Cousins Camp - Last Day

All good things must end...today the cousins packed up and left Grandma and Grandpa's a little earlier than usual. This year, Cousins Camp ended with the Farmer's Day parade.

I absolutely love the Farmer's Day parade!  It's held the Saturday morning of Jesup's annual Farmer's Days.  Somewhere, my parents have really old silent home movies of my sister and me riding our tricycles in the parade when we were really little.  I don't remember a ton about that particular parade, other than the very loud BOOM! that got the parade started, and the terribly hot, long ride on my trike.  I'd never realized how long the parade route was until I had to peddle it all by myself!

The reality is that the parade route starts on the north edge of town, on Sixth Street up by the high school.  It heads south toward the middle of town before turning around and heading back north again.  We always sit on the lawn of the Methodist church - my parents were married there and my Grandma Hodges played the organ on Sunday mornings for years.

The Farmer's Day parade is the epitome of rural Americana, and whenever I have a chance to witness it, my heart swells with pride for my country and for my small-town roots.  The parade starts off with an escourt by the County Sherrif, followed by the Color Guard carrying the American flag, which leads the procession of vetrans.

It's the reaction of the crowd that makes this part of the parade so special.  As the flag passes by, every single person stands and is absolutely silent.  No one suggests this should happen.  No one enforces it.  It's just the way it is, year-in and year-out.  And as soon as the flag passes, the crowd remains standing, and bursts into applause to show appreciation for the veterans as they pass by.  This simple display of patriotism and gratitude for those who have served our country is, in my mind, at the heart and soul of what makes this country special.  It's ordinary people who appreciate that other ordinary people have done extraordinary things.

The parade is comprised almost exclusively of locals.  The florist shop in town handed out carnations; the politicians up for re-election in the fall handed out their fliers and shook hands with the crowd; the local sports teams rode on top of floats they had designed; the volunteer fire department brought out the old, old engines; there were tractors from the 1930s and 1940s that had been lovingly restored; and of course there was a marching band.

It's also local tradition that class reunions for Jesup High School are held during the Farmer's Day weekend. As part of the festivities each class participates in the parade by decorating and riding on a float.  This year is Mom and Dad's 50th class reunion.  Dad drove the tractor that pulled the decorated wagon that carried his fellow Class of '61 classmates.  He snapped these pics of the cousins while driving by: