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Auburn Memorial Day founder to be missed
(by Joan Demirjian - May 20, 2010)
Auburn Memorial Day founder to be missed
By JOAN DEMIRJIAN
Memorial Day ceremonies May 30 in Auburn won't be quite the same with the absence of Don May, lifelong township resident and inspiration for the annual event, according to those who knew him. Mr. May died last January.
He founded the Memorial Day committee and kept journals and records over the years of the day's activities. When Mr. May's health deteriorated in recent years, he turned over Memorial Day services to Jack Trethewey.
"Don handed me the baton in 2008," Mr. Trethewey said. "He was having a hard time with his health, and last year it got worse.
"It's a big loss for me without him."
Mr. Trethewey recalled how Mr. May attended the ceremony last year at Shadyside Cemetery at Auburn Corners Cemetery. "He was standing at the side. I mentioned during the service that he was there and I noted his involvement for so many years," he said.
Mr. May, who lived on Barthlomew Road, started the Memorial Day committee in about 1947, Mr. Tretheway said. "He kept all the records all these years."
During many of those years, Mr. Tretheway's mother, Ada Tretheway, was chairwoman of the committee.
"Don was born and raised on his family's farm. He was just a great guy and everyone wished him the best," Mr. Trethewey said.
"Don was born in a house on Bartholomew Road and later lived next to that house," Trustee John Eberly said. "He was very township oriented and served on the zoning commission."
"Everyone knew Don," Trustee Patrick "PJ" Cavanagh said. "Don led the Memorial Day for 60-plus years.
"He was quite an athlete, and was involved in baseball and volleyball into his 70s." His sons turned the Memorial Day records over to Mr. Tretheway, he said.
Mr. May graduated in the early 1940s from Auburn School, while Mr. Trethewey graduated in 1948.
In 1949, the Memorial Day committee made a memorial fountain at Auburn School, and dedicated it to the veterans of World War I and World War II, Mr. Tretheway said.
"In about 2004 or 2005, Don and I got together, to move the fountain," he said. It was refurbished and the monument included recognition of all Auburn veterans. "We put it down at Shadyside Cemetery at Auburn Corners," Mr. Tretheway said.
Mr. May, who was a mail carrier in Mantua, was also founder of the Auburn Veterans Association.
"Anytime it had to do with the veterans, Memorial Day and the Fourth of July parade, he was always involved," Mr. Tretheway said.
In the cemeteries, three men fire rifles, saluting the veterans, Mr. Tretheway said. The late Oliver P. Bolton, former U.S. Representative, was instrumental in donating the rifles to the committee, and Mr. Bolton was a speaker one year, Mr. Tretheway said.
Auburn's Memorial Day services came close to ending several times during the years, for political reasons and lack of involvement, Mr. Cavanagh said. "It had some ups and downs, and Don kept it going. It was only because of Don May that it went on," he said.
"There was a modest amount of money in the early years, and these guys did it as volunteers," Mr. Cavanagh said. "What a great service he has done for the township to keep it going for as long as he did.
"Don missed two Memorial Days. Once when he got married and once when he was in the hospital," Mr. Cavanagh said. The late Tony Gall, former trustee, was his right-hand man in those years, he said.
Mr. Cavanagh said the Memorial Day committee has suggested a commemoration plaque be made to honor Mr. May. "He deserves a tribute."
"It's a great idea," Mr. Eberly said. It would be a permanent plaque.
This year's parade of veterans, Scouts and Kenston High School band starts at the old Auburn School, now New Hope Church, at 9 a.m. May 30, where everyone can gather. "We march to Auburn Road to the Mapleshade Cemetery, where the roster of veterans is read," Mr. Tretheway said.
Resident John Reithoffer has overseen the roster and keeps it updated each year.
Following the session at Mapleshade, everyone drives to Shadyside Cemetery for a ceremony, Mr. Tretheway said.
Flags are raised for all the military branches, and the speaker will be attorney Pearce Leary, who served in the U.S. Navy.
Afterward, the public can visit the 1840 Auburn Museum, built as the Freewill Baptist Church, across from Shadyside Cemetery. Refreshments will be served.
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