To the Editor:
The traditional Memorial Day festivities in Esperance will be on Monday, May 27.  The honoring of our veterans on this day was established in Esperance by the George A. Turnbull Post 157 Grand Army of the Republic in 1880.

The traditional luncheon at the Methodist Church Education Building on Main Street will feature hot dogs, beverages, salads, and homemade desserts from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Memorial Day Parade will form west of the village on Route 20 at 1 p.m. and will kick off at 1:30 down Main Street, concluding at the Esperance Cemetery on Burtonsville Road.

The Esperance Museum on Church Street will be open free from 1 to 4 p.m., featuring a World War II exhibit commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.

As we begin the celebration of the 250th anniversary of our nation, the Schoharie Leatherstocking chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution will dedicate a patriot marker in honor of the two Revolutionary War soldiers buried in the Esperance Cemetery.

Joe Fitzpatrick of Esperance, past President of the New York State Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution will tell of the Revolutionary War services of Joel Messinger and Johnathan Herrick, both buried in the Esperance Cemetery.

The services at the cemetery will also include some of the traditions of the Civil War G.A.R. Post, including the reading of the Gettysburg Address.

Ken Jones

Town Historian

Esperance