Jim Fair
Greer Fire Chief Chris Harvey his two grandsons, James, 2, and Jackson Harvey, 4 months, with their father Dustin Strom.
Jim Fair
An All-American baby.
Jim Fair
What's a parade without a John Deere?
Jim Fair
Kids of all ages walked the parade route in the Arlington-Davenport neighborhood.
The 17th Annual Kids Parade was as Americana as it gets.
Greer Fire Chief Chris Harvey drove a vintage and refurbished 1941 Chevy Southern fire truck that served the community. Sitting along side him were his two grandsons, James, 2, and Jackson Harvey, 4 months, with their father Dustin and wife, Amy Harvey Strom, riding in the back.
Alvin Howell, father of Mayor Rick Danner’s wife, Rita, was the Grand Marshall.
Children were dressed head to toe in red, white and blue – hair also dyed in the patriotic colors – and sparkly head wear, bicycle streamers waving brilliantly, vibrant shoestrings, stars and stripes clothing and wagons adorned with everything representing the U.S.A.
Children proudly and innocently traded waves with the neighbors sitting on their porches enjoying a tradition that is one of a kind in this proud community.
Perfect weather, sun and low 70s temperatures with a slight breeze, more than made up for last year’s cancellation because of morning rain.
It was the biggest turnout to date, said Ansley Wright who escorted her daughter Pearl, dressed and looking like the princess she was. “This is the biggest turnout ever and I grew up in this neighborhood,” Ansley said.
A moment of silence honored the passing of Mrs. Bruce, a long-time parade spectator, who died two years ago, but after celebrating her 100th birthday. The military was honored and the Pledge of Allegiance ended the ceremonial start.
The Greer Police Department had a patrol unit in the lead and at the end of the route that covered the Arlington-Davenport neighborhood to provide safety and stop traffic on the side streets. At the longest point the parade stretched the entire distance of three city blocks, with parade participants stretching across the streets.
“This is a snapshot of the Greer Community,” Danner, parade spokesperson, said.
Melody and Mark Owens, vice president at the Greer Chamber of Commerce, attended their first parade together as newly weds. Violet Simpson, infant of Andrea and Robert Simpson, and Gracie Owens, daughter of Candace Owens, attended their first parade.
There were impromptu entertaining moments like Sarah Wade, 3, showing off her bluish-green tongue after licking the icing off a cookie.
The parade was without incident. All the children and their parents honored an ordinance Danner helped push through City Council prohibiting the use of silly string and tossing of candy during parades. However, cookies and popsicles were provided at the end of the circuit.
Danner concurred that the July 4, 2015 parade will go on as scheduled. “It is July 4th, we will have a parade,” Danner said.