Hundreds enjoy parade on eve of Fourth
By Samantha C. DePoy
Staff Writer

LIVERMORE FALLS – Despite the slight breeze rolling off hundreds of tiny American flags, it was tough to beat the 92-degree heat at the Jay and Livermore Falls annual Independence Day Parade Thursday night.

Nevertheless, hundreds upon hundreds of patriotic spectators lined the steamy sidewalks, dangled off balconies and covered any available patch of green grass with blankets, coolers and lots of giggling kids, who scampered to get candy tossed from the brightly colored floats.

The hot spot for parade gaping was on the slopping grassy knoll in front of the St. Rose of Lima Church. It was there that the Jay Fire Department formed an archway for the parade to march through with two engine ladders and an America flag draped over the roadway.

The parade, which started just after 5 p.m. at Ranor Inc.’s parking lot in Jay and slowly pressed forward through Livermore Falls, disbanded just past the edge of town.

As the parade slithered on, the reverberation of bagpipes and squeals of sirens rolled off the brick walls of the paper mills and over the clapping, cheering and flag waving crowd.

For many parade attendees, the hour-plus long procession is just the start of a long weekend of fanfare and festivities, all centered around celebrating America’s independence.

Jacob Ferland, a 12-year-old from Livermore, said he looks forward to the holiday so he can show his patriotism and go up to his camp in Jackman and go swimming.

Ferland has marched as a Boy Scout in the parade for as long as he can remember. “It’s hot,” he said at the end of the parade route.

Celebrating Independence Day is important, he added, because it’s the anniversary of when the Declaration of Independence was drafted and signed. But, the best part of the holiday, he noted, “Is just getting to relax.”

sdepoy@sunjournal.com

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