Memorial Day Parade and Ceremonies in the Town of New Castle

The Memorial Day ceremonies for  New Castle, Chappaqua and Millwood almost didn’t go forward due to the thunder and rain storms that were in the area up until a couple of hours before kickoff.

The clouds cleared and the rain stopped just in time for a pre-parade reception at the Crown House Antique Shop put on by owner Andrew Samalin of Chappaqua, his wife Gina, son Mathew and daughter Talia. There was Maurice The Clown making balloon animals for the kids, cotton candy, fresh pop corn and chairs set up along the parade route. The historic structure was decked out with a spectacular huge American Flag.

Arrangements for the pre-parade reception were provided by Jo Rosenfeld, an event services broker who along with her daughter, Ally, was very grateful that the storms decided to pass them by and provide a dry venue for parade watching.

The Chappaqua Fire Department held its own memorial service on the lawn outside the firehouse to honor and remember their fallen firefighter brothers. Each of the companies read the members names that have died in the line of duty.

There was a wreath laying ceremony at Victory Corners where there is a stone monument & bronze plaque honoring the men from Chappaqua and The Town of New Castle who served their country in the Great War for World Wide Liberty  1917 to 1919.

Opening and closing prayers were said by Rabbi Geoffrey Mitelman from Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester. Presentation of the wreath was made by Annie Rosen and Ariel Potasher, from Girl Scout Troop 1024. Taps was played by buglers; Sasha Wittaker a sophomore, and Andrew Park a senior, both from Horace Greeley High School.

Attending this ceremony were veterans from Vietnam, the Gulf Wars, active and retired military from all of the armed services and a color guard. Judge David Zuckerman, Councilman Michael Wolfensohn, Commissioner of Public Works Anthony Vaccaro, Town Administrator Penny Paderewski, along with Parade Marshal Robert Breen, and Joe Goldreich also attended the ceremony.

The parade proceeded down King Street on its way to Memorial Plaza at the train station. It led off with an escort by the Town of New Castle Police on motorcycles, and a color guard from Vietnam Veterans of America led the rest of the procession which included the parade marshals, members of Chappaqua and New Castle governments, school and library boards, Boy Scouts, and the Kerry Pipers. These were followed by the WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq-Afghanistan Veterans, with members of the New York Guard and Gold Star Mothers, mothers who have lost sons and daughters in wars around the globe.

The Fifth New York Brigade, a Revolutionary War Squad in period uniforms blasted their way down the parade route with several volleys from their muskets, producing lots of noise and smoke.

There were many more elements of the parade, including fire trucks, ambulances, marching school bands, girl scouts, boy scouts and various community organizations.

At Memorial Plaza, Parade Marshal Lieutenant Commander Robert A. Breen brought the parade to attention. Monsignor Patrick Berry provided the invocation.

Local Iraqi-Afghanistan Campaign Veterans and Gold Star Mothers were recognized.

Presentation of the wreath was made by Cadet Victoria Migdal, Harvard ROTC, and Girl Scouts Erica Dunne and Kristin Cornish from Troop 1029.

The Star Spangled Banner was performed by Hilary Ginsberg, Julia Lin and Alison Melvin, all Horace Greeley High School students. The Horace Greeley High School Band played America the Beautiful which was followed by Amazing Grace, played by Kevin Moore and the Kerry Pipers.

A Memorial Day address was given by Captain James P. McCauley, Jr.

A final three volley musket salute was given by the Fifth New York Regiment, taps was performed by the Horace Greeley High School bugler and the Benediction was given by Rabbi Geoffrey Mitelman.

All found it a great day to pay their respects to those who have served and died in the service of their country.