Bankhead Cemetery: May 2025

Sunday, May 4, 2025

Decoration Day 2025

Decoration Day is always the fourth Sunday in May. Sometimes that is on Memorial Day weekend, and some years it is not.

This year that works out to be May 25, 2025.

Everyone is welcome to clean graves and place new flowers anytime leading up to Decoration Day.

Please make plans to attend the Memorial Service at 10:30 AM, and the Business Meeting at 11:30 AM.

Membership in the Bankhead Cemetery Association is open to all interested persons over eighteen years of age who reside within a radius of fifteen miles from the Bankhead Cemetery or who reside elsewhere but have relatives buried in the cemetery. Become a member and you will be eligible to vote and hold office in the association. Sign up to be a member at Decoration Day. See Secretary Fred Johnson.

Bring your family, and bring lunch.

Garbage Dumpster

A garbage dumpster will be at the Cemetery from May 16 to May 26 for disposal of old flowers and decorations.

Verify Your Reserved Burial Plot

If you or a family member think that you have reserved burial plots at Bankhead Cemetery, please verify that with Trustee Hershell Pruitt (256) 516-2193. We need to make certain that you are listed on the plot plan. If you are not on the plot plan drawing, you do not have a reserved plot.

Appreciation

Bankhead Cemetery Volunteer Appreciation

We would like to extend our deepest appreciation to Mr. Sam Whatley for his many faithful years of service maintaining the grounds at Bankhead Cemetery. His dedication to cutting the grass, weed eating, and keeping the cemetery clean and beautiful has made a lasting impact on our community and the families who visit.

We are also incredibly thankful for the many volunteers who have quietly and consistently given their time and energy to help preserve the dignity and peacefulness of the cemetery. Your service may often go unseen, but it is never unappreciated.

Because of your hard work, Bankhead Cemetery continues to be a place of honor, remembrance, and respect for all who rest there.

Thank you, Mr. Whatley, and thank you to every volunteer who has helped care for this sacred ground. Your generosity and commitment reflect the very best of our community spirit.

— The Bankhead Cemetery Board of Directors

Donations

Contributions can be made at any time to assist with the upkeep of the Cemetery. Make your check payable to, and mail to: Bankhead Cemetery, P.O. Box 193, Mentone, AL 35984.

Decoration Day

Memorial Day is an official holiday in most states of the United States. It was observed on May 30 until 1971, when for federal employees, the date was changed to the last Monday in May. With the exception of Louisiana, all states observing Memorial Day adopted the change. It is also known as Decoration Day.

The custom of placing flowers on the graves of the war began on May 5, 1866, in Waterloo, NY, and Waterloo has been recognized by Congress as the official birthplace of Memorial Day. In 1868, Gen. John A. Logan, then president of the Grand Army of the Republic, declared that May 30 would be a day to decorate with "flowers the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion."

After World War I the day was set aside to honor all of the American wars, and the custom was extended to pay homage to deceased relatives and friends, both military and civilian. The most solemn ceremony conducted on Memorial Day is the placing of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns located in Arlington national Cemetery.

Some Southern states observe Confederate Memorial Day – April 26 in Georgia, the last Monday in April in Alabama and Mississippi, and May 10 in South Carolina. Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina do not observe the general holiday, and in Virginia the last Monday in May is called “Confederate Memorial Day." [From the Encyclopedia Americana, 1991 edition]

History of Mentone

The first Lookout Mountain settlers arrived shortly after the Cherokee Indian removal of 1838-1839. These pioneers had been too late for homesteading the good farmland in northwest Georgia. They now turned their attention to Lookout Mountain. With stubborn determination they put their axes to the grindstone and with a keen edge hacked their way through the mountain wilderness. They chopped logs and built primitive houses, cleared land for patch farming, and hunted the abundant wildlife for food. Among these early settlers were the families of Force, O’Rear, Crow, Jones, Smith, and Hammit.

For years not much changed in their lives. Times were hard. During the Civil War Federal troops were on the mountain. They dealt severely with the settlers taking their animals and meager stores of food. Still these hearty souls managed to survive and remain on their homesteads.

In the post Civil War era more affluent settlers arrived. Among these was the Mason family from Bellefountain, Iowa. They were great community workers and generous with their resources. John Mason and his son Edward were the founders of Mentone. John was instrumental in the opening of the Vernon Gap and the new road from Valley Head to Menlo, Georgia in 1882. John and Edward bought the hardware for the covered bridge and the community did the work. Edward gave money for a church and a school. They shared Moon Lake for community activities. Alice, daughter of John, named the town Mentone and gave the land for Bankhead Cemetery.

Mentone eventually became incorporated in 1936. Those opposed to incorporation feared losing their independence and higher taxes. The threat of becoming part of nearby towns convinced a majority to support incorporation.

Despite great progress in Mentone since its founding, the advice of John Mason still has a ring of truth. “Don’t come here expecting to make a fortune, but if your fortune is made, Mentone offers the good life.”

(Ernest H. Smith)