WINNSBORO – The Fairfield County Museum and Historical Society will host a Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 11.
“With the help of several other organizations in Winnsboro and Fairfield County, we want the occasion of this Veterans Day to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the armistice which ended World War I hostilities between the allied nations and Germany in 1918,” Fairfield County Museum Director Pelham Lyles announced last week. “We hope we will have a good turnout of folks in the community to help us honor the brave men and women who gave their service in this war to protect Freedom,” Lyles said.
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 at about 10:45 a.m. At 11 a.m., a wreath will be laid at the memorial.
At about 11:30 a.m., there will be a public reception and viewing of a Veteran’s Day exhibit at the museum, 231 S. Congress St. Members of the Lake Wateree VFW will serve hotdogs in the yard behind the museum.
After lunch, four speakers/authors will present at Christ Central Community Center at 235 S. Congress Street (next 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 who served in the famed 42nd Rainbow Division, Company C, 117th Engineer Regiment.
Sonya Hodges Grantham, historian and Columbia area civic leader, researched and installed the first historical marker in the United States to honor the 371st Infantry Regiment, 93rd Division (black soldiers) of World War I. She is the author of several books.
Jonathan Johnson, a native of Winnsboro, is project coordinator for Columbia SC 63: Our Story Matters. His great grandfather, Frank Johnson, served in World War I with the 371st Infantry Regiment. His story had a tragic ending after he returned home from the war, suffering from the effects of a terrible war experience, common to many returning soldiers.
