Latest news with #MeckDec
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Charlotte-area communities celebrate Memorial Day, honor fallen service members
Communities across the Charlotte area honored those who paid the ultimate sacrifice by volunteering, laying flags, attending memorial services, and more on Memorial Day this year. At Gethsemane Cemetery and Memorial Gardens in North Charlotte, many gathered for an outdoor service. Veterans spoke about their time in service. Some gave speeches about those they lost in the line of duty. Doves were released in honor of those who fought and died for freedom. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Honor Guard performed a special presentation. Vietnam veteran Richard A. Lewis told Channel 9 that Memorial Day is an important part of remembering every soldier's sacrifice. 'We have to recognize the sacrifices that the veterans that came before us and the veterans who were with me when I was in Vietnam,' he said. 'They always showed up for their duty.' In Kannapolis, city leaders had to cancel a parade due to weather, but they moved their ceremony indoors. First Sergeant Terry Rodell, who has retired from the U.S. Marine Corps, gave a speech and was accompanied by several musical performances. In Salisbury, the rain didn't stop hundreds of volunteers from showing their appreciation for fallen soldiers. The volunteers placed over 6,500 American flags on the graves of fallen soldiers at Salisbury National Cemetery Annex. READ: New Charlotte Museum of History exhibit celebrates Meck Dec day, Charlotte history Afterward, everyone enjoyed a hot breakfast at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall. And a local non-profit was working to make sure veterans felt seen on Memorial Day, said the organization's founder. The Veterans Social Center is a space for honorably discharged veterans who are facing mental health challenges. The center in the West End Plaza is filled with memorabilia, mental health resources, and support for veterans. WATCH: New Charlotte Museum of History exhibit celebrates Meck Dec day, Charlotte history
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
250 years later: New Charlotte Museum of History exhibit celebrates Meck Dec day, Charlotte history
Mecklenburg County landowners gathered to sign their own declaration of independence from Great Britain 250 years ago on May 20. The Charlotte Museum of History is celebrating the 'Meck Dec' with a new exhibit. The diorama exhibit shows Uptown as it once was in 1775. Historian Nolan Dahm said where the Bank of America tower and halal cart sit today at the corner of Trade and Tryon Streets, history was made. 'They gathered together on the night of May 19, and on May 20, they allegedly signed a declaration that was the first declaration of independence in all of the American colonies,' Dahm said. Dahm is the historian behind the exhibit. He said it doesn't only celebrate Meck Dec day. It also highlights the culture that Queen City has built around it. 'Here is the 1774 rock house that was home to Hezekiah Alexander,' Dahm said. 'He was a signer of the Meck Dec, and that home is the only remaining structure that we have associated with the document. And so we decided that we are going to create an exhibit to help celebrate and commemorate for the 250th anniversary.' But there are some skeptics of the story behind Meck Dec day. The story says that Captain James Jack brought one of the two copies of the Meck Dec to the constitutional convention in Philadelphia. But the other one was in the possession of John McNitt Alexander. 'His house burned down in April of 1800, and the story goes that the Meck Dec burned with his house,' Dahm said. 'And so in September of 1800 he met with the founder of UNC Chapel Hill, William R. Davey, and dictated what he remembered from his notes and from his memories of that night.' And that is known as the Davey Copy. 'They looked at the Davey copy, they looked at all sorts of other testimony, and they decided this is what the Meck Dec, said, and they printed it in the Raleigh register,' Dahm said. 'They printed it in all sorts of other newspapers. And they eventually printed it by itself in 1826.″ One of the seven copies can be seen in the museum's exhibit. For the skeptics and non-believers of the Meck Dec day story, Dahm had one message. 'What I say is that I'm not a believer in the Meck Dec,' he said. 'And I'm also not a skeptic of the Meck Dec. What I think is really important to remember is we now call the Meck Dec has a life of its own. And I think that's the really interesting part of the story.' WATCH: Lancaster County scrambles to secure millions for Highway 521 Expansion
