Hello New Windsor. Memorial Day is a federal holiday that was established to remember and honor men and women who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. There will be many ceremonies and parades all over the country honoring the sacrifices these Americans made to give us the freedom that we have today.

I was coaching a baseball game and while we were in the middle of the game there was a Lacrosse game that was getting ready to start on a nearby field. They had a PA announcer who was announcing the starting line-ups and when he was finished they started playing the National Anthem. This was happening on a field a few hundred yards away, and without any instruction at all from the coaches, umpires, or anyone, the players stopped play on their own, took off their hats and turned toward that other field to honor America. This action prompted everyone else at our game to do the same. Once the Anthem was over on the Lacrosse Field our game started right up again. It was truly a great thing to see how these 14-15 year old young men realized on their own the importance of the National Anthem and what it represents even though we were in the middle or our game. It made me really proud of them! God bless all the men and women who have served and sacrificed and Happy Memorial Day!

There will be a Memorial Day Eve service of memory, grief, and hope on May 26 at 5:30 p.m. at the New Windsor Cantonment. This 6th annual Community Remembering Ceremony welcomes civilians, veterans, and military personnel to come together to remember stories related to war and military service that we “tend to ignore, want to forget, yet need to remember”.

The service will include the NY Warrior Promise Wall, a display created to remember the stories of those who have taken their own lives, and to bring awareness to the crisis of active duty and veteran suicide. There will be music, and rituals of remembrance. The service is sponsored by the Greater Newburgh Interfaith Council and Vet2Vet, and will include faith communities from throughout the area. It will take place at the Temple of Virtue in the New Windsor Cantonment, located at 374 Temple Hill Rd. (Route 300), adjacent to the Purple Heart Hall of Honor, in New Windsor.

For info, contact Mary Lou Baumgartner at pastor@kofk.com or 845-565-7645.

The Town of New Windsor Recreation Department is accepting registrations for Summer Camp Programs. There are different options for children ages 3-15 years old with half day, full day, and a Counselor In Training Program. Please visit the Town of New Windsor Recreation Department Website at www.nwrecisfun.com or call 845-565-7750 for more information.

Join the Town of New Windsor Recreation Department and the professional instructors from Ms. Claire’s Music Cupboard for a four week once a week 45 minute music class where participants will sing, learn, say rhymes, play instruments, and move to the beat of lively songs. They will discover new words, build important listening skills, and gain confidence speaking, and overall becoming more rounded individuals. Each participant will receive digital materials for home use.

This program is for ages 0 to school age and will take place on Friday’s from 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. starting on Friday May 31 at the New Windsor Recreation Hall. (Newly acquired Town Building that used to be the Masonic Hall at 18 Snake Hill Road in New Windsor across from Devitts) The price for the class is $70 per child.

The Senior Matinee movie is held every Tuesday at the Marasco Center at 11:30 a.m. The movie for Tuesday May 28 is “A Dog’s Way Home.”

Lucas is a medical student who stumbled upon an orphaned dog he named Bella. The two become inseparable and form a special bond that is put to the test when Bella gets accidentally separated from Lucas.

For more information on the programs above or for all Town of New Windsor Recreation programs visit nwrecisfun.com or call 565-7750.

Birthday shout outs this week go to JM Desousa whose birthday is on May 23rd, to Patty Smith whose birthday is on May 24, to Stacy Clavette, Kara Stahli, and Evan Turenchalk whose birthdays are all on May 26, to Tim Granada and Manuska Archer whose birthdays are on May 28, and to anyone else out there celebrating birthdays this week Happy Birthday!

If anyone has a birthday or other special event you want mentioned in my column, or have anything going on in New Windsor that you want the world to know about you can reach me at mveronesi@optimum.net or by calling 629-1260. Have a great week.