Small cities show their true colors during parades, especially
Memorial Day.
”
That’s why we came out. It makes you feel like part of the
community,
”
said Mike Kahn, a Gilroy resident for the past 16 years and the
father of 8-year-old Adam Kahn, who rode in the parade with his
fellow Boy Scouts.
photo gallery.
Small cities show their true colors during parades, especially Memorial Day.
“That’s why we came out. It makes you feel like part of the community,” said Mike Kahn, a Gilroy resident for the past 16 years and the father of 8-year-old Adam Kahn, who rode in the parade with his fellow Boy Scouts.
“I like seeing all my friends on the side,” Adam Kahn said before explaining the “big talk” he had with his mom about the purpose of the parade and Memorial Day in general.
“She told me about the Iraq War and what (the soldiers) are doing over there,” Adam said about half an hour after the veterans and current service members passed by the cheering throngs of families and friends in lawn chairs.
U.S. Navy veteran Lynn Rowen and U.S. Army veterans Mel Phipps and Al Williams sat in their lawn chairs in front of three Harley Davidson motorcycles outside Gilroy High School. All three live in Gilroy – Williams since 1959 and Phipps since 1993 – and they said they appreciate the camaraderie and spirit of a smaller town on such a day of recognition.
“I hope they never do away with this,” Phipps said as this year’s Miss Gilroy Garlic Festival Queen, Ariele Combs, cruised by in a vintage, pastel yellow Ford Thunderbird with fins. When the cavalcade of Corvettes cruised past moments later, a rowdy crowd of middle schoolers almost went horse screaming demands like, “Lay some tire!” and “Burn it out!” While nobody peeled out, police sirens and booming fog horns from Marx Towing trucks provided plenty of noise.
Up and down 10th Street, fathers and mothers held small children, pointing to the passing spectacles.
“I like the the army men,” said Andrew Broch, 5, who held a miniature flag next to his 3-year-old brother, Brandon. Monday was the boys’ third parade since they moved here three years ago. Their father, Todd Broch, stood behind them and said he brought his sons to Gilroy from San Jose so they could frolic safely in neighborhoods, and also for moments like these.
“I just love the sense of community,” Todd Broch said. “I’ve been trying to give them a little understanding of what’s going on, you know, why the parade occurs. I think it’s starting to sink in for (Andrew).”
It has definitely sunk in for Karen Day, who said her brother just returned from his third tour in Iraq. She wore a tall foam Uncle Sam hat, as did her husband Rich, their son Christopher and her mother, Rosemary Schmidt. Rosemary’s husband, Al Schmidt, marched in the parade with the American Legion, and the whole family said they came out to commemorate both men’s service to their country.
“That’s what this is all about,” Karen Day said, “Supporting those men and women.”
