Cornwall’s parades on Memorial Day and Independence Day are planned events that result from months of preparation.
By contrast, there was an impromptu parade on Nov. 11, 1918 — the day World War I ended. The celebration started with the coal dock whistle going off in Cornwall Landing. Then the church bells rang and the fire sirens blared.
Suddenly, it was a holiday. Businesses and schools closed. The parade took place in the evening. The marchers included members of the Red Cross, the Home Defense Corps, canteen workers and a multitude of children.
Almost 90 years later, Peter and Mary Vance Duggan discovered a World War I plaque in their home on Deer Hill Road. The plaque was dated May 18, 1919 and read, “To the men and women of Cornwall Heights who offered themselves to this country during the World War, 1914-1918.”
What follows is a list of 24 people who lived on the mountain, the section of Cornwall that includes Mountain, Deer Hill and Maple Roads. Heading the list was H. Lonsdale Scannell, who was killed in action.
The Duggans donated the plaque to the Cornwall Historical Society for display in the museum at Town Hall. World War I was not the last time, the residents of Cornwall would compile a list of neighbors in the Armed Forces.
In September 1943, Supervisor Edward Sylcox led a ceremony at the monument opposite Town Hall. The occasion was the unveiling of an honor roll with the names of 549 residents, who were serving in World War II. One of them, 1Lt. George W.G, Boyce, would later receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Compiled from a Nov. 9, 2007 column by Town Historian Janet Dempsey.
