When I was a cub reporter, covering the lackluster local parades was anything but a plum assignment and inevitably fell to the most junior staff member, ideally an intern.
Obviously, I didn't work in Kennett Square. This year's Memorial Day parade was incredibly entertaining and, I believe, the best parade I've ever seen. Veterans, dignitaries, Mummers, tractors, antique cars, marching bands, fire trucks, military equipment, church groups, politicians, sports cars, the Batmobile, Little Leaguers, Scouts, martial artists, cyclists of all varieties (uni, motor, and penny-farthing), gymnasts, military re-enactors, bagpipers, schoolkids, folk dancers, a Chinese dragon, musicians, service clubs, Hood's BBQ ... it went on for two full hours, followed by a 21-gun salute at Union Hill Cemetery honoring those who gave their lives for their country. The weather was perfect and the crowd was large; I'm told that spectators were three or four deep in some spots on the sidewalk, and one woman near us said she had come all the way from Rising Sun, Maryland.
The friends I went with are avid parade-goers, to put it mildly, and throughout the morning people were complimenting them on their over-the-top patriotic headgear. We had a complete blast cheering and hooting and waving our flags.
Huge congratulations to the parade organizers for pulling off a classic small-town parade! Fantastic job.
I, too, would like to publicly thank all the business and community groups that sponsored the Kennett Memorial Day parade! It was the best ever and made me proud to be an American and even more so, to be a resident of Kennett Square! KS, you ROCK!
ReplyDeleteCan't imagine how Bill Taylor and his group can top that next year, but I bet he will try!
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