Memorial Days

Growing up, I knew that my father had been a Marine. He would regale us with stories of the misery of recruit training at Parris Island, but most of his stories had relatively happy endings, or at least none that were tragic. My husband’s stories, however, were a little different.
Even though Bob’s service in the Army was in the closing years of World War II, he recalled most vividly a miserably cold and rainy Christmas Eve crossing the English Channel in 1944. That was the night the troopship Leopoldville was torpedoed by a German submarine, taking 800-plus soldiers and crewmen to their deaths. He always spoke of being one of the lucky ones for he, you see, was on the Cheshire, a sister ship also crossing the Channel in the same convoy.
His story always comes to mind when I visit the World War II Lookout Tower out on Sunset Boulevard. The Tower, restored by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts (MAC) and opened to the public in 2009, was the latest in our restoration efforts that bring back to life not only old structures, through restoration, but –more importantly – their history and importance to all of us through interpretation, another of our important missions.
The Tower is loaded with photos and stories of people who look back on their years of service to our country as an important chapter in their lives, having done what needed to be done when they were called on to do it. That’s why it is fitting that we pay tribute to all of these local men and women, as we will do again this year May 21 for Armed Forces Day. As well as remembering and honoring these patriots in the course of the ceremony which starts at 11 a.m., we have a special treat this year as our local expert on coastal defenses, Mark Allen, will talk about the network of forts, and towers just like ours, that protected the Delaware River and Bay from the Revolutionary War through World War II.
Of course, not all the “memorial” days in May have such a somber note, for Memorial Day Weekend is the kick-off of our annual Cape May Music Festival. A fitting tribute to the weekend is a free concert by the Atlantic Brass Band Sunday evening in Cape May Convention Hall. There’s also another free concert June 2, when Deirdre Reilly comes to Convention Hall with traditional Irish music. We’re happy to offer these free concerts again this year as part of the Music Festival, thanks to the co-sponsorship of the City of Cape May. Everyone’s classical favorites, like the Bay Atlantic Symphony, the New York Chamber Ensemble and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players, also return. We think jazz fans will enjoy a June 5 concert by The Jost Project, a jazz/rock fusion quartet and, of course, there’s the local concert everyone waits for, this year the fifth annual George Mesterhazy Tribute June 12 at Convention Hall. Cape May’s music scene lost an icon when Mesterhazy died, but his friends refuse to let him be forgotten, each year bringing back to life some of George’s favorite music. Like our Armed Forces Day celebration, it’s a bittersweet remembrance of the past, and the lives that made ours what they are today.
I hope you’ll come out for these very special “memorial” days. Whether or not you had someone in the family who served in the Armed Forces and whether or not you knew George Mesterhazy and his music, both of these events will strike just the right chord. Find out more at capemaymac.org.
Barraclough is director of publications and website at Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC).