Thanks for the Memories - Homecoming March 25, 2023

Today there are lots of ways to connect with people - web pages, blogs, Facebook, Instagram and many other platforms that will have morphed into something else by the time this entry is posted. But there is nothing like reminiscing with folks you haven't seen in a long time. Holy Rosary Parish contains 100 years of history, and it's amazing how many experiences are the same through different generations: First Communion, May Crowning, Confession, Lent, Holy Week and Easter. And there were priests and teachers who were fondly remembered: Father Kestel, Monsignor Judnic, Sister Mary Magdalene, Sister Mary Bernard and Mrs. Nancy Jackson.

Memories from March 25 have been recorded and can be heard on our YouTube Channel:

https://youtu.be/e3DaYSHHjwU

Holy Rosary students went on to successful lives and credit their experience in the parish as a factor.

Don't miss our next Homecoming on Saturday, October 7th, 2023 (start looking through those old photos)

Herman Brozovich and John Snyder are identified in this photo from the 1940s

Longtime Globeville activist, John Zapien

First Communion for cousins John and Abraham Velasquez with Father Kestel 

Mary Coxsey, Gloria Friedrich, John Velasquez and his son

  

Memorial Day 2023

When Riverside Cemetery opened in 1876, Denver was a young city hoping to appear civilized by dedicating a park-like setting to remember its dead. In 1876, Decoration Day was also a relatively new observance, created to honor soldiers killed during the Civil War. After World War I, the holiday included American military personnel from all wars and gradually was referred to as Memorial Day.

Today, Riverside Cemetery is home to over 1,200 Civil War veterans, both Union and Confederate, who came to Colorado after the war to seek their fortunes in the gold fields, homestead, ranch or farm. Others found work on the railroads, as storekeepers, tradesmen, lawmen, politicians and preachers. Block 27, the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Block, is the location of the majority of Union soldiers buried at Riverside. 

By the time Globeville was incorporated in 1891, its citizens were familiar with death and dying. Men lost their lives in accidents in the area's smelters, foundries, and railroads; children succumbed to diphtheria, typhoid, measles and women died in childbirth. Families would gather on Memorial Day to plant flowers, clean the graves, have a picnic lunch and share stories of their relatives buried there. Services at Riverside Cemetery might also include military bands, religious ceremonies and speeches.

Lydia Gerhardt Heck was born in 1906 and fondly recalled, "Years ago when we were kids, on Memorial Day (which we called Decoration Day), we'd take our lunch and go over to Riverside Cemetery. A lot of our family - my folks and my husband's folks - are buried there. We young folks would hear stories about our relatives - it was like a family reunion."

Memorial Day has come to mean the official start of summer with backyard barbeques, outdoor activities and three days off from school or work. But before heading into a busy season, families might want to schedule an outing to honor and celebrate those who came before us.

There will be a FREE history tour of Riverside Cemetery on Sunday, May 21st, from 10:00 am
to 11:30 am. Historian Ray Thal will be your guide with entertaining stories.
5210 Brighton Boulevard  •  Denver, CO 80216
https://fairmountfuneralhome.com/riverside-cemetery/

Veterans stand together at Riverside Cemetery

New entrance to Riverside Cemetery