Somerset To Honor Memorial Day With Many Celebrations

Memorial Day is an important occasion in Somerset County, and Patch towns throughout the county will pause and remember those who served — or who are serving now — the nation with a full schedule of parades and other events.

"Everyone should honor those who fought for us," said Sari Mazen, owner of the Bagel Bin in Bernardsville, which will serve breakfast after the flag-raising at Olcott Square in the center of Bernardsville at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, part of a weeklong series of activities to recognize Memorial Day in that little borough.

Mazen said she also has arranged for Bernards High School to provide the school's Madrigal singers, trumpeters, and a student who will read a poem at Wednesday morning's ceremony. "It's going to be really beautiful," she said of the planned ceremony. Bernardsville Police Patrolman Jeff Melitski also will play the bagpipes, she said.

Here's the rundown for scheduled Memorial Day events. Please add in comments if we've missed anything:

• Bedminster's Memorial Day ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. at the old Bedminster School on the corner of Elm Street and Lamington Road at 10 a.m. on Monday. It will end at the Far Hills municipal building on the corner of Prospect Street and Peapack Road at 10:45 p.m. The ceremony will end with hot dogs and refreshments in the fairgrounds.

• This year, the Bernards Township Memorial Day Parade again will be hosted in Liberty Corner, with the assembled paraders set to step off from the Liberty Corner Firehouse at 95 Church St. at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, May 27. Flag-wavers and those who are happy to welcome the paraders typically line the parade route, which proceeds to the flag pole and memorial at the triangle in downtown Liberty Corner. This year, representatives of the Lyons Campus of the VA New Jersey Health Care System are scheduled to participate.

• The Bernardsville Memorial VFW Post 7858, with members from Bernardsville, Bedminster, Basking Ridge, Peapack & Gladstone, Long Hill Township and Far Hills, already has begun raising the flag at 8 a.m. and lowering it each day at 4 p.m. at the Bernardsville Post Office on Quimby Lane. The ceremony is scheduled to last from Monday through Friday of this week. At Friday at 4 p.m., taps will be played and there will be a reading by Basking Ridge-based Heartworks. Heartworks also is providing the veterans with breakfast and dinner after each flag raising and lowering at the post office, except after Wednesday morning's ceremony at the flag pole.

• The Bernardsville VFW, accompanied by singers and a bagpipe, will conduct a flagraising at the flag in the center of Olcott Square in Bernardsville at 8 a.m. on Wednesday.

• The Bernardsville Memorial Day Parade is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Monday, stepping off from Bernards High School on Olcott Avenue, and heading down Route 202 to Borough Hall.

• The Bridgewater American Legion will be holding its annual Memorial Day Parade, beginning at 11 a.m. in Bradley Gardens. The parade will begin with marching units on Ardmaer Drive and fire companies on Beach Street. The parade will officially begin on Beach Avenue and end at the monument at Ardmaer Park. Refreshments will be held at the end.

• Bridgewater Baseball and Softball is holding its annual 2013 Bridgewater Baseball Memorial Day Tournament. The games will be played Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with championship games on Monday. Team trophies and individual awards will be given for the top two team in each age group. Games will be played at the Prince Rodgers Field and others throughout the township.

• The Martinsville VFW will hold its annual ceremony at Chimney Rock Park in Bridgewater. The service will begin at 11 a.m., and will be run by the Martinsville VFW.

• The Dawn Patrol MC Memorial Day Classic will be held Sunday, beginning at the Bradley Gardens Firehouse on Old York Road, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The event will include a 60-mile run through Hunterdon and Somerset County, ending at the club off Old York Road in Bridgewater. Registration is $20 per person, and covers all food and beverages.

• Hillsborough’s Memorial Day festivities will begin with a Salute to Veterans pre-parade breakfast Saturday at 8 a.m. The parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the corner of Auten Road and New Amwell Road, and finish at the Peter J. Biondi Municipal Building, where a wreath will be laid at the Garden of Honor.

• Warren Township will be holding a 9/11 Monument Dedication at 9:30 a.m. Monday, followed by a parade at 11 a.m. that ends with a memorial service and wreathe lying at the Veteran’s Monument at the municipal complex.

• There will be a Memorial Day ceremony at 9:30 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial in front of the Texier House on Mountain Boulevard in Watchung Monday.