By Bronwyn Leigh Page
From the Archives
Memorial Day has already passed, but its meaning lingers across Reno County. The flags may be gathered up, and the ceremonies concluded, yet the act of remembering is something this community has practiced for more than 150 years.
Before it was Memorial Day, it was Decoration Day, a tradition born from the grief and resolve that followed the Civil War. Families across the country began decorating the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers, ribbons, and flags. It was a simple act, but a powerful one: a promise that sacrifice would not be forgotten.
Reno County’s very name reflects that promise. When the county was established in 1867, Kansans chose to honor Gen. Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer known for his leadership, integrity, and refusal to abandon his men. He was killed in 1862 at the Battle of South Mountain, and naming the county after him was more than a gesture, it was a statement about the values this young community wanted to carry forward.
By the late 1800s, Decoration Day ceremonies were already woven into life here. There were large parades down Main Street, schoolchildren carrying armfuls of flowers, brass bands playing patriotic marches, and veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic leading solemn processions to local cemeteries. These weren’t just events; they were how this community learned to honor and remember its own.
As the decades passed, Reno County families sent loved ones to World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Each generation added new names and new stories to our collective memory. And every May, our cemeteries still fill with volunteers placing flags, families sharing stories, and veterans standing shoulder-to-shoulder in remembrance.
But this year carries an added layer of meaning. As our nation marks its 250th anniversary, we’re reminded that the freedoms we celebrate, and sometimes take for granted, have been safeguarded by ordinary people who chose extraordinary service. Memorial Day may be one day on the calendar, but gratitude cannot be.
Honoring our veterans and supporting their families is not a once-a-year obligation. It’s an everyday salute. It’s checking in on a neighbor who served. It’s teaching our children why those flags matter. It’s preserving the stories, photographs, uniforms, and letters that keep memory alive long after the ceremonies end.
Reno County’s history is full of railroads, salt mines, farms, and industry, but it is also full of courage, sacrifice, and service. That part of our story deserves to be told just as often.
Bronwyn Page is the director of operations at the Reno County Museum. She can be reached at bronwyn@renocomuseum.org.