West Aurora Cemetery will be host to its annual Memorial Day ceremony, at 2 p.m., Sunday, May 28, at 543 Wilder Street in Aurora.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
An historic program will be presented by The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Philip Sheridan Post No. 2, in Civil War uniforms.
The program will feature a vintage cannon blast by a battery from Sheridan Post No. 2.
Dating to 1824, the cemetery is the oldest in Aurora. It was donated to the city by Clark and Hanna Wilder, relatives of early residents.
Many of Aurora’s founders are interred there, including Theodore Lake, Clark Wilder, Rufus Root, Abel Downer, William Plum and William Tanner. All have streets named after them.
The cemetery, maintained by a volunteer board of trustees, is home to many veterans. Included are eight from War of 1812, 15 from Spanish American War, 167 from Civil War and 51 from World War I, World War II and Vietnam.
—Al Benson