Another Small Town Parade - Part 1

I learned at the feed store that the Tri-Town summer festival parade would be the next day in the tiny hamlet of Brasher Falls, so I made it a point to be there. The parade began with the American Legion:

Next in line was the marching band from Chateaugay Central School, nearly an hour's drive east of Brasher Falls:

A clown on roller skates with a flowing, rainbow banner. He was really quite talented:

A country singer in the back of a pickup truck:

The Tri-Town summer recreation program kids. The three towns are Stockholm, Brasher and Lawrence - all too rural to afford much on their own, so they pool their resources:

The theme of the parade was "To Infinity And Beyond," which is why this guy wore a space suit:

The local Methodist church had their own take on the theme:

A country band on the back of the truck:

The Tri-Town Chamber of Commerce:

And the Pack Program, which provides needy school kids with snacks and food:

Cubby the Clown makes his appearance in every parade, so I was not surprised to see him or her again:

I don't know what group this was, but they sure were having fun. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Village Of Norwood New York Museum-Part 2

I was touring the village museum in Norwood, New York (see also Part 1, posted yesterday) and came to the kitchen, which was filled with old time implements:

A hand cranked washing machine and washboard:

I was told that this was the bedroom of the former home owner, a doctor and Civil War veteran, much as he had left it:

This bureau, which matched the bed, must have been expensive in its day, but something a doctor could afford:

There was a military room, filled with photos, flags, helmets and a wheelchair:

And uniforms from various eras:

A children's room with toys:

And children's clothing:

This gruesome and frightening contraption was a hair curler. Oh, the prices women paid to try to look beautiful!

Women's clothing and dolls:

More women's clothing, including a scout leader's uniform:

The Norwood Fire Department is well known for its marching band, the Brass Fireman. They were honored at the museum with artifacts, photos and trophies. But this was the end of my museum tour. I thanked the historian and made my way outside to begin the drive home:

Dairy Princess Parade - Part 2

I was watching the Dairy Princess Parade in Canton, New York (see Part 1, yesterday). This float had hay bales, a giant milk carton and lots of young folks, happy they didn't have to walk:

Farm Credit East won a prize for this float, which featured a milk carton pouring milk into a giant stock tank:

PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) once again had a large presence. Last year they received loud applause and cheers, but not this year. I must have been standing with a group of their ardent supporters last year:

The Cerebral Palsy Association had a float with an Adirondack kayaking theme:

Another Holstein themed float, though I can't remember any details about it:

The only marching band was this group of four drummers, but they did a wonderful job:

An elaborate, prize winning float with a dairy theme. I was briefly puzzled by that square, blue figure on the left, but the sign explained that she was supporting Autism Awareness. The costume was shaped like a puzzle piece, their logo:

A commercial float, advertized solar power:

The Goldenaires, a men's barbershop group, went by singing. Last year I considered looking into the possibility of joining them - but I never did. A year can go by awfully quickly:

And the favorite float of the parade, pulled by two jet black, beautiful work horses:

And this is the float which the horses pulled:

There were more firetrucks and then lots of brand new, large farm machinery of three different brands, presumably from three local dealers:

The parade ended with antique tractors, followed by a police car. I was very close to my vehicle at that point, so I simply started it up and began the drive home:

Parishville Bicentennial Parade - Part 2

I was about midway into the Parishville Bicentennial Parade when this patriotic pickup truck went by:

And then this - um, I don't have any idea what this was. It had license plates, but I don't think I'd want to travel far in it, especially in the winter:

A bagpipe band. You can see the bridge over the St. Regis River behind them in this photo:

Fire Department marchers:

And a float from the St. Lawrence Power and Equipment Museum, which I recently visited:

A marching band:

"Justice For Garrett" signs are seen everywhere in the area. In 2011, a 12 year old boy was murdered in Potsdam and his murderer was never found. "Justice For Garrett" became a movement to help find and convict whoever was responsible. This past spring, a Clarkson University soccer coach was arrested for the murder, but I never heard anything more:

A 1901 "horseless carriage:"

The Red Hat Society ladies:

And Sun Feather natural soaps, a local company:

Cubby T. Clown:

And another horse drawn wagon. The parade came to an end and I headed back home to check on Scarlett, my cow who I thought would be calving that day. I was wrong and there was no calf that day. I'll be sure to post pictures when it does happen, though:

Hometown Memorial Day Parade - Part 3

This is part 3 and the last of the Memorial Day parade posts. The parade took place on Sunday, May 30th, in Rensselaer, New York, the traditional home of the song, "Yankee Doodle." The parade was a genuine piece of small town Americana and brought tears to many eyes:

Many, perhaps most of the floats, bands and marchers were unknown to me. But the traditions, the color, the enthusiasm, the patriotism, the heartfelt emotions were all a real part of Memorial Day parades all over the country:
This was apparently a drum corps from Rensselaer Middle High School with cheerleaders. I don't know why there were no brass instruments:


On and on the marchers and floats kept coming:

If you click to enlarge this, you'll see that one of these marchers is a man in a dog costume. I have no idea why but I liked it anyway:

This was a marching band which brought back lots of memories from my days as a trombonist in my high school band:



The firetrucks were at the end of the parade and represented the cities/towns of Rensselaer, East Greenbush, Clinton Heights and Defreetsville, New York:

They were apparently arranged by color - first the red ones, then the yellow ones:

As the last of the firetrucks passed by me, I turned and looked back up the street toward my house. That man in the red plaid shirt and baseball cap is my next-door neighbor who has had a heart transplant and was released from the hospital just yesterday. He was happier to be home and prouder of his country than just about anybody:

But the groups of friends, relatives and neighbors stayed around and, in some instances, turned the parade gathering into a party:

and this is Lexy, my neighbor's dog. She is so happy to finally have him home again that she was beside herself. Man and dog reunited, a happy day for both of them and a good day for a hometown Memorial Day parade: