Four members of the Chukar Harbor Ancient Order of Sportsmen (CHAOS) were gathered at Ma’s Kitchen Kettle for breakfast. Instead of the usual outdoorsmanship, the discussion topic was the upcoming Chukar Harbor bicentennial celebration. Gerry Mander, the Mayor of Chukar Harbor and Barry D. Cash, the town’s Treasurer, met earlier in the week to discover that there was not enough money in the treasury to pay for fireworks and a parade.
Chukar Harbor is not a wealthy community and they were only able to collect enough money from the town’s merchants to purchase the fireworks; and the bicentennial was only four weeks away. Mander and Cash invited Howard A. Doone, the Event Planner for the Chukar Harbor Inn and Town Hall and Wendell D. Buscom, one of the founders of the Chukar Harbor Ancient Order of Sportsmen and a retired city planner to breakfast to discuss the situation.
"Well, there you have it, gentlemen." Gerry Mander said after explaining the town’s dilemma. "I can’t tell the people we won’t be able to have a parade on our bicentennial! But I think we can do this with a little planning and coordination. Wendell, can we convert your pontoon boat into a float?"
"If I pulled the motor off and we draped something over the rails … maybe." Wendell said. "Howard, if we borrowed a few table covers from the Inn, we could cover sides of the boat. Gerry, if we used a few flags from town that line the streets during the 4th of July, and add a little crêpe paper, we might have one decent float." Barry and Howard agreed that they could put together a couple of floats that way. Then the ideas began to turn toward a float with some kids and balloons. It would not be difficult to get volunteers to dress in bicentennial costumes; some of the Chukar Harbor residents dressed that way anyway. Old Pete Boone down on 3rd Street wears that coonskin hat and buckskin coat everywhere … Gerry interrupted the group’s discussion.
"Great!" Gerry said. "You fellows work on those two floats. I’ll handle the rest." Gerry excused himself for an appointment at his office.
A few days later, town workers were posting notices all over town about the location and times of the fireworks and the parade (10:00 AM), along with the other activities like cow-pie bingo, a midway, horseshoe tournaments, and bake sales. Over the next few weeks, Wendell and Howard recruited other members of CHAOS to work on Wendell’s pontoon boat. Titus Over, a farmer and long-time CHAOS member offered a wagon with hay pulled by his big 7R John Deere tractor, always a hit at a parade. By the time the members of CHAOS had stepped up with balloons, banners, flags, vehicles, and labor there were two nicely decorated floats for the parade.
Saturday, the Chukar Harbor Bicentennial Day of Celebration, arrived as planned. By 9:30 AM, people from all over the county had lined the streets eagerly waiting for the bicentennial day parade to begin. Wendell and Howard brought their float to the south end of town as Gerry asked. Titus Over arrived in his John Deere tractor, all washed and polished, pulling a hay-wagon filled with school kids and balloons. Gerry Mander arrived at the vacant lot at about 9:45 AM and was met by a crowd of concerned people dressed in period costumes.
"Gerry, we only have two floats! What happened?" Wendell asked, concerned about the embarrassment he and Titus were about to undergo by participating in a 2-float parade. One for each century. Big deal. Gerry just brushed off their concerns.
"Start up your engines, boys. It’s almost time to start the parade." Gerry said. Wendell and Titus were considering tying Gerry to the hood of Wendell’s truck as the main attraction, when Gerry pointed to the road's curve ¼ mile south of town. "Wendell, when I give you the signal, you pull out and go all the way through town at 5 miles per hour or less. Titus, you pull up the rear." Gerry commanded. Wendell and Titus suddenly caught on. With a big grin, Wendell climbed into his truck and started the engine.
Every year the 1267th Army National Guard unit makes its 4-hour journey to Sam’s Hill National Guard Training Grounds for their two-week training deployment. The route to Sam’s Hill goes right through Chukar Harbor, a fact that was widely known but, in the excitement of the bicentennial, was forgotten by everyone except Gerry. As mayor, he had called the Guard to confirm the day and time they were going to be reaching Chukar Harbor. At precisely 9:58 AM, the 1267th Army National Guard convoy rounded the curve leading into Chukar Harbor.
Wendell pulled out just in front of the first truck in the convoy. The old pontoon boat actually looked pretty good, all decorated up. Old Pete Boone was there, the de facto Grand Master of the Chukar Harbor Bicentennial Parade, proudly wearing his coonskin cap and buckskin coat, toothlessly grinning, and waving to the crowds.
There were Humvees, jeeps, armored cars, and trucks of all sizes. Some of the trucks were covered and carried supplies. Others were flatbed trucks and carried tanks and artillery pieces. Still others carried bulldozers, road graders, and backhoes used to make roads. There were 42 vehicles in all. As soon as the soldiers realized they were in a parade, they began waving to the crowds, blaring their air horns, and revving their powerful diesel engines. People clapped, the children cheered, and the old men saluted when the trucks passed with American flags displayed.
As the last army vehicle passed, Titus revved up his tractor and pulled his float full of kids and balloons in behind the convoy. The crowds swarmed around Titus’ float, and followed the convoy through the town and piling their kids on the haywagon. At the north end of town, the entire town had gathered in the street to wave farewell to the 1267th. As it left town, the convoy picked up speed, but the soldiers continued to blast their horns until they disappeared around the curve north of town.
It was the best parade Chukar Harbor ever had.
Royal Dun
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