George Wood drives a decorated carriage during the parade. In the backround, a resident holds a sign that reads, “Our town 21 years old July 1, 1915.”
Photo courtesy of the East Longmeadow Historical Commission
EAST LONGMEADOW — It’s been a town tradition for as long as anyone can remember, celebrating Independence Day with a festive parade.
Today’s parade is recognized as one of the largest in the area. But it wasn’t always such a grand affair. And no one’s really sure when the tradition actually began …
Early beginnings
Bruce Moore of the East Longmeadow Historical Commission said there’s no real record of any Fourth of July parades before the early 1900s, but he suspects the tradition began shortly after East Longmeadow separated from Longmeadow in 1894.
Photos from the archives of the town History Room at the East Longmeadow Library show horse-drawn wagons festooned in patriotic bunting — and folk dressed in patriotic garb — parading down the old North Main Street while spectators line the street waving American flags. There’s no evidence of trolly tracks in the image — meaning the photo was most likely taken before 1903 when the trolly began running in town.
At that time, both Somers Road and North Main Street ran straight through what’s now the famed East Longmeadow rotary, which Moore said wasn’t constructed until the 1950s.
Another historic photo, this one a postcard, shows a gaily decorated wagon filled with women who appear to be suffragettes, while in the background is another wagon float where its riders are carrying a sign that reads “Our Town 21 years old July 1, 1915.”
Archived photos from the 1920s show decorated wagons filled with children dressed as Indians, pilgrims, a Liberty girl and other patriotic garb. Emergency vehicles of the time and civic organizations, such as the Community Club, were also shown to be participants.
Photos from the 1930s show the same patriotic spirit, with festooned tractors, trucks and other machinery joining the procession.
The tradition continued through the 1940s and 50s, with a photo from 1961 showing a cavalcade of vintage autos proceeding through the center of town as part of the annual event.
But the East Longmeadow Fourth of July Parade, as we know it today, really owes its roots to two civic-minded individuals and their push to keep a treasured town tradition alive.
Birth of today’s parade
“In the 1960s we were still having a parade, but they were having trouble getting people to volunteer,” Carl Ohlin, a longtime parade volunteer and former parade chair, told Reminder Publishing. That was, until 1969 when Joe Scanlon and Marshall Hanson stepped up.
“They took it over, [started] working on the parade and did it for many years and did a marvelous job,” Ohlin said, adding “They brought it back to the event it is now.”
Moore remarked that Hanson was known for kicking off each parade with the phrase “Welcome to the greatest show on earth.”
Ohlin, who began volunteering 40 years ago as a member of the East Longmeadow Lion’s Club, and who served as parade chair for 22 of those years, said Scanlon and Hanson were masters at getting the town’s three local civic organizations — the Lion’s Club, the Rotary Club and the Jaycees — to support the annual event. The three civic organizations would rotate providing a parade chair to work with Scanlon and Hanson on the annual event.
The parade has always included a trip through the rotary, Ohlin said, but back in the late 1960s and ‘70s, the staging area for the 2.3-mile walk through the center was at the original Birchland Park School. However, as the parade grew larger with more groups participating — and the school grounds configuration changing when the new building was constructed — the parade committee had to consider a new assembly area.
“Some people were concerned about [the space],” Ohlin said. “The only thing we could do was line units up on the streets around Birchland and the parade was getting too big for that.”
Around the end of the 1970s to the early ‘80s, Ohlin said the parade committee decided to change the assembly point to East Longmeadow High School, utilizing the large parking lot and the horseshoe drive in front of the school to create the line of march.
And it is a big parade — the largest in the area — with a lead-off military unit comprised of the town police and fire departments and their first responder units, followed by musical groups, banner carriers, state, local and town politicians and floats arranged in three other units.
Ohlin said over the years the parade has attracted “six to eight, one year, nine” musical units and approximately 15 floats — representing groups from East Longmeadow and surrounding cities and towns.
In recent years, Ohlin said the floats have included large tractor-trailers, and the manufacturing company Lenox — now Stanely Black & Decker — has graciously allowed the parade to stage these big rigs on the grounds of their facilities. From there parade organizers are able to weave these rigs into parade units at the appropriate spots.
The floats, Ohlin said, are judged prior to the march and the winners of the trophies for best hometown, best patriotic and best float design in the open category are broadcast as they pass the announcer’s booth at the rotary. The bands, Ohlin said, are judged as they play and march, with awards including best marching group, best drum corps and “six or seven” other categories.
Ohlin offered thanks and praise for the marching units from the Melha Shrine, which for many years has closed out the parade. “The spectators thoroughly enjoy them.” Ohlin shared. “They put on a terrific show.”
For the past 15 years, the Philadelphia Mummers have also participated in the East Longmeadow Fourth of July parade. Ohlin called them a very dedicated group of musicians, who leave their home base very early on the morning of the parade to arrive in time to assemble for the annual 10 a.m. step-off.
For the past 25 years, the parade has also had a grand marshal, always selected from among the East Longmeadow citizenries.
“The grand marshal is always an East Longmeadow resident,” Ohlin said. “Someone who has contributed [to the town] through their business, though their volunteer work, through working with the town – we’ve had quite an array of people who have been important to building this town.”
Every grand marshal is selected by a committee of past grand marshals, Ohlin added. In 1998, that honor went to long-time parade organizer Marshall Hanson.
Ohlin said the greatest reward for working on the parade all those years has always been the reaction of the spectators — “It’s wonderful to see the support and all the families and all the excitement.”
This year’s parade
Parade Committee member Adele Hill told Reminder Publishing the committee is gearing up to present another great parade for the thousands of spectators who are expected to line the route on July 4.
A total of seven bands are on the docket, including the “Mummers,” the Marquis of Granby, the Philadelphia String Band, the Great American Marching Band, the Yankee Doodle Band and the Connecticut Patriots. The parade is also expected to showcase 25 floats and marching units from various civic groups, various car units, and members of the town offices and local and state government. She expects between 20 and 30 volunteers to carry banners announcing the different participants. Longtime resident, local businessman and civic volunteer Dam Burak has been selected as the parade’s grand marshal.
The town’s police, fire and first responders will kick off the event as usual, and the Shriners are expected to end the parade with their usual fanfare and flourish.
Though spectators won’t notice anything different. Hill noted that the construction of the new East Longmeadow High School has altered the committee’s plans for staging the parade’s various units. Hill said St. Michael’s Church has graciously allowed the parade committee to utilize their parking lot for some of the staging, with the rest moving to some of the streets around the high school and as always, some of the larger units staging at Lenox and being woven in at the appropriate points in the line of march.
And though she said this year’s parade will be a spectacular event, as always, she said spectators should expect an even bigger show from the East Longmeadow Fourth of July Parade in 2026.
“With our 250th Anniversary [of America], It’s probably going to explode,” Hill said.
