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Foothill club will honor fallen war veterans with 79th annual ceremony

By Shannon Burkey

Saratoga veterans have seen their share of battlefields, from the European countryside to the jungles of Vietnam to the deserts of Iraq. More than 800 veterans have been laid to rest in Madronia Cemetery.

Each year the Saratoga Foothill Club does its part to make sure people remember the brave men and women who fought for their country. This year the club will celebrate its 79th annual Memorial Day remembrance ceremony.

"I think everybody needs to remember that somebody is paying a really high price for us to have a nice place to live," said Anne Kolb, chairwoman of the event. "If all you do is take the day off and go to the beach, then you miss what the day is all about."

The members of the Foothill Club held their first ceremony in 1928 to honor those who died in World War I. Today the event is still going strong, although it now also honors those who have fought and died in subsequent wars, such as World War II, Vietnam and Iraq.

"This is an event that has continued to last over the years; it has really withstood the test of time. No matter what the times, the Foothill Club has always stood for civic responsibility," Kolb said.

Cindy Ruby, president of the Foothill Club, said she thinks the event has lasted for so long because it gives residents that warm feeling that doesn't come about too often.

"It has that nice small-town America feeling that connects you to our history and our community," Ruby said. "It's just a nice event and an opportunity to take the time to think about why we have that day as a holiday."

The event will start at the Memorial Arch at Blaney Plaza at 9:30 a.m. The arch, built in 1919, originally served as a memorial to the four Saratogans who died in the first world war.

Local Boy and Girl Scouts begin the event with a flag ceremony and wreath-laying at the arch. The group will then walk up Oak Street, following a percussion group from Redwood Middle School, to Madronia Cemetery, where the second half of the ceremony will take place.

At the cemetery, members of the Boy Scout troops will mark each veteran's headstone with an American flag, and the Girl Scouts will lay laurel sprays on each headstone.

For the past several years, veterans from outside of Saratoga have given the speeches, but when the event started, local leaders and even schoolchildren gave the speeches. This year the club decided to go back to its roots.

Several high school and junior high school students auditioned to give a speech at the event, alongside Councilman Chuck Page and Ruby.

"It's great to see that my generation is getting involved in this," said Katrin Cooper.

Katrin, a junior at Saratoga High School, was one of two people chosen to give a speech at the event. And though it is her first year to speak, she has attended the event with her family and Girl Scout troop for 11 years.

She said she thought her speech, "Why We Celebrate Memorial Day in America," would be a nice thing to do because she comes from a family of veterans. Her grandfather and uncle are veterans of World War II and her father is a veteran of Vietnam.

"Every year we put a laurel on my uncle's grave, and it really means a lot to my family, especially my aunt," Katrin said. "I think this is just a really nice way to honor all veterans who gave up so much fighting for us."

Mackenzie Parker, an eighth-grader at Sacred Heart School, was also chosen to give a speech at the event, and she said the topic just came to her one day.

"My speech is about keeping the flame alive by remembering how people sacrifice for our basic human freedoms and rights," Mackenzie said. "In this day and age, people are more into television than knowing what's going on in the world, and it's important to remember that people are fighting a war."

The Memorial Day remembrance ceremony will take place on May 28 and begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Memorial Arch in Blaney Plaza. After a procession up Oak Street to Madronia Cemetery, the second half of the ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. with the marking of the headstones and speeches.