It's a Parade!...

The photo above is of me and 2 of my older sisters Debbie and Carolyn and 2 of my younger brothers Morgan and Brian. We are waiting for the parade to start.....and just like back then...
I'm in the mood for a parade! I'm mainly in the mood because tomorrow is a holiday here in Utah.


It's Pioneer Day! This is the day that we celebrate our pioneer ancestors entrance into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24th, 1847. It was a long long hard trek (more than 1300 miles) across the prairies for them. They came to flee persecution and to gain religious freedom. Many lost loved ones or thier own lives on the pioneer trail.
Some came in covered wagons, some pulled handcarts and some walked every mile.
Both mine and Mr. Honey's ancestors were among those early pioneers that came across the plains and we are proud to honor them.

Downtown Salt Lake City always kicks off the celebration with the Day's of '47 Parade.
Mr. Honey will be in it this year running along side one of our church's float entry's called "The Spirit of Service"...entry #29. They asked him to be the float doctor and to be ready to fix anything that might go wrong. See... I'm not the only one that knows he can fix anything!
He helped build the main structure of the float by welding it all together. The float is 33 feet long and has an airplane that flys up and down...it's awesome! ...and huge...and has a built in ipod to make the airplane sounds! If you live in Utah...watch him on TV tomorrow and cheer him on! Better yet, if you're lucky enough to be at the parade...spray him down with water when he comes by...it's going to be 100 degrees!

In the small town where I grew up, we always had a parade every summer as part of a celebration of the founding of our town. We all looked forward to it every year and everyone in the town participated in one way or another. Every year we made a float for the parade. Dad would build the base and Mom would decorate it with the help of Grandma and sometimes my Aunts if they weren't making thier own that year. Mom would pick one or two of us kids to ride on the float that year according to the parade theme. She would sew us costumes to wear while riding.

Our Town Days celebration was always called Herriman Homecoming and still is today! Two girls were chosen to carry the banner that followed the Parade Master. He carried the flag while riding his horse. We would stand and salute the flag while singing the National Anthem as he rode by. Afterward...the he would show off the new tricks he had taught his horse throughout that year!...this would kick off the parade!

Remember this picture of me from an earlier post? I'm not so happy here....

My oldest sister Debbie could not pull the float fast enough to please me...

So our ever helpful neighbor Evelyn stepped in to lend a helping hand!...she is still a sweetheart and as helpful as ever!

That's much better...I'm happy once again!

One year my Mom made this float for me and my little brother Morgan to ride on...she was inspired by an incident earlier that year when I had taken her sewing scissors and cut off all his hair...not mine...just his! (I'm no dummy).I remember that by the end of this parade we were both asleep.

No small town parade would be complete without the cubscouts!

Check out these pink tumbleweeds...with glitter!

Obviously we always have a western theme...check out Billy the Kid.(and those bell-bottoms...lol)

The parade is always a good way to show off your little sister.

And always...there are marching girls in shorts singing and doing actions to a song....check out the white gloves!...We were called "The Herrimanettes"...and I'm the 2nd one in from this side wearing blue shorts and ponytails.

Our parents sometimes would hop on for a hayride down Main Street...that's my Dad in the white shirt sitting next to what appears to be half of my Mom! Don't you just love that women wore dresses everyday back then...even on a hayride!

This is one of my younger brothers Brian and my cousin Scottie....you will see in coming pictures that a cowboy hat was a necessary thing for every boy in the parade.

When we weren't taking our turn riding on the float...my sisters and I would decorate our bikes and ride them in the parade. This is 2 of my older sisters Tammy and Carolyn.

In this parade...I'm in the pink shorts and pink hair bows...(I always had to match my barrettes or bows to my pants or skirt)
....I used to drive my Mom totally crazy with my obsession about "the right color"

Every boy in town would jump at the chance to ride a horse or a pony in the parade.

And if you owned a good pair of Clydesdale draft horses... you wouldn't even think of leaving them in the barn!

Can you see who's heading up the rear of the parade?

Yep...it's the Sanitation Crew ...aka the "pooper scoopers".

My brother Morgan is pushing the wheelbarrow while my cousin Jamie does the scoopin!

For those of you who are still with me...thank you so much for sharing a stroll down memory lane with me.....oh ....and have a happy 24th blogettes...where ever you are!