Healing Fields Are Coming To Waterloo

After months of preparation, 1400 flags have arrived in Waterloo to be set up in the first Healing Field of Remembrance in New York State.Volunteers are encouraged to come to the Seneca County Fairgrounds from 1 to 5 pm Saturday, May 20 and, if needed, Sunday, May 21 to assemble the 3-foot by 5-foot flags onto their staffs. On Wednesday, May 24, volunteers again asked to assemble at the Healing Field, in front of Huntington Nursing Home on Routes 5&20 east of the village from 5 to 9 pm to set up the flags on the Healing Field.”Waterloo, the Birthplace of Memorial Day, is honored to host the first Healing Field in New York State,” said Jane Shaffer, co-chair of the event. “We are known as perhaps the most patriotic village in the state. We invite all Waterloo residents and those coming home for family reunions to join us in this most significant tribute to those who serve this country and their communities. Volunteers are welcome – and needed – to help set up the flags and the field, and to staff information booths at the field. All are welcome to participate.”During Celebrate Commemorate, the names of those who are being honored with a flag at the Healing Field will be read daily at noon. Additional flags will be available for purchase at $30 each. A special retirement ceremony by members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion will be held nightly at 7 pm. A Remembrance Walk is scheduled for 9 a.m. from the Memorial Day Museum to the Healing Field. Entry fee is $5.The dedication ceremony at the Healing Field will begin at 11 a.m. Monday. Participants will include state and local officials, veterans and police and firefighters.A special park and ride service has been organized by STS transit service to shuttle motorists from free parking at the Seneca County Office Building lots to the Healing Field on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, May 27-30. The lots are accessible off Thurber Drive or North Road.Waterloo will commemorate the 140th consecutive Memorial Day on Tuesday, May 30, with a veterans parade, speeches in Lafayette Park, and prayers at the Maple Grove Cemetery.For a complete listing of Healing Field and Memorial Day events, go to www.waterloony.com.