m. at the Lovell Cemetery.

The public is encouraged to attend any or all of the ceremonies to honor veterans. Local veterans, organized by longtime Wyoming National Guardsman Rich Fink, Commander of Robert Boyd Stewart American Legion Post 11, will form a color guard and conduct the ceremonies. Fink will be the master of ceremonies.

Each ceremony will begin with a ceremonial march to a cadence provided by drummer Meg Anderson, and after a welcome by Fink, Chaplain Jim Thomas will give a prayer, and flowers will be laid at each site.

 Lovell Elementary School fifth-grade students, directed by music teacher Chauna Bischoff, will sing two patriotic numbers and later a third number.

Fink said the members of the color guard are Scott Fink, Mike Kitchen and Nicholle Laffin, and making up the rifle line are Leroy Collins, Bruce Dempster and Tom Dillon.

 “Taps” will be performed by Dale Fowler and David Peck.

This year’s speaker is longtime Lovell volunteer fireman and current fire chief Mike Jameson, who is also the Big Horn County Coroner and owner of Haskell Funeral Home.