GREENFIELD — Despite a little rain and the mayor’s cancellation of the annual Memorial Day parade, a group of residents marched through town on Monday to celebrate veterans in Franklin County and to honor all those who lost their lives in the line of duty.
Children and parents walked from the parade launching point at Greenfield Middle School, down the sidewalk along Federal Street. A marching band from the middle school led the parade with a single boy scout, 10-year-old Nikolas Martin, holding an American flag. A handful of local veterans from nearly every branch of the military also led the parade.
“It was exciting to see the kids take the lead and go with it,” said Bernardston resident Richard Tucker, a veteran who served in the Marine Corps for more than six years, with one tour in Iraq. He was happy to see the community push for the parade, despite the weather.
“I’m glad we did it,” he said. “It needed to get done.”
After receiving calls and emails this morning stating that the parade had been canceled and the parade participants would no longer receive a police escort down the street, a group of residents decided to carry on with the festivities anyway. They simply moved the parade to the sidewalk.
“We had sent the whole band home and then this all came together in an impromptu parade,” said Ariel Templeton, the band director at Greenfield Middle School. She said that the band had been preparing for the Memorial Day parade for months.
When the parade was canceled and when the rain stopped, Templeton said, there were a couple of students who still wanted to march.
“It was amazing how the students helped pull everyone together and the parents were amazing for going with the spontaneity of it all,” she said.
“The folks wanted to do it anyway and they’re doing it anyway,” said Greenfield resident Jalie Page, explaining that the parade gives the kids a chance to show off their musical talents. “It’s for the veterans and for the children who practiced hard.”
Although the marching band had to navigate through a few puddles on the way to Main Street, where the parade ended at Veterans Mall, the parade was considered largely a success by those in attendance. Residents were drawn out of their homes by the sounds of drums and waved at the parade as it went by.
“This was a special parade because it was brought on by the youngsters,” said local Army veteran Rick Clark, who was drafted during the Vietnam era in 1967. “They really pulled it off. The kids really did it.”
You can reach Lisa Spear at:
lspear@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 280