Conestoga United Methodist Church (UMC) is bringing back a tradition that has been gone for approximately 80 years.

The church, located at 71 Sand Hill Road, Conestoga, will hold a Historical Memorial Day Service on Sunday, May 24, at 2 p.m.

"There has not been a Memorial Day service in Conestoga, as far as I know, since the 1940s," event organizer Ron Walton said. "A long time ago, people would meet down at the other end of Conestoga, walk through Conestoga, stop at the different cemeteries, and then they would usually end up out here as the last church and have a service here," said Walton. "Sometimes there were hundreds of people coming for the service. The committee here at the church decided to celebrate the 170th anniversary of the church, along with the America's 250th, and put in a Memorial Day service since there was not one for a long time."

This special service will cover the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and the Afghanistan conflict to the present.

"There's going to be a lot of things in this service that people never knew about, never heard of," said Walton. "It'll be a lot of new information. Really exciting. It's the untold stories, and some of it will be told now."

The service will start with an introduction by Walton, followed by a processional, a presentation of flags, and a performance of "America the Beautiful" by piper Marty Sullivan. Sullivan will also play a key role after the service.

"What's really going to be touching is (Sullivan is) going to go out to the cemetery, and he's going to play 'Amazing Grace.' And then the gentleman (trumpeter Fred Moury) is going to be playing 'Taps,' and then we're going to be laying carnations on the graves."

Walton added, "We have a lot of special music. It's going to be very unique."

Soloist Matthew Palmeri, an award-winning senior at Penn Manor High School, will sing "Battle Hymn of the Republic."

Throughout the service, Walton will speak about the nation's wars and many of the Conestoga residents involved. "A lot of the information that I have in here comes from Memorial Day services from the late 1800s to the 1920s in Conestoga," said Walton. "I pulled the resources from different services. I have a good background in history of the local area, so I put a lot of little quips in."

He will focus on the Civil War and World War II. Brothers Dr. B.F.W. Urban and John Urban, Conestoga natives, were Civil War veterans and authors. B.F.W. wrote "Dreaming on the Conestoga," a book primarily about the Conestoga River that also included a passage about the Battle of Gettysburg, where he wrote in a letter home, "Dear father and mother. We have fought a great battle and won a great victory. John and I are both safe."

Walton noted, "It was a short letter, but his father often said it was the best one he ever received."

John's memoir is titled "Battlefield in Prison Pen."

The brothers' father, Joseph Urban, was one of the founders of Conestoga UMC.

Stories from World War II will be told in memory of former church members Walter Kneisley Jr. and John Walton Jr., Ron Walton's father.

In addition to the service, there will also be a display of memorabilia in the church social hall. Walton is requesting that people submit photos of their loved ones who are buried in the church cemetery.

For more information about the Memorial Day service, call Walton at 717-823-2984 or go to the church's Facebook page.