Communities celebrate Memorial Day Monday with parades and services

BRANCH COUNTY — Communities will observe Memorial Day on Monday with parades and ceremonies to honor those who died and those who served in this county's armed services.

Coldwater

• Coldwater American Legion Post 52 will host an open house at 7:30 a.m. at 84 West Chicago St., with complimentary coffee and donuts.
• The downtown ceremony begins at Four Corners Park at 8:30 a.m.
• A parade begins at Four Corners Park to Coldwater American Legion Post 52 at 9:15 a.m., then proceeds to the Coldwater River Bridge for a ceremony for service members lost at sea at 9:40 a.m.
• Services will be held in the north section of Oak Grove Cemetery, where Civil War veterans are buried at 9:50 a.m.
• "A Gathering of Flags War Memorial Ceremony" at the south side of Oak Grove Cemetery begins at 10:30 a.m.
• Coldwater American Legion Post 52 hosts a free luncheon open to the public at 11 a.m. courtesy of the Branch County Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Violence and Clemens Food Group.

Union City

• The Union City Fire Department Auxiliary holds a pancake and sausage breakfast at the Fire Hall from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• A Patriotic Bike Decorating Contest occurs at the parking lot downtown. Judging will be from 10 to 10:15 a.m. Bikes should be decorated with a Memorial Day theme, with balloons, streamers, flags, or other materials for youths up to age 12.
• The Village of Union City and the American Legion Post 196 hold one of the area's largest parades, beginning at Union City High School at 10:30 a.m.
• The parade pauses at the N. Broadway Street Bridge to allow for a ceremony honoring the Navy and Coast Guard and laying a wreath at Veterans Memorial Park.
• The parade will again pause for wreath placement at the Civil War Memorial at the First Congregational Church.
• Following the parade is the Cemetery Service at Riverside Cemetery at approximately noon.

Bronson

American Legion Post 259 will host ceremonies at the Bronson Cemetery off Wayne Street at 10 a.m. Monday

Quincy

The Quincy Memorial Day Parade, sponsored by Quincy American Legion Post 157, begins at 11 a.m. at the Legion, 104 East Chicago. The parade travels west on U.S. 12 to West Street and then to the Quincy Township Cemetery.

Sherwood

Sherwood Village and Sherwood Township hold its annual Memorial Day parade at 9 a.m. starting at the Free Methodist Church, north on Main Street to the township cemetery for services.

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All government offices are closed on Monday for the holiday.

— Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com