Youngsters went away happy, laden with bags, hats and pocketfuls of Tootsie Rolls, lollipops and other candy thrown from many of the parade participants.
AMHERST – Celeste Lawler and family comes to every July 4th parade with friends and family, taking the same spot near St. Brigid’s Church.
Her husband Paul Lawler was in the parade driving a Model A truck. “We have a wonderful time, we know so many people,” she said.
She and her gang were just a handful of the estimated 4,500 who lined North and South Pleasant streets for the annual July 4th parade, parade organizer Kevin P. Joy said.
This was the 10th parade since Joy brought the parade back to town in 2002 after a 26-year hiatus. He said everything was perfect and this parade matched that of 2002 in size.
Shade was the coveted spot with temperatures tipping into the low 90s and hundreds amassed at the shady and green Kendrick Park.
Joy said there were more police and fire marching or driving fire trucks and cruisers than ever before with participants from Holyoke, Belchertown, Pelham, Sunderland among the many.
This year, the 35-minute parade was highlighted by a lengthy line of classic cars. Also the Amherst Survival Center had a truck, Veterans for Peace marched, as did U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, D-Amherst; state Rep. Ellen Story, and state Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, both Amherst democrats and Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sulllivan.
Select Board Chairwoman Stephanie J. O’Keeffe and members Aaron P. Hayden and Alisa V. Brewer also marched and did their part tossing candy. Youngsters went away happy, laden with bags, hats and pocketfuls of Tootsie Rolls, lollipops and other candy thrown from many of the parade participants.
Ludmilla Pavlov-Gillham and her son Alexander, 8, passed the time waiting for the parade to begin playing chess on a make-shift chess table. She said they can’t go anywhere without it these days.
She loves the parade and the day of Independence. Her mother smuggled her out of Bulgaria when she was 14, she said. “There’s nothing like the 4th of July.” They come to the parade every year.
She was there with her husband David Gillham. Their 20-year-old son Cameron Gemmell was in the parade. He is an EMT with Sunderland.
As the parade was moving through downtown Joy looked around. “It’s going great. It’s perfect.”