“It’s a…
By Chris Fuchs
City Councilman Michael Abel (D-Bayside) has been chosen as the grand marshal of the annual College Point Memorial Day parade, a 70-year-old event that attracts nearly 2,000 people and honors the service of military veterans since the Civil War.
“It’s a great honor,” Abel said after a meeting in College Point Tuesday night. “It’s an honor just to march. This is a very dedicated community to their war veterans.”
One of the traditions of the parade, a custom that began about 37 years ago, is the selection of a poppy queen, said Sabina Cardali, one of the organizers. A symbol that dates back to 1918, the poppy first served as a reminder of the members of the armed services who died fighting in World War I. It was later expanded to include veterans of all wars.
This year Gloria Palma, 13, was given the honor. “It shows that I care because they sacrificed their lives so that we can be free, and this is a good way to pay respect,” she said. Palma seemed somewhat relieved to learn that she would not be clad in a poppy outfit. But she will have to wear a “nice outfit,” she said.
Traditionally, the parade has attracted throngs of people from College Point, elected officials, including the mayor, and seven or eight floats, Cardali said.
Beginning on 26th Avenue around 2 p.m., the parade proceeds down College Point Boulevard, until reaching Herman A. MacNeil Park, where speeches are given by some of the elected officials and others. Crosses are laid on the grass, one for each of the veterans who died in combat since the Civil War.
Cardali said this year the committee organizing the parade, the College Point Citizens for Memorial Day Inc., invited Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights), City Council Speaker Peter Vallone Sr. (D-Astoria) and state Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn (D-Flushing).
In addition to the College Point Memorial Day parade, there are others held in Whitestone, Little Neck and Forest Hills as well as in other Queens communities.
Reach reporter Chris Fuchs by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 156.
