Old Bethpage Village Restoration will commemorate Decoration Day as it was first observed in the late 1860s and early 1870s on Long Island on Monday, May 31. This event is one of several exciting events scheduled to take place during Nassau County's Centennial anniversary in 1999.

Decoration Day, or Memorial Day, was first observed in 1868, when General John A. Logan, commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, a Union Army veteran's organization, called upon veterans and other citizens to decorate soldiers' graves with flowers on the 30th of May.

The program, scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m., will include a parade through the village, a solemn patriotic program at the church and ceremonies at the cemetery honoring the departed veterans of the war. The village's Civil War veterans from Co. H, 119th New York Volunteers will be on hand to march in honor of their departed comrades and recount their experiences in camp and in battle.

The Old Bethpage Village Brass Band, outfitted in Civil War period uniforms, will perform on Memorial Day at 2 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. The day's events are part of the village's annual spring festival, which includes a horticultural show, sheep shearing, craft demonstrations and a craft show.

The village is located on Round Swamp Road, Old Bethpage, one mile south of the Long Island Expressway, Exit 48. Normal operating hours are Wednesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The facility will be open on Memorial Day, May 31 and closed on Tuesday, June 1 and Wednesday, June 2. General admission is $6 for adults and $4 for children ages 5 - 12, resident senior citizens, disabled, auxiliary police, members of volunteer ambulance corps, volunteer firefighters and veterans. For further information, call 572-8400.