Elm Grove Cemetery on Memorial Day 2015 – photo by Sally Y. Hart
Over 400 flags are up at Elm Grove Cemetery in Washington today in honor of Memorial Day. Each year, since 1981, the staff of the Jones Eden Funeral Home has installed the Avenue of Flags for Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day began as Decoration Day, which was held May 5, 1868, three years after the Civil War had ended, as a time to recognize those who lost their lives in the war and decorate their graves with flowers. On this holiday banks, government offices and many other offices including the Washington Public Library and the Washington Chamber of Commerce are closed in observance.