Edison, Metuchen set for Memorial Day events

Residents of Edison and Metuchen will pay tribute thisMemorial Day weekend to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation’s freedom.

Edison’s parade will take place on Sunday in the Clara Barton section, with monument services on Monday.

Metuchen’s procession is set for Monday.

The Edison Township Parade Committee has planned its march to step off at 1 p.m. Sunday at Walsh Avenue, across from Our Lady of Peace Church. The parade will head west along Amboy Avenue, continue onto Brower Avenue and end at Herbert Hoover Elementary School.

Among those participating are the localAmerican Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, the Edison High School and J.P. Stevens High School bands, police, fire and first aid officials, the Patriots Brass Band, Disabled American Veterans, Garden State Crewzers, Edison Metro Lions Club, Shore Brass Band, local Scout troops and others.

On Monday, the parade committee announced, monument services will be held at all post homes at 8 a.m.; at 8:30 a.m. at the Korean/ Vietnam memorial, Grove Avenue; at 8:55 a.m. at Menlo Park Soldiers Home; 9:30 a.m. at Bonhamtown Seniors Center; 10 a.m. at Leo Street and Player Avenue (street dedication, Robert E. Jenkins); 10:30 a.m. at Plainfield Avenue and Pannonia Street (street dedication, Joseph Anthony Lumienillo); and 11 a.m. at Veterans Park, Route 27 and Stony Road.

Metuchen will continue its tradition with one of the area’s longest-established Memorial Day parades — the first was held on May 30, 1927. The parade begins at 10 a.m. Monday, rain or shine, from the Pearl Street parking lot. It will proceed across Center Street, turn right onto Route 27, and right onto Main Street. The parade will continue through the tree-lined streets of Metuchen and turn right onto High Street, and then right again onto Lake Avenue, where it will end at Memorial Park with a brief ceremony.

This year’s ceremony features speaker RearAdmiral Timothy Beard III of the U.S. Naval Reserve and Tuskegee Airman Shade M. Lee.

Metuchen High School graduate Samantha Cook and Metuchen High School sophomore Maddie Campbell will be performing. The Metuchen High School Band, under the leadership of John Morrison, the American Celts Pipes & Drums, the Hometown Brass Band, the Banjo Rascals, Fred Lehotay’s Ragtime Band and an ensemble from St. Joseph High School, under the direction of Sal Ascolese, will also perform.

Memorial Day in Metuchen honors the lives of the 41 borough men who sacrificed their lives in U.S. wars and the many Metuchen men and women currently serving in the armed forces.

The theme of this year’s event is “Thank You to Our Veterans.” The grand marshals are U.S. Marine Cpl. David Fox, representing Enduring Freedom Afghanistan; U.S. Marine Cpl. Paul Bartlame, representing Enduring Freedom Iraq; U.S. Army Sgt. Ray C. Lo Largo, representing Vietnam; U.S. Marine HM2-Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Julian Rydarowski, representing Korea; and retired U.S. Air Force Sgt. Shade M. Lee, Tuskegee Airman, World War II.

Store windows on Main Street display artwork depicting the meaning of Memorial Day by schoolchildren. The annual bicycle decorating contest, coordinated by the Recreation Commission, allows hundreds of children to ride their bikes in the parade.

This event is funded entirely through private donations. Principal sponsors are Metuchen Savings Bank andApplied Research Corporation; platinum sponsor is American Legion Fugle-Hummer Post 65; and silver sponsors are Costello- Runyon Funeral Home and Victorian Office Rentals. The names of the event’s other sponsors will be listed in the program at the ceremony, which will begin in Memorial Park at approximately noon.

For more information about the Memorial Day parade, call the Metuchen Area Chamber of Commerce at 732-548-2964.