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Memorial Days of '62 and '69
Alice Colozze remembered.
Leon Mosher did too. So did thousands of other people in Schenectady County.
It was late May in 1962. Colozze, who lived on Nott Street, decorated the graves at her family plot at St. Anthony’s cemetery in Glenville. An American flag stood over the grave of her son, Donald C. Colozze, who died in 1931 at the age of 19. Donald Colozze had served in the U.S. Navy as a torpedo man.
Alice was not alone. Other people made sure fresh flowers and red, white and blue banners decorated graves for Memorial Day.
On Wednesday, May 30, services were held in several places. People gathered at the war memorial in front of Rotterdam Town Hall, at Vale Cemetery and at Veterans Park in Schenectady.
In 1969, Memorial Day was observed in Scotia with a parade up Mohawk Avenue. Firefighters, musicians, and minor celebrities — including “Miss Hope” from the Schenectady County chapter of the American Cancer Society — helped put kids and adults along the village’s main street in a festive mood. Posted on May 29, 2012.
Leon Mosher stands in silhouette and plays “Taps” during the Memorial Day ceremony in Schenectady’s Veterans Park on May 30, 1962.
Alice Colozze of Nott Street prepares for Memorial Day 1962 by decorating graves at her family’s plot in St. Anthony’s cemetery in Glenville. The American flag flies over the grave of Alice’s son, Donald C. Colozze, who died at age 19 in 1931 during service with the U.S. Navy.
Solemn proceedings are part of the Memorial Day observation in Veterans Park in Schenectady on May 30, 1962.
Glenville resident Etienne Lotters’ seat on broad shoulders gave him a great view of Scotia’s Memorial Day parade in 1969. Karl Lotters, Etienne’s father, provided the boost.
"Miss Hope," representing the Schenectady County chapter of the American Cancer Society, smiles from the back of a convertible during the 1969 Memorial Day parade in Scotia.
Faces in the crowd belong to excited children during the Memorial Day parade in Scotia on May 28, 1969.
Scotia firemen pull an old-time emergency rig during the 1969 Memorial Day parade in the village on May 28, 1969.
A young woman leads the Scotia-Glenville High School band during the marching musicians’ appearance in the 1969 Scotia parade.
