Memorial Day was celebrated on May 30 until 1971. May 30, 1907 was a Thursday, whereas May 31, 2007 is a Thursday. Therefore, the May 31, 1907 paper reports on those activities that took place on the day of the week if not the day of the month as in 2007.

Now that I have confused everyone, two articles concerning the 1907 Memorial Day celebrations were noteworthy.

The first concerned activities south of the Mason-Dixon:

RICHMOND, Va. - The twelfth annual reunion of the Confederate Veterans began here to-day. Gen Boiling called the convention to order. Gen Stephon D. Lee was the presiding officer and delivered his annual address.

The session adjourned at noon for the unveiling of the equestrian statue of Gen. J.E.B. Stuart. The parade started at 2 P.M. and was a brilliant pageant.

The second concerned activities north of the Mason-Dixon:

Nearly sixteen thousand men, soldiers and sailors, veterans of three wars, regulars, militiamen, and cadets,, marched in review along Riverside Drive before General O.O. Howard yesterday, constituting the annual Memorial Day parade of the Grand Army of the Republic. It was a great parade...notable, too, for the decrease in the number of veterans...

Interest in the parade ebbed and flowed, the crowd growing enthusiastic when the Seventh and the Twelfth passed, all the time waiting for the veterans, for they, of course, were the real attraction of the day. When the hove in sight round the turn of the drive there was a buzz of expectancy and whispers: "Here they come."

So they passed along, the old and grizzled soldiers of the civil war, post after post. In some ranks there were less than a score of men and no post had very many...But as they passed the crowd stood and cheered, seemingly realizing more than ever the purport of the whole idea of Memorial Day.