By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

(May 21, 2025) Continuing a neighborhood tradition dating back to the 1940s, Berlin’s Flower Street community will honor the fallen defenders of this nation and its principles with an Old-Fashioned Memorial Day Parade on Monday.

At 11 a.m., car and motorcycle units, floats, and bands will travel from Stephen Decatur Middle School down Flower Street, ending at Henry Park as part of the patriotic Old Fashioned Memorial Day celebration. Participants will include local groups such as the Red Hat Society and Town of Berlin officials.

The celebration of remembrance began in the 1940s with what was known at the time as the Decoration Day Parade. The federal holiday’s official name change came in the 1970s, and attracted thousands of spectators. The parade grew in success and scope through the 1950s and 1960s, before eventually falling off around the time of integration.

Veteran and longtime parade organizer Greg Purnell said finding local marching bands willing to take part in the procession became an unfortunate challenge in that period amid tension created by black and white students now attending the same schools.

However, in the 1990s, the parade was revitalized. Now, thirty years into its resurgence, the Memorial Day pageant’s popularity continues to grow, once again drawing thousands of attendees to honor deceased American soldiers.

“The parade actually started back in the 1940s, and then in the ’50s it was big,” Purnell noted. “That’s when I came on, in the ’50s and ’60s. And then, shortly after that, it kind of waned because, when they integrated schools, it became difficult to get bands to come to the parade. In 1995 or 1996, we started it back up…We’ve been carrying it on since then.”

The event is sponsored by the Berlin Community Improvement Association (BCIA) and planned by an event committee under the BCIA umbrella.

Purnell said that this year’s procession theme is “honoring the past and embracing the future.”

Planners expect around 10 floats, which will be scored by a panel of judges, with first place winning $100, second place $50, and third place $25. Additionally, Col. John Foreman will serve as this year’s grand marshal. Major General Janeen Birckhead, the 31st Adjutant General of Maryland, will also be present to speak to the meaning of the remembrance ceremony.

“She will give a brief on what it means to honor the dead and have a perspective for those in the future,” Purnell said. “It goes along with our theme.”

The celebration doesn’t end with the parade but will continue on the grounds of the former Flower Street school. Purnell said a bouncy house will be set up for the kids and crafts and food vendors will also be available for guests.

Included in the entertainment lineup are music, the juggler Cascading Carlos, and line dancing accompanied by instructors.

The Memorial Day event not only includes the parade on Monday, but veteran recognition starting today and tomorrow by the Duncan-Showell Post 231 of the American Legion.

Purnell said that Duncan-Showell Post 231 will visit all the cemeteries where its members have been buried, including Curtis United Methodist Church, New Bethel United Methodist Church, and St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. Here, they will place flags on the graves of the fallen veterans.

Flower Street residents are known to set up chairs on the procession’s route to watch the floats and acts go by, but those from throughout the county and beyond are encouraged to attend the Memorial Day festival.

“It used to be Christmas in the summer,” Purnell said. “It was a very, very big parade at one time. We’re trying to build back to that.”

While organizers say they are continuing efforts to grow the parade, they say the event is always well attended and is a joyful day for Town of Berlin citizens.

“We’ve been so successful over the years, and we’re hoping that this one will be as good or better than the others,” Purnell added. “…In the old days, thousands and thousands of people would come to Berlin because this was where the parade was. When we restarted it, we restarted on a smaller scale and then built back up to thousands over the years. We have really nice turnouts.”

Purnell emphasized that its purpose is to honor the United States soldiers.

“We have to thank veterans all the time for the freedoms and all of the amenities of American life that we enjoy,” he said. “This is to honor those who are no longer with us…We would love to have everybody come out, pledge allegiance with us, and represent the community by giving thanks to those veterans. Giving honor to those veterans who lost their lives and even those who came home and then lost their lives. It’s a Memorial Day opportunity for the community to be appreciative of what those veterans did and have done and continue to do.”