A piece of Hastings history is once again marked by a flying American flag.
The VFW Post 1210 has installed a new flagpole at the Soldiers and Sailors Cemetery. The ceremonial raising of the flag took place at 1pm on Friday, September 25.
The Soldiers and Sailors Cemetery sits across from Lakeside Cemetery and dates back more than a century.
In 1905, Hastings’ Peller Post 89 of the Grand Army of the Republic purchased the half-acre property as a burial ground for Civil War and
Spanish-American War veterans and their families.
Over the years, the property fell into disrepair. In 1998, VFW Post 1210 stepped in to restore and fence the cemetery.
VFW Commander Mark Gelhar shared with KDWA that Post 1210 has continued to care for the site—including a Memorial Day ceremony.
“We are at Soldiers and Sailors Cemetery. The VFW Honor Guard is here every Memorial Day. We do a flag raising, and we do a gun salute, rifle salute. These are, this was Civil War property, and the VFW has kind of adopted it as a caretaker. In 1998, the VFW put up the fence and the arch over there. There’s a small plaque that commemorizes that event.”
Last year, the VFW was unable to raise a flag because the old flagpole was in
poor condition.
The new flagpole has been moved closer to Nininger Road, where Gelhar says it will be more visible.
“And last year, sad, we were not on Memorial Day able to raise a flag because the flagpole was in such disrepair, and we decided we’ll have to get a new flag, and we relocated it, figuring it would be more visible along Nininger here, and so we’ve got a new flag, and our next goal, we’re getting some bids to have the fence all restored, repair work done, and painted. So, in hopefully the near future, there will be a fundraising event that we’re going to put together to get that taken care of too.”
And for Commander Gelhar, seeing the flag return to the cemetery is personal.
“It gives me goosebumps. It’s a tribute to those who served and gave their lives, and so
it’s a very emotional thing for me, actually.”
Korean War veteran Richard Hullander says restoring the flag to the historic cemetery is another way to remember those who served.
“Especially in an honored place like that, is huge. You know, it goes back to the Civil War, and sometimes we forget about past wars. That’s a big one. So, this is really something to have that flag set up there in a different place, and cleaning up the cemetery. The VFW has been involved for many years with that, so we’re very happy about what’s going on there.”
Photos of the ceremony can be found in this news report on KDWA.com
