I told you that I love a parade. Now I don’t care how hot it was, I was going to show up and I did. The only thing that could have made it better was a marching band, although since I was standing by the Asbury Methodist Church, their carolier was thoughtful enough to program some patriotic tunes into the 2:00 chimes.
So here’s where I was standing in relation to the parade route:
And you know it’s not a parade this summer without at least some politics. He wasn’t marching, but Sheriff candidate Kenneth Pusey had someone in his corner.
Finally the parade arrives as a police car is leading the way.
Once the police car came closer, I realized it was a Wicomico County Sheriff’s cruiser, and who’s behind the wheel? Sheriff candidate (and current second in command) Major Doris Schonbrunner. Perhaps she’s getting in some practice?
But she was certainly not without some competition. Almost immediately behind the cruiser walked Kirk Daugherty, another candidate for the post. I suppose this is a good health indicator, since it was a pretty long stroll in 90 plus degree heat. The man must not sweat.
Soon Wicomico County Council’s Gail Bartkovich came by in a very nice Mustang convertible. This is another thing I love about parades, I love classic cars in (slow) motion. But I think I caught her a half-beat off a classic politician’s smile. Oh well.
Here’s another nice classic car, this time sans politician. Instead there was a gentleman driving who should be proud of this stately automobile.
And once again, a Mustang with a politician in it. This time it’s District 37 Senator Rich Colburn.
But not everyone rode through the parade. It’s sort of an oddity, but most of the Democrats who were in the parade walked the route, while the bulk of the Republicans rode in a car. I’m not sure if this has any political significance. Anyway, Mark Bowen, Wicomico County Clerk of Courts, was among the walkers. It’s a good thing he carried the sign because personally I wouldn’t know him from Adam otherwise.
It wasn’t all politicians who were represented. You had the obligitory Scout troops, a few floats, lots of bikes, and cute kids. The next photo is of a group called the Buffalo Soldiers, which represented ancestors of the onetime Negro-only regiments in the U.S. military. They weren’t integrated with the rest of the armed forces until World War II. It’s sort of a forgotten chapter in military history that this group serves as a reminder of.
And here’s just a sample of the cute kid quotient:
Now I find it interesting that District 38A Delegate Page Elmore has his own campaign van. Even more interesting was the fact he was walking the route, and the van stopped for a time because he was gladhanding Allen residents and the van pulled over so he could catch up. The van was originally behind Gail Bartkovich’s Mustang but didn’t pass until almost the end of the parade!
And he was not unopposed at the parade. I spied Tony Bruce, a Democrat hopeful, walking (again a Democrat walking!) along the parade route, but I got a bad picture of him. The same happened to Bob Culver, candidate for County Executive. That’s too bad because he was alongside a neat little yellow Volkswagen Beetle.
But here’s Page, finally caught up to his van.
Now, there’s always a finish to the parade. If it’s a Christmas parade, they put Santa at the end. I’m not sure she qualifies at Saint Nick, but Orphans Court Judge Melissa Pollitt Bright struggled to keep up on her bike and thus was the parade’s tail end. But she made it through.
Now there was a celebration at the Allen Community Hall afterward with food and music, along with the acknowlegement of candidates and elected officials there. Most of those I pictured stayed around for that as well, plus I was greeted by Wicomico County Councilwoman Stevie Prettyman and Sheriff Hunter Nelms. Since they’re both Republicans, they know me from the WCRC meetings. It’s nice that they can recognize me now, and from the indications that the Board of Elections has given me, I’ll be their elected peer for at least a short time.
I’m going to post all my Allen photos on my Flickr page, I didn’t take all of them for cropping to blog size and as I noted some of them didn’t turn out as I liked. (And it was bipartisan.) This will likely happen over the weekend since I have several personal and blog-related items on my agenda the next few days.
But I’ll tell you what, I enjoyed the parade and gathering. Had I known what kind of fiasco the Lynard Skynard concert would be, I would have stayed in Allen a little longer!
