All-comers parade both political and just plain fun

Independence Day means different things to different people, and a wide array of causes — from the political to the personal to the whimsically patriotic — were on display Wednesday during the annual All-American Anyone-Can-Join Fabulous Fantastic Fourth of July Parade.

Among the most visible elements of the parade was a large contingent of anti-war protesters. Leading the group was a large cloth effigy of a dove with an olive branch in its beak, borne aloft by members of the Peace and Justice Committee of the First United Methodist Church. Long banners of white fabric representing wings swept out to the side.

Trailing the symbol of peace were scores of marchers representing several loosely allied organizations.

Jeanne Raymond was walking with the Benton County Bill of Rights Defense Committee.

“We’ve been active since the USA Patriot Act came into being,” she said. “We formed to educate people that the act is actually abusing the Bill of Rights.”

Kathy Conner, wearing a red, white and blue skimmer hat and a button that said “Peace” in several languages, carried a basket packed with 200 rolled-up copies of the first 10 amendments to the Constitution to pass out during the parade.

“We gave out all of them last year,” noted Aleita Hass-Holcombe. “This is our fourth year, so it’s becoming a tradition.”

Several members carried signs that worked in sequence, like an old Burma Shave ad, to spell out messages such as “Help protect ... the Constitution ... and Bill of Rights ... Be vigilant.”

Ruth Roberts was part of a small knot of Dennis Kucinich supporters carrying signs promoting the Ohio congressman’s bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

“We are proud of Kucinich because he introduced the Department of Peace (proposal) in the House and universal health care and stop the war,” she said.

The local chapters of Alternatives to War and Veterans for Peace also were represented.

“We just support the cause of peace,” said Leah Bolger, president of the Corvallis Vets for Peace group. A piece of masking tape on the front of her shirt bore the numbers 3,586 and 675,950, which she said were the number of U.S. military personnel and Iraqi civilians killed to date in the Iraq war.

“What could be a better venue than a Fourth of July parade?” Bolger asked. “Dissent is patriotic.”

Elizabeth Cogburn, who recently relocated to Corvallis from Fort Bragg, N.C., sees things a little differently. On this Fourth of July, she was marching alongside her daughter, 14-month-old Brieahna, who rode in a wagon pulled by grandfather Robert Thornberg. On either side of the wagon were signs that read “My daddy is in Afghanistan. Yeah Daddy.”

Matthew Cogburn is a sergeant with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.

“My husband jumps out of airplanes for a living,” Mrs. Cogburn said.

Her voice was strained as she spoke of her husband’s overseas deployment.

“I’m very, very proud of him,” she said. “I think he’s a very brave man. I miss him a lot, but he does this to protect his country — and protect her,” she added, nodding at their daughter.

Asked how she felt about the large number of anti-war marchers in the parade, she said, “I think my husband is protecting their right to free speech.”

“I think a lot of people don’t understand that the opposite of pro-peace is not pro-war,” she added. “We’re pro-defense.”

The majority of marchers on Wednesday, however, seemed to have far less weighty matters on their minds. Most of them were just there to have a good time.

Led by a motorcycle cop with siren wailing, the parade lurched into boisterous life about 10:30 a.m. in front of Central Park. As the temperature climbed toward the 80s, hundreds of people marched, strolled, pedaled or rode down Monroe Avenue to First Street, then meandered south along the riverfront to the skate park.

A small army of kids on bikes, trikes and scooters, pushed in strollers or pulled in wagons, filled the front ranks. Many waved flags or found other ways to sport their country’s colors, with red, white and blue hats, T-shirts and balloons in abundance, as their parents tossed handfuls of candy to the spectators lining the parade route.

As usual, there were plenty of four-legged marchers. A number of people brought their dogs — some decked out in patriotic garb — to the event. One lucky pooch hitched a ride on a motorcycle, occupying a comfortable-looking perch atop the chopper’s flag-painted gas tank.

There was even a contingent of patriotic llamas. The Lucky Longneck Llama Club, a local 4-H group, brought 11 of its animals to this year’s parade. Crescent Valley High School junior Heather Koenig, 15, piloted a llama-drawn cart, while her parents, Julie and Hal Koenig, and club members ranging from fourth to 10th grade led their heavily decorated llamas in a dignified walk.

It wouldn’t be a parade without music, and the cast of the Majestic Theatre’s upcoming production of “Guys & Dolls” belted out tunes from the show, accompanied by a boom box.

The closest thing to a marching band, however, was a solo act.

McKenzie Huso, a 12-year-old seventh-grader at Linus Pauling Middle School, drew applause from the spectators with a stately and surprisingly melodic tuba version of the national anthem.

She wasn’t able to find sheet music for a solo tuba part, so she wrote her own. The notation, penciled on a piece of cardboard, was clipped to her instrument.

“I wrote tuba music for ‘Amazing Grace,’” McKenzie explained between renditions, “so I just decided to write tuba music for ‘The Star-Spangled Banner.’”

Taking it all in from the sidewalk was Nyisha Hendricks, 10, a fourth-grader at Garfield Elementary. The political statements were lost on her, but the marching llamas got a strong reaction.

“I like animals,” she said.

Bennett Hall is the business editor for the Gazette-Times. He can be reached at 758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net.