As Prairie Township prepares to observe Memorial Day, a portion of Broad Street has become a place to honor its hometown heroes.
The township will hold Memorial Day services at its two cemeteries Monday, May 28.
The service at Galloway Cemetery, 6271 Alkire Road, will be held at 9:30 a.m. and will be conducted by Grove City VFW Post 8198.
The service at Alton Cemetery, on Alton-Darby Creek Road about a mile north of Broad Street, is scheduled to start at noon and will be conducted by American Legion Camp Chase Post 98.
Both cemeteries were established in the mid-1800s.
Specially designed banners installed along the portion of Broad Street running through the township will help make sure the service and sacrifice of veterans are recognized beyond a single day.
For $85, people could purchase a banner to honor a township resident or Westland High School graduate during the first year of a new township program.
Each banner features the name, rank and image of the person being honored, the branch of service and a star denoting active duty (blue), veteran (white) or a memorial designation (gold).
The banners were installed May 10 and will fly all summer.
The township met its goal of selling 15 banners in the first year.
Recreation department director James Gant pitched the program as a way to do something more personal with light-pole flags that are commonly used for holidays or to promote community events.
"They look amazing. We think it's a great way to highlight people who live in Prairie Township and have served our country," Gant said. "With our first year, we were hopeful that we could get 15 (participants), and we plan to grow the program from here."
After they are removed in mid-August, the banners will be given to whoever purchased them, with the hope that the families will continue to display the flags at home, Gant said.
The township covered the costs associated with road crews hanging and removing the banners.
Those purchased this year honor Wesley D. Blair, Air Force; Adam J. Braden, Army; William E. Casto, Navy; James M. Dorsey, Army; Matthew N. Dillon, Marine Corps; Peter A. Gouker, Air Force; Stanley E. Griggs, Army; Adam L. Knox, Army; Dylan C. Niles, Navy; Robert W. Penry, Air Force; Gerald M. Renner, Navy; Paul L. Silcott, Navy; Jim Tennyson, Army; Jordan A. Ross Wegman, Marine Corps; and Andre L. Williams, Marine Corps.
An image of each banner, along with more information about the program, can be found at www.prairietownship.org.
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