The 26th Annual Trinidad California Memorial Ceremony will commence on Sunday,
May 30, 2021 at 2 p.m.
Ceremony at Trinidad Bay Memorial Park (2019)
The ceremony will be held in front of the Memorial Wall honoring those lost or buried at sea, Trinidad Bay Memorial Park, the historic Memorial Lighthouse site on the corner of Edwards and Trinity Streets.
The ceremony begins with bagpipe music by Matthew Marshall, followed by the flag ceremony and pledge of allegiance led by McKinleyville Boy Scout Troop 99. Dana Hope, Trinidad Civic Club Co-President, will preside over the ceremony and will welcome guests. The Rev. Nancy Streufert, Priest Associate, St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Arcata, will give the invocation and vocalist Samantha Day will sing “Amazing Grace.” Honored Guest, Command Master Chief Keith M. Naker, Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay, will address the audience. A poem by William Cullen Bryant titled, “Blessed Are They That Mourn,” will be read by Patti Fleschner, Memorial Lighthouse Historian. Trinidad City Mayor Steve Ladwig will ring the Trinidad Head Lighthouse Keeper’s cottage bell. Janine Volkmar, Trinidad Civic Club Recording Secretary, will read the 268 memorial names, followed by a USCG helicopter flyover. Saxophonist Matthew Brogdon will play “Taps” to close the ceremony.
The memorial, approximately 35 minutes long, takes place rain or shine with no seating available. COVID protocols will be followed. To preserve the solemn nature of the event, the roads surrounding the immediate vicinity will be closed from 12 to 3 p.m.
Beautiful wreaths are created by the Trinidad Civic Club with flowers compliments of Sun Valley Floral Farms; sound services provided by Dj-Kev; videography by William and Philip Plants; photography by Jackie Tidwell.
The Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse was built by the Trinidad Civic Club as a replica of the 1871 Trinidad Head Lighthouse and was dedicated at the historic location on June 26th, 1949. Earl and Neva Hallmark donated the land to house the 1871 Fourth Order Fresnel oil lantern, the last coal oil burning revolving light retired from use on the Pacific Coast, previously housed in the Trinidad Head Lighthouse. The United States Coast Guard placed this lens in the Memorial Lighthouse when an electric lens was installed in the original Lighthouse in 1947. The 1942 Fifth Order Fresnel Electric lens has been on permanent loan to the Trinidad Museum since 2013, when an LED lens was installed at the Trinidad Head Lighthouse. The LED lens is observable 20 miles out to sea.
The 4,000 pound 1898 bronze fog bell was placed at the historic Memorial Lighthouse site in 1949, from its previous location on Trinidad Head. This occurred when the fog warning system on Trinidad Head became automated. Both the Memorial Lighthouse and the Historic Bell are presently located at the Trinidad Harbor on property owned by the Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria.
For information about the event,
please call (707) 677-3655
