FARMINGTON – Befitting an Independence Day parade, two World War II veterans led Farmington’s procession from Broadway to Main Street on Monday. Following the vets were the parade’s sponsors, the Farmington Rotary Club, strewing candy to parade-goers along the route.

Turning the corner from Broadway to Main Street, an E.L. Vining water tank truck unsuccessfully attempted to wet down Farmington police officer Brian Ross who was posted on the corner on traffic control duty. Having kept his crisp uniform dry, he took the prank in stride with a smile.

Parade participants included the Temple Girl Scouts, who “adopt” a soldier each year. The troop marched carrying the names of local residents serving overseas to honor their service.

Entertaining the crowds was a large group of masked and stilted Temple Stream Theater Group performers, who danced and played fiddle music while using hand-painted placards to remind onlookers of issues, good and bad, that face Maine citizens.

Even sad memories were evoked in the parade. A float of friends and relatives honored the memory of Amber Rose, an 11-year-old who was murdered in Farmington in 1999. The group handed out Styrofoam-cup angels with Amber’s smiling face atop them and the years 1988 to 1999 etched on the bottom.

Others participating in the parade were local 4-H clubs marching their reluctant bovines down the route, the Old Crow Indian Band playing rousing music, and several religious, civic and business organizations.

Both Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns were represented. So too were veterans and public safety officials.

The parade culminated with an onslaught of sirens, bells, horns and lights and a virtual wall of red-sided trucks, courtesy of several area fire and rescue departments, prompting even the tiniest of parade-goers to cover their ears. The cacophony seemed not to annoy but rather elicit a sense of fun as trucks crammed with public safety workers and their families waved to their neighbors, calling out the names of those they recognized.

As the parade ended Monday, with spectators leaving downtown, skies turned gray and rain began to fall.

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