An address at the Prince Hall Cemetery Memorial Day 1999 delivered by
   James Gibbons
	 
On behalf of The Arlington Historical Society, I would like to welcome Masons, residents, friends, and guests to the Prince Hall Cemetery. All across the United States similar ceremonies are taking place today in remembrance of veterans, brothers, sisters, family, and loved ones. Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day and in 1868, one year after West Cambridge was renamed Arlington, it become an official holiday to honor and decorate the graves of the Civil War dead. It has grown by a consensus of the people, beyond the original proclamation to become a day of remembrance of all people who came before us. 

There was a time not long ago, when the Prince Hall Cemetery was unmarked and all but forgotten like the farm land that surrounded it when it was acquired in 1856 by Grand Master William B. Kendall. Few who passed this spot recognized it as sanctified and hallowed ground. Of course, its sanctity was not diminished by our failure to remember those interred here. It rather was the lives of the living, which were diminished. We have come today to reclaim history, to pay our respects, and to honor the past. A past which includes Prince Hall and his fellow Masons of 1775. A past that continued from Prince Hall through the lives of those buried here. A past through which we all have descended in some way and which will continue unbroken through us. The souls who here rest in peace shaped history. We must remember that the actions of our lives will also shape history. We must remember that the actions of our lives will also shape history, just as eddies and ripples are created by passing currents. 

I encourage everyone to remember and study their history to teach their history, and to appreciate their own contributions to history, so that it will never be forgotten. This is not simply a Memorial Day exercise, but a duty to our community, our children, and ourselves.