Silver Bay veterans home hosts Memorial Day fish fry, program

A fish fry lunch opened Memorial Day observance at the Minnesota Veterans Home in Silver Bay, turning remembrance into a public gathering inside the facility. The home hosted its second annual Memorial Day lunch program, welcoming the community beginning at 12:45 p.m. before a formal program at 2 p.m.

The event was open to the public and was built to do more than fill a room for one afternoon. Public Affairs Coordinator Randall Walz said the goal was to grow the lunch and program over time into a stronger community meal and remembrance tradition, one that brings residents, families and neighbors together around the veterans who live there.

The program also gave the day a more ceremonial frame. It included speakers, among them Dan Meyer, a past VFW Minnesota State Commander, along with a family member speaker. The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs said the City of Silver Bay’s Memorial Day program was hosted at the veterans home and featured live patriotic music, the Silver Bay Honor Guard, a quilt presentation and more.

That public role fits the home’s broader place in Silver Bay. The Minnesota Veterans Home in Silver Bay opened in 1991, and the state says residents take part in community-oriented activities such as concerts, special dinners, happy hours and outdoor campfires. Residents also stay connected by attending theaters, parades, festivals and restaurants around town and along the North Shore.

The home also relies on that same civic connection in practical ways. The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs says the facility depends on community volunteers to enrich veterans’ lives, and Walz noted that local residents regularly stop in with gifts, help and donations. On Memorial Day, that support was visible in a program that brought the public inside the home and gave Lake County neighbors a chance to recognize service members in a setting built for daily care as well as shared remembrance.