MARSHALL CHRISTMAS PARADE
Small town Marshall has a number of events during the year which are a way of bringing the town together and having a good time. I’ve mentioned before that Marshall, the County seat of Madison County, a conservative heavily Republican county. But it is increasingly the home of outsiders who are trying to escape urban life for the simpler country life as well as a number of well to do retirees and wealthy people from states that are hot in the summer who have vacation homes here. So Madison County has two communities, old timers whose mountain families have lived her for two hundred years and more liberal outsiders who have moved here for the quiet and the country life. The parades and other celebrations held in Marshall reflect this split. The Pirates and Mermaids Parade held in midsummer is a wacky celebration by newcomers to Marshall as is the Christmas sale of homemade crafts held on the island at the old high school building that now houses artist’s studios.
On Saturday I joined Susie in Marshall where she has a studio in the building which houses the Masonic Temple on the third floor. Instead of eating breakfast in Zuma’s where the more liberal newcomers eat, where the menu is more hip, we had breakfast at Marshall’s Main Street Cafe which featured Southern biscuits and gravy and appears to be where the oldtimers hang out. And then we watched the parade which seemed more to me a celebration of traditional Marshall than a Christmas parade. Leading the way in the parade was a giant American flag held by uniformed members of the Madison High School ROTC.
Following them was Shane Brown’s Bail Bond truck. About half way through the parade were two monster cars of no particular significance, one of them with a flat tire.
Then came the Madison High School marching band, the Patriots, in red white and blue revolutionary war uniforms.
There was a car full of people with a large dog representing Shady Side Florists, where half of the flowers sold are plastic. The animal shelter in red white and blue paraded a number of confused dogs on leashes who needed a new home. The King’s Kids, Community Bible Club had a display with kids sitting inside. Plum Pro, Your plumbing and water specialist, had a truck. At the end of the parade was a long line of horses with the riders in red, white and blue carrying American flags. Christmas was celebrated by the Christmas decorations on most of the floats or cars and by loud Christmas carols blaring from the courthouse steps. But mainly the parade was a celebration, I think, of local businesses and institutions as well as a large dose of patriotism. Candy was tossed from every vehicle and children raced around picking it up. I think everyone who lined the streets waving at people they knew in the parade had a grand good time.
BILLYBABA’S WANDERING 