South Haven 4th of July parade is ‘nice and easy’
By Amy Lavalley Post-Tribune correspondent July 4, 2012 8:14PM
Members of the American Legion Post 502 color guard march along Midway Drive during the Fourth of July parade in South Haven Wednesday July 4, 2012. | Andy Lavalley~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: July 4, 2012 8:22PM
SOUTH HAVEN — Karen Sandlin’s front yard along Midway Drive served as a gathering point Wednesday for South Haven’s annual Fourth of July parade.
She had an assortment of family around to watch the parade as it went by, as did several of her neighbors, all situated across the road from South Haven Elementary School.
For her, the parade — and the holiday it commemorates — is about family and friends.
“I grew up with this parade. I’ve been coming to it since I was a kid,” she said, after fire trucks and police cars kicked off the parade with sirens blaring. “It’s the local people that come to this one, and it’s not huge like Portage. It’s nice and easy.”
The parade has been a community tradition for more than 20 years, said Dick Norris, sergeant-at-arms with American Legion Post 502, which sponsors the event.
This year’s parade, held in sweltering temperatures with a heat index topping 100 degrees, drew about a dozen participants, including local politicians and community groups.
The parade started at Saylor Elementary School and made its way west to the legion post, a journey of just under a mile.
Pat Glancy got to watch the parade for a change this year. Situated in the shade on her friend Sally Price’s lawn, Glancy said she and Price usually march in the parade and carry a banner for the legion’s auxiliary.
“I just said, after 15 years, I’m done. I want to sit and enjoy it,” she said.
Janet Cesare also had the pleasure of sitting in a chair outside South Haven Elementary School to view the parade. Cesare, of Portage, brought along her mother, Mary Moskovich of Gary.
Cesare said her husband, Mike, and son, Kyle, 16, were in the parade with Boy Scout Troop 452, which is supported by the legion post.
For 25 years, Cesare said, she marched in the Portage parade because her kids were in it.
“It’s only the last year I haven’t participated in walking in the parade,” she said. “I actually see what’s going on, the people and the floats. I never got to see that before.”
