What's the last Monday in May? Memorial Day.
Memorial Day wasn't always on the last Monday in May. It used to be on May 30.  Forty years ago, on June 28, 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill that moved Memorial Day to Monday — so people could have a nice three-day weekend.
But Memorial Day still wasn't always what it is today.  It was originally called  Decoration Day 140 years ago. That's when the commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, General John A. Logan, proclaimed "General Order #11" ordering that first Decoration Day.
Actually, there had been observances in the North and the South prior to the this.
And the GAR wasn't an actual "army." But it was a very active organization of  those members of the Union Army who had fought in the Civil War.
The Grand Army was organized according to military traditions; its members wore uniforms to their Post meetings; and he GAR went to Congress to advocate for pensions and retirement homes for those veterans.
It took some time for the Southern states to warm up to Decoration Day. After all, in the South, most of the veterans were veterans of the Confederate Army, not the Union Army.
And it didn't take long for people to start calling Decoration Day by an alternative name, Memorial Day. After World War II, the new name became the common name of the holiday. But it took until 1967 for Congress to officially change the holiday's name to Memorial Day.
This coming Monday, people will watch parades; gather at memorial services; see that flags fly at the gravestones of those hundreds of thousands who have served in the U.S. armed services. On Friday, flags were placed at the graves of veterans by Tucumcari's VFW and at 11 a.m.
Monday, the VFW will conduct its memorial ceremony at the Tucucmari Memorial Park cemetery.
Memorial Day signals the  beginning of summer. The kids are out enjoying the first of the no-school summer days; there will be picnics, barbeques and big events, such as the running of the  Indianapolis 500 and all kinds of fare that communities share in.
In Tucumcari, the Eastern New Mexico Blue Grass & Old Tyme Association will be playing at the Quay County Fair at 7 p.m. on Saturday and in Logan, there will be outdoor concert at Ute Lake State Park at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
See what's happened? We're celebrating Memorial Day on Saturday! And Sunday. And, of course, on Monday.

Chelle Delaney is associate publisher of the Quay County Sun. she can be reached by emailing chelle_delaney@link.freedom.com or calling 461-1952.