 |
|||||
|
Littleton parade highlights week |
|||||
|
|||||
By Maurice Emery Editor Emeritus One of the highlights of the Littleton Independence Day celebration is the parade. Surprisingly the annual event has only been a mainstay for the last eleven years. Littleton was known for it’s annual Christmas parade as one of the best ones in the area. With an Independence parade the local kids and families would have another one to enjoy and participate in. The modern day parade was started with the efforts Dr. Offa Lou Jenkins a former educator, mayor, and business promoter. She was a cheerleader, in the sense that she was always promoting the town. "Now the parade is done in memory of Offa Lou," stated Doris Dickens, one of this years organizers’ who has been helping with the parade from its’ first year. When Offa Lou first started talking about a parade she promoted it as a fun family event. Her vision was kids in wagons, on bikes or just walking along with our country’s colors displayed proudly. It was proudly called the Little Town Parade. One of the early promotional press releases for the parade stated, "...all youngsters, parents, grandparents and great-grandparents are invited to participate by decorating their wagons, bicycles and skates. Joining Offa Lou in the initial effort was Doris Dickens and May O’Shea. Together, and with the help of several other local citizens, the annual parade began to take shape. The first parade started at, Rugged Sportswear (the future home of Windows Resources) and traveled east on Rt. 158 to McPherson Complex, now known as the Littleton Towne Center. Offa Lou dreams have become reality. To this day the parade is a family affair with kids, parents, grandparents and great grandparents all participating. They may not always be in the parade, but they do dress up in our national color and make their presence known. You may even find a pet decorated with red and white and blue. From those early years the parade has been continually supported by the local American Legions, Post 308 and Post 425 and the areas two Clown Corps as well as the Littleton Volunteer Fire Department, the Warren County Rescue Squad and Longbridge Volunteer Fire Department. Many other local groups have been supportive throughout the years. They include local businesses, scouting groups, church groups, classic car groups, and many others. According to Dickens the one thing they have not been able to get is a band. They have tried but school is out at that this time of year and efforts to find people who play various instruments to make a band were unsuccessful. From that first year the parade has been a hit with citizens of Littleton and the Lake Gaston community. For people watchers there are two reasons to attend the parade; one is to enjoy all the participants, the other is to watch the faces of the kids lining the parade route. You can enjoy everything from the smiles on their faces when the clowns greet them to covering their ears when the fire and rescue squads pass by with their sirens blazing. Offa Lou would be pleased that the parade is now one of the events people look forward to and enjoy every year. This year’s parade is already lining up to be memorable. Dickens, Heidi Hogan, and Helen Burchell are working together on the event. If all goes as planned, this years parade will include music from the Reverend John Turner of Weldon who is scheduled to ride in a vintage 1930’s classic Ford. This year the Grand Marshall for the parade will be local resident, Sonny Walker. Groups and organizations scheduled to be in the parade are American Legion Posts 308 and 425, boy scouts, Grandpas Kitchen and the classic Volkswagens, US Coast Guard Auxiliary, Haliwa-Saponi princess, red hat women, John 3:16, several church groups and businesses including Clark Sign Co. The parade will start at Lakeland Arts Center and proceed down Mosby Avenue to the stoplight and turn right to march down Main Street ending at the future Windows Fashion Resources Plant (the former Rugged Sportswear Plant). Cars may be left at this end of town to avoid marchers walking back to Lakeland after the parade. You should get there early to get the best spot to view the parade. The parade starts at 10 a.m., see you there. |
|||||
| Click here for the Littleton Observer home page for the Littleton Lake Gaston area. | |||||
| Jul 4, 2007 | |||||
| © copyright © 2007 - littletonobserver.com | |||||
