Memorial Day

From the Library of Congress' Flickr account.

Memorial Day has been an occasion to honor the sacrifices of those military personnel who have given their lives in service to our country since the end of the Civil War. Several communities in both the North and the South began Decoration Days shortly after the end of the war, and in fact, the name and date of Memorial Day were not codified until 1967.

Today, it may be more common to think of Memorial Day as the unofficial start to summer and the date on which it is acceptable to break out the summer wardrobe/white shoes. In fact Memorial Day marks the shift to summer hours for Carnegie-Stout Public Library, and we will be closed on Sundays until September.

In honor of the fallen, we've put together a Memorial Day display with books about America's wars and the experiences of our soldiers. You can visit this display on the first floor of the library, or, as the library is closed today and tomorrow, you can check out these previous blog posts:

• Veterans' Day
• Civil War
• "The date which will live in infamy"