My hometown of Beloit, Kansas has always celebrated Memorial Weekend in a BIG way! The weekend is filled with activities of class reunions, a parade, picnic in Chautauqua Park, Talking Tombstones, and on Memorial Day itself, a Wreath Ceremony at the river, followed by ceremonies to honor our vets at the cemeteries. It is a time of celebration, remembrance, and getting together with friends
My parent’s headstone.
Memorial Day Weekend Activities in Beloit, Kansas.
It is also a time to remember our loved ones and ancestors. In my own family, my Dad raised special peony bushes by the rose trellis he had built so many years ago. For 30 years, my parents would fill dozens of jars of peonies, and travel 160 miles round trip to deliver these to honor my Dad’s ancestors buried in a small cemetery in Hanover, Kansas, then on to Concordia, where Mom’s ancestors are laid to rest, and finally to Beloit. I usually accompanied them. After Dad died, Mom and I kept up the tradition for many years, and I have tried to get home to honor my folks in May. It was always so special and brings tears to my heart to remember.
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In Remembrance: Terry Householter
Terry Householter was a local boy from Concordia, Kansas, 30 miles from my hometown. He was very famous in our home state for his running, breaking records in the 100, 220, and 440 dashes which stood for many years.
He had natural athletic ability, sometimes skipping practice, and, rumor has it, smoking and partying at times. He was very popular, a leader, and touched many lives, including me when he flirted with me at track meets. (YES I still remember).
Terry, Championship runner.
After graduation and one semester of college, Terry joined the Marines to fight in Viet Nam. It was not till many years later that I learned my cousin Jerry and he had gone to high school together (but were not close at that time). They met up in a mess hall in the camp where they along with hundreds of other Marines were headquartered in Viet Nam, and became close buddies, even though in different units. They even talked about rooming together in college once they returned from Nam.
Jerry & Terry in Vietnam.
A few months before he was due to return home, Terry, squad leader of his unit, and his unit were ambushed. As Terry tried to radio for help, the Viet Cong, picking him out as the leader, shot him and he was killed. (This experience is harrowingly recounted in the story of Terry’s life online).
Terry in Vietnam.
My cousin Jerry had seen him a few days before he was killed. It was a tragedy for many in our home area and state, with Terry being one of the first killed in Nam from our area. His funeral was held at Concordia High, attended by hundreds. Terry was posthumously promoted to Corporal and awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for Valor in Action.
My story with Terry does not end there. While in Taos, New Mexico in 1998, I made the 50-mile journey on the Enchanted Circle. I discovered a Viet Nam Memorial, honoring vets who been killed, and there was a page devoted to Terry in his running days and in Nam.
Years later, I also discovered that Terry had been named for a cousin-in-law in my family! The connections! I was finally able to visit his grave in Pleasant Hill Cemetery near the grandparents who raised him, marked by flowers even after all these years, and neatly kept.
I often ponder who and what Terry would have become if he had lived beyond Viet Nam and returned home. Even after all these years, he touches lives, and I believe he watches over us!
Blessings on this Memorial Day,
Carolyn
To read more about Terry, check out the book written about him, The House Rules by Chris Ryland, et al. Available in paperback on Amazon.
