Thompson keeps Memorial Day Parade Tradition with a Twist

Those who wish to join the parade should line up in their vehicles at 8:00 am at Tourtellotte Memorial High School Parking Lot for a 9 a.m. start.    The parade route will follow the loop down Main Street and back past the Town Hall, all the way to the Medical Center at which point it will naturally disperse.   For more information contact the Selectmen's office at 860-923-9561 or selectmensoffice@thompsonct.org.

Be sure to be on the look out for our lady suffragists along the main street loop of the parade.  The parade kicks off Thompson's Suffrage100 Six Months of Suffrage in commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote.  Our next Suffrage event is a Prudence Crandall ZOOM presentation by Don Williams on Sunday, June 14th, at 4 p.m.  Here is the link to all the Six Months of Suffrage events.

And here is some additional information from our VFW Post 10088:

Thompson Memorial Post 10088 Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion Post 67 and Auxiliaries plan to continue the tradition of honoring Veterans who fought and died in defense of our country with the annual Memorial Day Observance on Monday, May 25, 2020. In order to comply with the COVID 19 protocols of social distancing and avoiding crowds as set forth by the State of Connecticut, the following are the official plans agreed upon by the Veterans committee and Amy St. Onge, Thompson Selectwoman.
 The traditional parade has been replaced with an automobile “drive by” parade.
 It will form up at 8:00 AM at the High School parking lot. (Veterans, Town Officials, Fire Departments, local organizations and youth groups are all invited to participate. Contact Elmer Preston at 860-928-1676 or epreston1676@ charter.net to let us know you will be participating.)
 The Parade will begin at 9:00 AM and will follow the original route of the Memorial Day Parade down Main Street to Route 12 back to the Town Hall. Rather than disband at the town hall as usual, the plan is to continue down Route 12 and disband at the Junction of Route 12 and I 395 near the Medical Center building. The exception is that we will not be going into the cemeteries along the route nor will we hold a speaking program in Oscar Swanson Park. (This is to avoid large crowds.)
 A small contingent of Veterans and Auxiliaries will hold traditional ceremonies following the parade. This will begin at approximately 10:00 AM and will assemble in Riverside Park near the Gazebo for the tribute to Veterans lost at sea and will proceed from there, by car, to the following cemeteries: St. Joseph’s, Main Street, Lutheran, West Thompson, East Thompson, New Boston, Fabyan Monument and will disband at the VFW Post Home in Quinebaug.
 There will be no luncheon served when we return to the VFW.
 The annual Buddy Poppy Campaign will be postponed until later in the year.
 Reminder – Safety is the first priority – social distance and avoid crowds.