RALPHO TOWNSHIP-- It's a 94-year-old tradition passed from generation to generation.
After World War I, "All Home Days" in Elysburg was founded to welcome the troops back. Over the years it has also become a chance for anyone who grew up in the area to return for a taste of small town Central Pennsylvania life.
Jim Adams brought his wife, daughter, and grandkids all the way from Illinois.
He says, "We used to be in this parade all the time which was like 50 years ago."
Many of the older families in the area have ancestors who served in the Civil War
Matthew Herring sits by a campfire, next to a muslin tent. He says having an encampment in the backyard of his family's homestead has become an annual traditon. He says, "There have been 6 generations to live here. I am just the next in line."
Over at the Ralpho Township Community Park the focus was on a more recent war. This year the flag-filled "Field of honor" pays tribute to the Korean War which ended 6 decades ago.
Solomon Bidding is a member of the Veteran's comittee. He says, "If you walk this field of honor, and you are touched by one of these flags, feel priveleged because it is a soul who died in Korea saying thank you for remembering them."
Korean War vets like Eugene Machusak sometime feel forgotten, organizers hope the events this weekend give them the recognition they deserve.
Machusak says," A lot of times you see things in the paper and Korean War veterans are just left out. They just skip over them. But that is the way it is."