On Sunday, January 31, Oleg Panczenko and four attendees, one a boy of 5 (not pictured), assembled at the parking lot of the Loudon Park Funeral home to remember Mr Mencken. The road to the Mencken Family grave-site was impassable as groundskeepers gave priority to clearing the roads for scheduled funerals.
The ceremony was longer than usual, running from 2:05 to 2:15. The warm weather was conducive to longer oration. Mr Panczenko spoke on Mr Mencken’s views of the Confederacy, the South, and the “Lost Cause” in connection with Baltimore’s steps towards removal of four historical monuments. A slightly revised copy of his talk, “Monumental Disagreement” is available as a pdf file.
Afterwards, the group retired, as usual, to Spirits West County Club on Wilkens Ave.
