NORMAL - The observance of Memorial Day bends with the culture of the day, area historians say. In recent years, that's meant recognition for military, both living and dead. And since 1971, the holiday has been part of a three-day weekend, bringing an opening-day feel to summer with family picnics and community parades.

The day originated in the post-Civil War era to care for graves of Union dead. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan, of southern Illinois, founded the national movement.

"About 600,000 young men didn't have (their families) around" at their moment of death, said Greg Koos, McLean County Museum of History executive director. Caring for those graves was on the minds of everyone, he said.

The Victorian era was immersed in rituals surrounding death, including lengthy speeches memorializing the dead, said Allan Lessoff, who teaches history at Illinois State University.

During the early to mid-20th century, Americans expanded the holiday to recognize dead from later conflicts. "Having been through those (world) wars was a terrible experience, and they had to filter it through the culture of that time, a time of speeches and building memorials," said Lessoff.

As wartime memories faded, Memorial Day grew into a time to revitalize family graveyard spaces - cutting grass, trimming weeds, and laying flowers, said Koos.

As a boy in the 1950s, he recalls the community ritual. Neighborhood peonies and other May blooms would fill lawns beautifully, "then the flowers had been clipped and taken to cemeteries," he said.

That's disappeared mostly because cemeteries handle lawn upkeep, and a mobile society finds many people living in cities far from their ancestors' graves, said Koos.

The broadening of Memorial Day is only a spillover effect, said Denise Fields, membership director for the American Legion in Illinois, based in Bloomington.

"I think it comes about because it is the veterans who are organizing the recognition of the dead. They're the ones who put together all these events," she said, so the community applauds them.

Still, the American Legion emphasizes the ultimate sacrifice. "Our national commander David Rehbein has said, 'Memorial Day should be remembered for those who died, and that those are the true patriots of this country,'" she noted.

For many, it's imperative to pass the tradition to the next generation.

On Thursday, about two dozen University High School students helped VFW members decorate 1,500 graves at area cemeteries.

Seeing youth involved and appreciating what Memorial Day means is a tremendous boost, said Bill Reed, commander of Bloomington's Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 454.

"Every year, there are more and more graves to be decorated," said Reed, a Vietnam War veteran. "It was awesome to have these students out here and to share with them why we do this."

Reporter M.K. Guetersloh contributed to this story.

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Parade plans

- Bloomington: Parade line-up at

8 a.m., Front and Madison streets; step-off is at 9 a.m. Route: West on Front to Lee Street, south on Lee to Wood Street and then west on Wood to Miller Park; bandstand ceremony with keynote speaker Judge Robert Freitag; ceremony at Korean-Vietnam Memorial follows. Rain location: Sale Barn, 2027 S. Main St.

- Lincoln: 10:30 a.m., Logan County Courthouse; speakers, the Rev. Jeffery Lively and Pastor Mark Thompson; also wreath-laying, color guard, firing squad; ham and beans at American Legion Home.

- Delavan: 11 a.m., Delavan Armory; breakfast, 6 to 10 a.m. Ceremonies: 9 a.m., Green Valley Cemetery; 9:30 a.m., St. Mary's Cemetery; 9:45 a.m., Prairie Rest Cemetery. Avenue of Flags at cemeteries and on Main Street, weather permitting.