I talked with Roy Dyson at the Hardware Store yesterday and asked how he felt about being able to skip this year’s Ridge American Legion Memorial Day Ceremony. He noted that while he had attended the event since 1974, he was not invited this year. Guess when you’re not an elected official, you’re just like the rest of us and don’t receive a personal invitation. Still, seems like someone associated with the American Legion could have slipped Roy an invite just for old times sake.
Roy said he did miss going to the event this year as well as to another May event that he had always attended – the Southern Maryland Volunteer Firemen’s Memorial Service. I told Roy that, courtesy of Cousin Clyde Ridgell, I just happened to have a copy of the handout from this year’s event. I told him how the handout showed Calvert County honoring 4 deceased members, Charles County 6 but St. Mary’s listed 23 members who had passed away.
Several of the 23 were from First District including close friends and people I respected very much: Bertille Cooper, Snutty Wright, Melvin Yost, Dickie Barnes, Shirley Kovich, Francis Smith, Larry Taylor and my man Bart. (For some reason, Ben Forest was not mentioned but he too should have been included.) Roy asked me to make him a copy of the handout which I will do but wanted to reprint a couple of the pages here for you to check out:
