This post is late being posted for which I apologize, but as we all know, the year 2020 has been anything but normal lately.
Because of the COVID-19 virus and various regulatory restrictions, there will not be a formal Decoration Day this year.
Social Distancing has been indicated for this year, so there will not be a formal event on Sunday, May 24th as we all expected. There will be no business meeting in the Church, no dinner on the grounds, and no one posted outside by the Church to accept donations.
Everyone is free to put flowers on the graves, visit the cemetery whenever you might want to, but are encouraged to practice all of the Social Distancing (6-feet away from others not directly with you), and other practices to reduce the possibility of spreading the virus to others.
If you have any other questions, please contact Martha McCurdy at 256-657-1531. If you would like to make a much needed donation to the Mountain Home Cemetery for the General Operating Fund (money to maintain the property during the year for maintenance and grounds keeping), or to the Perpetual Care Fund, please make your check to Mountain Home Cemetery and mail to Martha McCurdy, 45 County Road 670, Henagar, AL 35978.
It’s been a little over 100 years since our community, our state, and our country faced a medical crisis to rival what we are now experiencing. The Spanish Flu pandemic swept across the plant, and to date is still the deadliest in history, infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide—about one-third of the planet’s population—and killed an estimated 20 million to 50 million victims, including some 675,000 Americans.
The 1918 flu first appeared in Europe, the United States and then parts of Asia before quickly spreading around the world.
Unlike now, at that time, there were no drugs or vaccines to treat this killer strain, and while we don’t yet have a vaccine, we do have some medications that have proven helpful in treating COVID-19. Citizens were ordered to wear masks, schools, theaters and businesses were shuttered and bodies piled up in makeshift morgues before the virus ended its deadly global march.
In 2020, we benefit from the most advanced and talented medical research in the world. And unlike our ancestors during the Spanish Flu, we have access to news, not only near our home, but around the world. Unlike the last pandemic, we know why so many people are getting sick, and why many are dying.
We will miss the opportunity to see everyone this year, and feel saddened at this temporary pause in a long standing tradition. We do take great comfort in knowing that God is in control, and regardless of what comes, if we trust in Him, we will all be ok.
As Memorial Day 2020 will be very different than years past, we still salute all of the brave Americans who came before; who stood up to defend Freedom and Liberty – for without them, our lives would have the same privileges. We wave the flag high and salute the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. May God continue to smile on America and may America remember where her hope comes from.
Note: As more information becomes available, we will try to post in a more timely manner. In the meantime, please be safe – Heaven can wait another day…