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News Feature
by Gigi DeJoy The Fourth of July began with ominous cloudy skies threatening to put off Brooklin’s annual parade, one which is for many an essential feature of the holiday, alongside backyard sparklers and a relative’s questionable potato salad. Luckily, and perhaps due to the sheer enthusiasm of parade goers and participants alike, poor weather was staved off enough for the event to proceed as planned. As the pre-parade pancake breakfasts ended and the throngs began to grow, members of the Brooklin Fire Department corralled the red, white and blue-clad masses behind lines of yellow tape edging the road. The Brooklin Town Band played festive tunes, lawn chairs were brought out, and the Brooklin General Store was flooded with dallying customers. The sense of community was strong as family and friends moved around the crowd, giving greetings and catching up. Clearly the threat of rain had not been enough to keep many away. “It looked like it was touch-and-go for a while,” said Parade Coordinator Mike Sealander, “but in fact we might have more than the average amount of people.” Marilyn and Richard Whittelsey and their brown cocker spaniel Cindy were among those who were not deterred. The couple moved to the area from Connecticut in 2005 and have been attending the Brooklin Fourth of July parade since then. “We moved to Blue Hill and they told us we had to go to the Brooklin parade,” said Mr. Whittelsey. Mrs. Whittelsey added, “we usually see someone we know.” When the parade began at 10 a.m., it was led by representatives of the armed forces and then young children on their heavily-decorated bicycles. Some of these children had bags of candy on their handlebars which they threw out to the crowd as a literal first taste of all the sweets that were to come. This included more than just candy thrown from floats; at the public cookout following the parade there were many vendors including the Ice Cream Lady, Nancy Veilleux. Veilleux also did not seem discouraged by the drizzling sky. “We only have been here one other year, and we did very well,” said Veilleux’s husband, Chris Hurley. “Weather-dependent, we’re hoping to do as well this year.” At the end of the Brooklin parade every year, Sealander judges which were the best parade participants in three categories: float, antique vehicle, and other. The winners can receive up to $50. This competition was reflected in the quality and creativity of the parade this year. The first-place winner of the float category were four tractors who drove together to represent the Brooklin farmers’ market. Second place was a tie between Girl Scout Troop 625, whose float displaying their trip to Washington D.C. included a papier-mâché representation of President Obama’s head, and the Brooklin Dolphin Rescue Team who jumped out of their float in scrubs and mimed rescuing a man in a dolphin costume. Chris Niehoff won the antique car category with a 1941 Crosley that had belonged to his mother. The “other” first place prize went to Tammy Bernard, who walked the entire parade in stilts and a ruffled dress. |
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