Parade route set to be 2 miles long, tying record

Parades have played a colorful part in the city's history.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- Salem's Bicentennial Parade may tie the length of the Centennial Parade in 1906.
The Youngstown Daily Vindicator of June 20, 1906, said, "The greatest sight Wednesday was the Old Settlers and Floral Parade. ... The parade was two miles long. Carriages, automobiles, floats and bright colors. The spectacle as the procession came down Main Street was one of the finest and most inspiring ever seen in Salem."
The reporter added, "The celebration is a great success with a large and shining 'S.'"
The Salem Grande Parade starts at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
"This is two miles long," said parade co-chair Marge Zeigler said of the parade route's length.
The route being used this year is longer than the typical route through the city. Zeigler said bicentennial officials wanted to stretch the route.
Zeigler pointed out that the centennial included four parades while the bicentennial will have a total of two.
She guessed the Saturday parade may include 3,000 people.
The Bicentennial Parade has 150 entries ranging from the historical to the professional, and will include people who were in the Sesquicentennial parade in 1956.
Back in 1906, strings of electric lights and hanging decorations had been placed in the downtown. The reporter wrote that, "The city never looked prettier than now."
Members of the bicentennial committee studied the look of the centennial and helped building and store owners to decorate with U.S. flags.
The parade will also include a banner from 1960, when John F. Kennedy campaigned in Salem on his way to the White House.
History of parades
The city's history of parades included one in 1976 to coincide with the nation's bicentennial, as well as ones for the city's Jubilee celebrations.
Zeigler said Cleveland television meteorologist weatherman Dick Goddard will sing the National Anthem at the beginning of the parade.
The possibly bad news is that Goddard has predicted a 30 percent change of rain on Saturday.
The good news is that "it never actually rains on the parade," Zeigler said. "It's rained before and after, and sprinkled at the start, but never on it."
wilkinson@vindy.com