Southold residents and visitors alike will soon notice more American flags and military banners lining Main Road as the town gears up for the nation’s 250th anniversary.
But this year’s Fourth of July parade also marks a turning point behind the scenes.
The parade, spearheaded bysisters Joan Tyrer and Carol Scott in 1997, has been a spectacle for the last three decades. Parade-goers have long enjoyed the themed floats, horses, decorated bicycles and costumed marchers — all brought together for the route along Main Road from Boisseau Avenue to Griswold Terry Glover American Legion Post 803.
“Carol and I did this parade up until this year all by ourselves,” Ms. Tyrer told The Suffolk Times. “We did it because we didn’t need anybody else … It’s special because we’ve managed to get this far.”
As the country prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of its founding, a new group is stepping in to carry the parade forward. Its “founding mothers,” meanwhile, are stepping back.
Town Clerk Denis Noncarrow and Denise Schlachter of the Legion have joined the effort, along withCutchogue St. Patrick’s Day parade organizersJoe Corso, Jerry Siani and Paul Romanelli, who will help organize participants.
“There comes a time when it has to be passed on and I think that’s where we are,” Ms. Tyrer said of the decision to take a step back.
Ms. Schlachter called organizing the parade an “honor” and said she has leaned on Ms. Tyrer’s experience.
The parade will kick off at noon on Saturday, July 4.
“It’s coming together to be quite the big event,” Mr. Noncarrow noted.
Source: The Suffolk Times
