Oxford Hills
Annual Christmas Parade boosts holiday spirits despite chill winds
Jose Leiva/Sun Journal
Youngsters waiting for the parade to begin attempt to stay warm under blankets on the Christmas Parade route in Norway on Saturday afternoon. The children, from left, are Carter Hart, 4; Gracie Hart, 2; Marianna Callahan, 4; Owen Marr, 3; and Alex Mains, 2, all of Norway.
Jose Leiva/Sun Journal
Santa and Mrs. Claus wave to children along the Christmas Parade route down Main Street in South Paris/Norway on Saturday afternoon.
Jose Leiva/sun Journal
Marianna Callahan, 4, of Norway waves as the Christmas Parade rolls past in Norway on Saturday afternoon.
Jose Leiva/Sun Journal
Wade Ryder, 6, of West Paris watches the Christmas Parade in Norway from atop his father Dennis Ryder's shoulders on Saturday. Wade loves to dress up for special occasions; the Santa suit was a birthday present, his father said.
Jose Leiva/sun Journal
Members of the Oxford Hills Middle School band play the music of the season as they ride in the Christmas Parade in South Paris/Norway on Saturday.
A spectator at Saturday afternoon's Oxford Hills Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade at Market Square in Paris huddles against gusting wind while her child clings to her as drivers steer antique tractors around them on Main Street.
Two stately Percheron horses from Stargazer Farm in West Paris haul a cart of bundled-up well-wishers along Main Street during Saturday afternoon's Oxford Hills Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade.
Lacey Coore, left, of South Paris, tries to stay warm along Main Street at Market Square during gusting wintry winds at Saturday afternoon's Oxford Hills Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade in Paris. Watching with her are 5-year-old Bailey Turner, left, of Buckfield, Brittany Tracy, 4, of Norway, Gabbrielle Turner, 3, of Buckfield, and Bristol Leahy, 6, of Oxford.
PARIS — A blustery blast of wintry wind walloped Paris and Norway early Saturday afternoon while a few hundred participants waited to perform in the annual Christmas Parade down Main Street.
Some, like Jennifer Carter, coach of the Waterford Twinkle Twirlers baton troupe, were eager to head out on the 2-mile trek from the Park Street lineup to the end at Butters Park in Norway, where Santa Claus would light the Christmas tree.
"We're cold, but we're all right," Carter said of her group of young girls, garbed in hot pink outfits with matching Santa hats, and with batons trailing festive, foot-long red and green metallic streamers.
Quickly falling into and out of formation behind the Twinkle Twirlers hopped the Bobcat Twirlers, who were dressed in sporty red and green outfits.
Dance fever swept through them like a flash fire when nearby Kora Temple Shriners from Lewiston, dressed in black- and white-striped prison outfits and police uniforms, broke into impromptu jigs as lively Christmas music boomed from loud speakers in a baton-twirling coach's sport-utility vehicle.
Staff Sgt. Kerwin Slaton and Lance Cpl. Carl Langhelm of Alpha Co., 1st Batallion, 25th Marines of Topsham, waited near the front of the line with parade-banner bearers Kate Michaud of Norway and Ebony Mills of Harrison.
The girls, who are members of the Oxford Hills Key Club, quickly donned mittens and jackets to ward off the cold, whereas Slaton and Langhelm, who were wearing dress uniforms, were at the mercy of the wind.
"These things look warm, but they're really not," Slaton said.
Bobcat Twirlers' coach Lisa Foster shrugged off the chill with Tiny Tots twirling coach Anne Fox. The cold kept the toddler twirlers inside warm cars, while their older counterparts braved the chill.
Two o'clock couldn't come soon enough for them.
But when it did, off they went, long hair flying every which way in the wind, one hand hanging tightly onto their Santa caps; the other, deftly spinning and flipping batons to the delight of pockets of jacketed crowds of all ages lining Market Square.
South Paris residents Carrie Raymond, who sat along a stone wall with Becky Burke and 6-year-old Rhubarb, a yellow lab attending her first Christmas Parade, said they both enjoy watching the fun spectacle every year.
"It has a little bit of everything, and wonderful floats," Raymond said as it got under way.
"It's nice to see a lot of local people taking the time to decorate and participate in the parade, which is one of the largest in the state," Burke said.
Following the baton twirlers came many area firetrucks and a Pace ambulance.
Several old tractors driven by members of the Maine Antique Tractor Club followed in the wake of early 1900-era vehicles hauling more than a dozen Maine and Massachusetts beauty queens.
School bands — one sitting atop a flatbed trailer, the other marching — played rousingly well, followed by an Elvis impersonator crooning while perched atop a makeshift pink Cadillac float, trailed by several Presley-clothed, black-wig-wearing youths.
Angry black clouds soon gave way to clearing skies and warming sunshine about 30 minutes into the 45-minute parade, but the gusting winds failed to subside.
For David and Susan Hanscom of Mason Township, the parade was perfect for them and their three grandchildren, Olivia, Stella and Fiona Bailey of Massachusetts.
"It was fantastic," David Hanscom said. "To see the look on the littlest one's face — she was all wrapped up in this — and it was all worth it."
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Most Popular Today
verified on "School choice, public funding for religious institutions headline LePage education plan"
Bad teachers
Just so you know bad teachers get fired all the time and put on probation in the public schools. At least they did where I worked. The only thing the union did was guarantee you a hearing and a representative if you were tenured. The untenured teachers are simply not rehired at the end of the year and no reason is given. However, as in other professions the better teachers and more highly trained teachers tend to go where they will be better paid. You can fire the bad teacher but if your salary is not competitive the next one you hire probably won't be much better. Unions are constantly advocating for better training for teachers and to allow people to collect both Social security and the state pension. As it is now, someone who worked for many years under Social Security who decides to become a teacher has to forfeit one of the pensions. There are many scientists and engineers, and technology workers who would love to come to teaching near the end of their careers but don't because of this. No one has more to gain by improving academic standards than the teachers or their unions.
verified on "Car rolls over on Ash Street in Lewiston"
Accident on Ash Street
I'm glad she's okay. What a Lady. She has to have 9 Lives!
For someone in a wreck like she was, she sure seemed very calm. I would have been flipping out or very upset.
verified on "School choice, public funding for religious institutions headline LePage education plan"
Cute
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. Public schools routinely educate students successfully and send them off to college. If you don't believe me check on the local seniors this spring and see how many there are who are going on. And our local schools do not even meet the NCLB goals! The thing is while public schools have no problem educating students who come to them from stable homes with parents who care about their child's education, their mandate is to educate EVERYBODY. That includes the learning disabled,physically disabled, the homeless, the emotionally disturbed,the language impaired, the unmotivated, the criminals, even those that are absent most of the time. Even with all that, the majority of students are achieving what they need to. Those that are not mostly reflect society's problems which end up dumped into the lap of the public schools. Private schools do not compare any better. Some are excellent and some are awful. Like the public schools. The difference is there is a lot less accountability in the private schools and most of them offer a very narrow curriculum and range of services.
In order to make comments, you must verify your account.
In order to comment on SunJournal.com, you must use your real name and include the town in which you live in your profile. A member of our staff will call you to verify this information. To join in, fill out your user profile completely and check the box "please verify my status." We'll get back to you within one business day to verify your account.
Login or create an account here.
Our policy prohibits comments that are:
- Defamatory, abusive, obscene, racist, or otherwise hateful
- Excessively foul and/or vulgar
- Inappropriately sexual
- Baseless personal attacks or otherwise threatening
- Contain illegal material, or material that infringes on the rights of others
- Commercial postings attempting to sell a product/item
If you violate this policy, your comment will be removed and your account may be banned.