BY DANI TIETZ
dani@mahometnews.com
It’s more than a backyard barbecue and a time to splash in the pool.
Memorial Day is a moment to pause and remember those who sacrificed during their lifetimes to ensure that Americans continue to have the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the United States Constitution.
Jason Schifo, the Pastor at Community Evangelical Free Church of Mahomet and a United States Army Veteran, believes it is important on Memorial Day for his four children to spend time with others who served.
In his search for a local ceremony, Schifo was introduced to a quiet gathering that happens each year at the Champaign Sportsmen’s Club on Lake of the Woods Rd.
“I think it’s important that my kids, whatever age they are, shake the hands of the people who fought, lived and died, sacrificed or had friends who died to purchase freedom: to ensure that evil is resisted, to ensure that when something was wrong, someone stood up, and there was a price for that,” Schifo said.
“I think it’s important that my kids have to physically shake a hand, say thank you for your service, because if they don’t, we will forget about it.”
The 45-minute ceremony, which includes the playing of “Taps,” the laying of wreaths, singing Patriotic songs and a 15-minute message – to be presented this year by Schifo – has been a tradition that’s lasted decades.
The campground, which was established 70 years ago, was founded as a place to give post-war veterans a place to go.
“I think that those people went through some things that a lot of people don’t even understand; and they went through it at a time when there was no system to help them understand PTSD or the things that they’ve seen,” Schifo said.
“There was no understanding of all the horrors and how they dealt with that. One of the reasons why I really like going out and doing it at the campground is because the people who founded that founded it for that very reason.
“They thought, ‘we don’t know what’s going on, but these guys who are coming back, they have some issues and they need a place to go where it’s quiet, where they can relax and have some time.’”
Schifo believes that honoring Veterans should be a part of Americans’ everyday life. He tries to honor those who have served in little ways throughout the year.
Anytime Schifo sees World War II Veteran Art Leenerman at McDonalds, he purchases his meal for him.
“You floated in the ocean for seven days with sharks,” he remembers as he offers to pay for the meal. “I’m buying the cheeseburger.”
“We should keep this in front of us all year long.
“But if all we have is Memorial Day, then I’m going to make sure that I stake out that time and celebrate it.”
America’s 30th President Calvin Coolidge said, “A nation that forgets its heroes will itself soon be forgotten.”
Schifo agrees.
“Freedom isn’t free,” he said.
“You forget the cost of freedom and you begin to think that it is free when you stop remembering that it cost somebody something.
“There was a wife who doesn’t have a husband anymore, there were kids who grew up without a father because they paid that cost.”
There will be two Memorial Day ceremonies in Mahomet on Monday, May 27:
Champaign Sportsmen’s Club: 302 North Lake Of The Woods Road
9 a.m. Guests are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs. This year’s ceremony will include songs, the laying of wreaths, Taps and Pastor Jason Schifo will deliver the message.
Riverside Cemetery:
11 a.m.. Guests are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs.This year’s ceremony will include Taps, the laying of wreaths and words from Mahomet’s Mayor Sean Widener. Attendees are then invited to meet at the American Legion Post on Main Street for ice cream.
