WINNSBORO – The Fairfield County Museum and Historical Society will host a Veterans Day Parade on Saturday, Nov. 11.
“We want to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the armistice,” Fairfield County Museum Director Pelham Lyles said. “We have a wonderful day planned to honor the brave men and women who gave their service in this war.”
A parade down Congress Street will kick off the day’s activities at 10 a.m. starting at the corner of Liberty and Congress and turning east at College, arriving at the War Memorial Park on the grounds of Mt. Zion around 10:45 a.m. for a wreath laying.
A public reception at the museum will follow where visitors can view a Veteran’s Day exhibit. Members of the Lake Wateree VFW will serve free hotdogs behind the museum, 231 Congress St.
After lunch, four speakers/authors will present at Christ Central Community Center next door to the museum. Speakers include Brian Brooks, Dean of the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri, who will speak on his research and book about his grandfather Robert Rabb Shedd, 42nd Rainbow Division, Company C, 117th Engineer Regiment.
Sonya Hodges Grantham, historian, author and Columbia area civic leader, will speak about her research that led to the installation of the first historical marker in the US to honor the 371st Infantry Regiment, 93rd Division (black soldiers) of World War I.
Jonathan Johnson, Winnsboro native, is project coordinator for Columbia SC 63: Our Story Matters.
Fritz Hamer, Curator of History at the S.C. Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum, will present information from his book, Forward Together: South Carolinians in the Great War.
There will be a book signing at the event.