Hometown Parade

Today is the Fourth of July. At breakfast, the sisters tell us to assemble at the St. Joseph Garden to walk down together to see the parade. It’s a true small-town experience. As we near the corner, we see a fire truck loaded with kids sitting on top. Down a side street, the parade participants are lining up. We pass lines of people sitting in lawn chairs on the sidewalk, chatting or petting their dogs. We turn to watch the Glockenspiel, but the music is mostly drowned out by the buzz of conversation.

The crowd is relaxed, with no jostling. Tots sit on fathers’ shoulders, and school-age children scamper in and out of the street. We rise for the Star Spangled Banner, sung by a local girl with a lovely voice. The parade itself is slow-paced, with an emcee who is amplified and easy to hear. He identifies each car, tractor, and float – often giving tidbits of information about the riders. The Grand Marshal is a high school graduate returning to visit her sister, who still lives in Mt. Angel.

There are banner girls who toss candy to the people on the curbs. Candy is flung from the vintage cars and tractors, lovingly restored and introduced by name and year. John Deere tractors of up to eighty years ago are still running, some pulling the flatbed floats with 4H members or local business owners and their families. We cheer for the brightly decorated red pickup carrying some of the sisters riding inside and on lawn chairs in the back. Civic pride is evident in the smiles and generous strewing of candy. The Mt. Angel Oktoberfest is another proud entry, showing ethnic costumes along with the German restaurants.