The Daily Star
For nearly a century in
Otsego County, the place to
be on Independence Day
has been the town of
Springfield, home to the
area’s largest parade.
This year should be no
exception, according to
Maureen Culbert, who
heads the parade’s publicity
committee.
``This will be our 95th
year,’’ she said.
And if the weather cooperates,
a good time will be
had by all.
Nearly every year, thousands
of people turn out in
this town of about 1,400
residents to see and hear
military veterans, school
bands, local dignitaries and
others march down state
Route 80 on the nation’s
birthday.
``People go to celebrate
the Fourth and meet friends
they haven’t seen in a long
time,’’ said Keith McCarty,
former highway superintendent,
who represents
the town on the Otsego
County Board of Representatives.
``I never miss it. I meet
people I haven’t seen in 30
years,’’ he said. ``A lot of
them come back to the area
in the summer, and they
know that’s where everyone’s
going to be.’’
The parade starts at 11
a.m.
After the marching ends,
friends and neighbors will
share a chicken barbecue
on the grounds of the
Springfield Community
Center.
``It’s big while it’s going
on, but if you got there a
few hours late, you might
not even know there’d been
a crowd,’’ said McCarty.
Every year, a town resident
is honored as the parade’s
grand marshal. In
2008, Irene Fassett served
in this position, and next
Saturday it will be David
Smith, said Culbert.
Announcing the parade
as floats and contingents
pass the reviewing stand
will be Maureen’s husband,
Fred Culbert, whose voice
has become a tradition.
``I’ve been doing it since
’91 or ’92,’’ Culbert said Friday.
He was called into service
by Jeannette Smith,
former town clerk, when
the late Tom Goodyear was
not feeling up to par and
asked for a substitute announcer.
Culbert was in good
voice, and Goodyear, a driving
force behind the town’s
Glimmerglass Opera, asked
him to stay on.
When the first July
Fourth parade queued up
in Springfield in about
1914, the United States
was still at peace, but an
assassination had already
triggered World War I, ``the
war to end all wars.’’ Horses,
buggies and trains were
the preferred modes of
travel, money was backed
by gold and Woodrow Wilson
was president.
Nearly a century later,
in a world of virtual reality,
smart screens and nanotechnology,
some things
have changed beyond recognition,
but the parade
and picnic in Springfield
are still going strong.
McCarty said the secret
to the parade’s longevity
may be it’s simplicity in an
age of extravaganzas.
``The parade is big, but it
has that small-town feeling,’’
he said.
