photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Steven Stewart, Christine McMechan and dog Ziggy decorate the graves of Stewart's mother and grandmother Saturday, May 24, 2025, at Oak Hill Cemetery.

With lots of rain expected in coming days, Lawrence residents lucked out Saturday morning with near perfect conditions for honoring their loved ones at area cemeteries.

Green grass, blue skies and a perfect 70 degrees greeted them as they laid flowers and other decorations — balloons, photos, crosses, candles and various ornaments — on graves.

The thousands of deceased military veterans at cemeteries in the area were also honored with American flags in recognition of their service to the country.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Mike Todd, a member of Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, displays a list of veteran graves that will be adorned with flags Saturday, May 24, 2025, at Oak Hill Cemetery.

Mike Todd, a member of Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, was busy Saturday morning planting his share of the 660 flags that would honor service members at Oak Hill Cemetery — ranging from the Civil War era to the 21st century.

It’s something he has been doing for the better part of two decades, originally with his 10-year-old boy at his side learning about the sacrifices that so many have made for the United States. His son is an adult now, and, apart from decorating graves, the father-son duo participate in Civil War reenactments to keep alive the memory of that war — which tested, as Abraham Lincoln famously said, whether a nation conceived in liberty could “long endure.”

While Todd, donning a Union cap and a Kansas City Chiefs “Champions” T-shirt, notebook in hand, gladly hunted for veterans’ graves in his assigned parcel, he noted that the group was working on geo-mapping the graves so that in coming years they could plant the flags more efficiently and maintain more precise records.

Also on hand Saturday was the Oak Hill Cemetery Committee, a group dedicated to preserving and caring for the historic cemetery, which came into being after William Quantrill’s deadly 1863 raid on Lawrence. Committee members set up an informational table Friday and Saturday to assist people in finding graves and also to supply flags.

While the committee will not be there Sunday and Monday, the City of Lawrence launched a website in March that includes a searchable database of burial records for Oak Hill, Memorial Park and Maple Grove cemeteries, complete with walking instructions to burial sites.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Mike Todd, a member of Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, places a flag on a veteran’s grave Saturday, May 24, 2025, at Oak Hill Cemetery.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War placed around 660 flags for veterans Saturday, May 24, 2025, at Oak Hill Cemetery, pictured here, as well as at several other cemeteries in the area.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Veterans graves are pictured Saturday, May 24, 2025, at Oak Hill Cemetery.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

The Veterans Plot at Oak Hill Cemetery is pictured Saturday, May 24, 2025, on Memorial Day weekend.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

The memorial to basketball inventor James is pictured at Memorial Park Cemetery Saturday, May 24, 2025, on Memorial Day weekend. Naismith, born in 1861, served as a military chaplain in World War I.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

A sign near the entrance of Memorial Park Cemetery provides assistance regarding locations of grave sites and other matters.