The Blue Point Memorial Day Parade, sponsored by the Blue Point Fire Department, was surely infused with beloved historian Gene Horton’s spirit.

Jerry McCluskey, a docent with the Bayport-Blue Point Heritage Association, waited for the parade to begin by the library entrance wearing a straw boater that had Roosevelt for President as well as Wendell Wilkie, Nixon, and Eisenhower buttons pinned on. He lived on Namkee Lane and would lead the nonprofit. Family business owners were out; Karl Auwaerter of Bayport Flower Houses brought the wreath for the Bayport-Blue Point Chamber to place along with the Bayport-Blue Point Heritage Association and the Lions Club at the Blue Point Preserve. Carol Seitz-Cusack, who heads up the over 50-year Therm-A-Trol Heating & Air Conditioning Specialists, brought her mom for a day out.

The James Wilson Young Middle School, with its 60 sixth, seventh and eighth graders, got the parade off to a rousing start after band director Matt Hurst yelled out, “All right! Flags!”  They marched down Blue Point Avenue playing “When the Caissons Go Rolling Along.”  Then it was time for the firemen to march and then their nifty trucks, eight of them, delighted kids like Edy, Milly and Davey Rose and the Rapczyk family, who brought their dog Pearl, as well as little Aiden Dunn, who waved like crazy.

The parade passed Horton’s beloved home, built in 1876. He died in 2019 and had built up an endearing volume of awards and honors by then for his devoted research on Blue Point history and his honorable, kind life.

The parade was one of several stops for Brookhaven councilman Neil Foley, who was basking in his hometown neighborhood. He posed with congressman Andrew Garbarino, who spoke about starting his weekend attending the Long Island State Veterans Home, and that there were over 1.3 million veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Over 100 people spilled over on the sidewalks and in front of the Blue Point School across from the fire department’s memorial, listening to chief Sean Meehan’s respectful presentation and introducing chaplain Fr. Andrew Cadieux, who invoked Gene Horton’s original delivery, honoring 10 Blue Point veterans going back to the Revolutionary War to the Vietnam War, with background on each. But others were also noted, and bells were rung after each mention.

A hospitable hometown gathering, with coffee, tea, sweet eats, hugs, and slaps on the back, was awaiting residents after the service, as Meehan invited the community to gather at the fire department after the ceremony.