Introduction
The New Boston July Fourth Parade Float Committee put an ad in the paper back in February, with the caption, “It’s never too early to start thinking about your float!” Once you’ve seen a NB July Fourth Parade, you’ll know why that’s an understatement!
Line up is at 9:00 a.m., and the parking lot is full of busy people and some very unusual transportation. Everyone knows their place, everyone has a roll of duct tape on their wrist, and everyone is laughing.
According to Parade Chairperson Paula Bellemore, the floats are, “pretty much all done” by the time they arrive in the parking lot. That may be true, but the frantic last minute adjustments were clearly the reason behind all the laughter. It was impossible for the munchkin-children not to laugh as they watched the Wicked Witch of the West spit into a pot of green face paint and then try to hold still while the Cowardly Lion smeared the goo all over her face.
The theme for 2008 was Children’s Stories, and the floats did not disappoint. Each was easily recognizable by it’s decorations, but the characters were the main attraction. The Jungle Book float was the work of one extended family, with 30 aunts, uncles and cousins all marching along with their enormous creation. Sisters Diane Roma and Judy Silinsh coordinate the project, and family members come home from as far away as Ohio, Maine, New York, and Massachusetts to participate. Diane had a copy of the Jungle Book and an old vinyl record, and the boys would put on plays to entertain themselves. Now those grown up nephews have brought their Bailey and Farmer families back to New Boston to show Aunt Diane where all that creativity has taken them. “We’ve been doing the parade since we were little kids. It’s our favorite thing to do on the Fourth of July. We never miss it,” says Diane.
“All the work that went into the flower head pieces were done by the kids,” pointed out Maddy Perron, standing next to The Secret Garden float. The New Boston Garden Club and the Apple Barn Garden Center donated the lush floral arrangements, but the stars of this show were the wonderful flowers that danced all around the parking lot with their petals bouncing up and down on their heads.
Some of the smallest floats were also the sweetest. Mary Koon has lived in New Boston over 30 years, and said, “My children were in floats all since they were growing up.” Now her daughter, Wendy Okun, and grandchildren, Olivia and Alex Okun, were riding in Floyd Guyette’s 1951 Ford Pickup with a very realistic Little Red Riding Hood cabin on the back. Wendy and the kids came all the way home from Seattle for the parade. One float that caught everyone’s attention was the modest but spectacular New Boston Climate & Energy Committee Kids float, which was conceived and created solely by a group of kids from New Boston Central School. The small cart was pulled by an interesting bicycle contraption built many years ago by the Parker children, and it’s decorations were posters that were all hand-drawn by the NBCEC kids. Among the book cover designs were The Little Hybrid Engine That Could and Go Green Dog Go. Asked why they chose those particular books, leader Quinton Morrissey explained, “They were the ones we could draw best and sounded nice.”
Competition was hot between some of the floats, and friendly rivalry encouraged some wonderful creative leaps. The Make Way for Ducklings float included a realistic Swan Boat, a police escort, tourists dressed in period costumes, and a group of little ducklings trailing along behind. Sponsored by The Next Generation, Kim Borges explained, “The Next Generation of children who are taking over after their parents did floats!” The Wizard of Oz float had the prerequisite Dorothy, flying monkeys, and fantastical characters, but it also had Elmira Gulch on her bicycle and a serious-looking tornado waltzing down the parade route. Mastermind Russell St. Amand created The Oz float for The Hundred Turns, which Heather Strong, leader of the group, said was originally a ski club that took, “a hundred turns going down the slopes.” Still, with all that creativity, the most realistic float had to be Charlotte’s Web, sponsored by the Hillsborough Country Fair. Paul Nett pointed out, “This story ties in with the Fair theme- Wilbur goes to the fair,” and has himself a wonderful time, which is what the kids were having as their listened to their real, live Wilbur argue with anyone who came too close to his cage!
The New Boston Fourth of July Parade and it’s floats go back 77 years; there were over 150 volunteers to see that the 2008 parade was the best yet. They are very proud of the fact that their parade has no commercial support, and is produced solely by the effort and generosity of the community. After much careful deliberation by the NB librarians, the Wizard of Oz took first place, and the Secret Garden tied with Make Way for Ducklings for second place. As Paula Bellemore pointed out, the parade is really “the community’s next generation,” as families and neighbors return every year to their homes for the Fourth of July.
