VETERANS DAY EVENTS SCHEDULED IN AREA

Cape Girardeau and Jackson will observe Veterans Day Saturday with parades and commemorations.

Veterans Day events kick off at 9 a.m. in Cape Girardeau with a parade from Capaha Park heading east on Broadway to the downtown area.

Parade coordinator Burt Lehman said a Confederate infantry unit will march in the parade. The Goldstar Mothers -- women who have lost sons to war -- also plan to march, he said.

Following the parade, a re-dedication of the Confederate monument will take place at the Cape Girardeau Common Pleas Courthouse. The monument to Confederate soldiers from Southeast Missouri was moved recently to the courthouse grounds.

Bruce R. Hillis of the Sons of Confederate Veterans said three or four participants at the original Nov. 22, 1931, dedication of the monument again will be in attendance.

The Confederate Memorial Committee of Missouri and the Col. A.C. Riley Camp No. 791 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans are conducting the ceremony.

After the re-dedication, a Veterans Day ceremony will be held on the courthouse grounds.

Jack Dragoni, a coordinator of the day's events, said area churches have received a letter encouraging them to ring their bells at 11 a.m. to coincide with the ceremony. Calvin Vogelsang, a World War II veteran, will be the featured speaker at the ceremony.

An encampment of Confederate soldiers will be on the grounds of Old St. Vincent's College from noon until 3 p.m. The Wickliffe, Ky.-based 7th Kentucky Company C, a Confederate cavalry unit that became an infantry unit, will be set up for the afternoon.

Troop member Tom Hinkebein said about 15 re-enactors mostly from Southeast Missouri will participate in the encampment.

In Jackson, event organizers from the Jackson American Legion Post and the VFW plan a parade and program.

The parade begins at 2 p.m. in uptown Jackson and ends at the Jackson High School. Following the parade, the program will be at the high school auditorium.

Organizers said the New McKendree United Methodist Church Choir also will participate in the program.

Also commemorating Veterans Day is the U.S. Post Office in Cape Girardeau.

Dragoni said two commemorative postal cancellations will be presented during the Veterans Day ceremony at the Common Pleas Courthouse.

One of the cancellations depicts a Union and a Confederate soldier and the other cancellation has the letter "V" for victory to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The cancellations are only offered at the ceremony site from 9 a.m until noon or by mail at the Cape Girardeau Post Office for 30 days.

VETERANS DAY EVENTS

Cape Girardeau

Saturday

9-10:30 a.m. - Parade featuring Confederate troop and horseback cavalry troop. Starts at Capaha Park.

10:30 a.m. - Common Pleas Courthouse, rededication of Confederate Monument.

11 a.m. - Veterans Day ceremony. Church bells will ring.

Noon to 3 p.m. - Civil War encampment on seminary grounds. Members of the 7th Kentucky Company C will participate.

Jackson

Saturday

2 p.m. - Parade

2:45 p.m. - Ceremony at Jackson High School auditorium. Judge William Syler is guest speaker.

Pocahontas

Sunday

2 p.m. - Cape Girardeau Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution hold a grave-marking ceremony at Apple Creek Church.