Local Veterans Day observances planned
Despite the pandemic, area schools and organizations are still finding ways to honor local service members this Veterans Day. Listed below are events that were shared with the Times-Register.
MFL MarMac Community School
Join MFL MarMac for its annual Veterans Day Program, celebrated this year in a virtual setting. The event will premiere on the MFL MarMac YouTube and Facebook pages at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10. After that, it will be available to watch any time.
The pre-recorded video will include the singing of the national anthem by the MFL MarMac senior choir ladies and a performance of “Song for the Mira” by the MFL MarMac choir.
Members of the high school student council, which organizes the event, will welcome viewers and introduce segments of the program. The guest speaker will be Rick Blietz.
The video will conclude with a moment of silence and the playing of Taps by Victor Breuer, followed by a photo slide show featuring nearly 300 local veterans.
McGregor
“Fire in the hole!” This is what you will hear when a McGregor tradition which dates back at least to the 1950s—and possibly before—takes place on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11. McGregor's Civil War Cannon on the riverfront, affectionately known as “Nellie Grant,” will be fired by members of the McGregor and Marquette American Legion Posts and the McGregor Amvets. The live firing of the cannon will occur at 10 a.m. at Riverfront Park in McGregor. This will be a prelude to the Veterans Day ceremony which will take place at 11 a.m. in Marquette.
The 888-pound cannon, which is a six pounder bronze field gun on a naval mount, was restored by Civil War re-enactor Roger Shannon from Woodward, at the direction of the McGregor Park Board. It was rededicated on July 5, 2002. Festivities that day included a ceremony, day firing, night firing, Civil War encampment, potluck and sing-along of Civil War songs led by the Third Iowa re-enactors.
The cannon’s record of service during the war is unknown. The field gun was manufactured before the war, in 1856, by the Ames Company of Chicopee, Mass. The cannon was given to McGregor by Gov. Samuel Merrill, who was a banker in McGregor. Merrill served under General Ulysses S. Grant during the war and the cannon was named after Grant’s daughter.
Since it was restored, the cannon has been fired on July 4. However, this year, it was decided to fire it before the Veterans Day ceremony, as it was “dedicated to the Union soldiers who fought and gave their lives for the preservation of the Union.”
Marquette
A short program honoring local veterans will be held at the veterans memorial at the downtown Marquette city park on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m.
Marquette was originally slated to host the 2020 Clayton County-wide Veterans Day Program with a meal and speaker, but the event had to be modified due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, activities will still recognize local veterans but simply include a wreath laying at the park, playing of Taps and a gun salute.
Central Community School
The Central Torch Chapter of the National Honor Society will host a Veterans Day program on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 2 p.m., in the gym at Central Community School in Elkader.
In order to provide a safe event for everyone this year, students and staff not involved in the program will watch the event in their classrooms via Zoom. The National Honor Society, band and chorus students will sit in their designated areas of the gym, leaving the bleachers open for community members only. Community members who attend are encouraged to wear a mask and keep six feet of distance from non-household members.
The school is proud to hold this event to honor veterans and looks forward to seeing people there. With any questions or concerns, please contact Mrs. Cobie-Nuss at (563) 245-1750.
