Fourth Judges Stuck on Bookmarks
Morag MacLachlan
The Duxbury Free Library's young adult club, the Bookmarks, won first place in the maxi floats category and received the Margery Parcher award of $500 for their tribute to American Adhesives.
07/05/2006 - Duxbury's Fourth of July parade judges were stuck on the ingenuity of the Duxbury Free Library's young adult club the Bookmarks. The group's float, which was a tribute to American adhesives, took home first place in the maxi floats category as well as $500 and the coveted Margery Parcher Cup.
"We were beside ourselves with excitement," Young Adult Librarian Ellen Snoeyenbos said. "We are treating the winning of the $500 like a fundraiser and donating the money to the Cameron Parish Library."
Rebuilding the library in Louisiana, which lost three of its four branches and its main library during hurricanes Rita and Katrina, is the goal of the Duxbury library's community-wide summer reading program and activities series called Bay to Bayou. The Bookmarks winnings of $500 for their parade float will be added to the amount of money being raised to restore the library down south.
Chuck Walker served as grand marshal for the 114th Fourth of July Parade. His wife Marie said the couple has been attending the parade since the 1930s.
The theme of the town's 114th Annual Forth of July Parade was American Ingenuity. The Bookmarks' winning float celebrated the world of everyday adhesives like 3M's Post It notes.
"3M labs were trying to make a better adhesive when they discovered Post Its," Bookmark Angie Goldman of Old Farm Road said.
Traditional yellow Post It notes and funkier neon-colored Post Its adorned the float along with a sign explaining the history of this bit of American ingenuity as "Post It's the mistake that worked." Other sticky inventions that worked included giant painted replicas of a bottle of Elmer's glue and the familiar green, yellow and black plaid design of a Scotch tape dispenser. A tribute to duct tape could be found trailing behind the large bed of the main float. Pieces of the silver adhesive peppered a blue inflatable boat, which carried a sign listing the many uses of duct tape including stopping leaks, repairing rugs and, of course, mending books. Connected to the boat was a plastic toy truck with a duct tape lettered sign boasting "my fender was mended with duct tape."
Yachting, religious freedom and space missions were other examples of American ingenuity found along the parade's route down Washington Street. This year's grand marshal Chuck Walker of Tremont Street said he has been a spectator of the parade and its many floats since the 1930s.
"My dad loved parades," said Walker's wife Marie. "We would go to Plymouth's in the morning and Duxbury's parade in the afternoon." The couple watched the parade from a different vantage point this year as they were driven in a 1972 yellow Oldsmobile convertible by John Britten.
Chad Conway of School Street rebuilt this 1980 electric Commutacar. Conway said riding in the parade was the second time he had taken the car for a ride since finishing it earlier in the week.
Spectators were treated to another yellow car, but this one did not run on gas. DHS student Chad Conway of School Street took his 1980 electric Commutacar for its second spin since he finished rebuilding the vehicle earlier in the week.
"This was sitting in my teacher Chris Connors' garage," Conway said. "I put in new batteries and rewired it."
Conway, the son of town treasurer Beth Conway, said the Commutacar takes eight six volt deep cycle high-output batteries, which are similar to those found in a golf cart. It can travel 30 to 60 miles before needing to be recharged and the car reaches speeds of up to 60 mph.
Dan Winters, Jr., and his father Dan Winters of Braintree each drove a Ford Model T in the parade. This 1912 Paddy Wagon was built from Model T parts the elder Winters found at flea markets and swap meets. The duo has ridden in the parade for the past 30 years.
Also riding in a unique style was father and son duo Dan Winters, Sr., and Dan Winters, Jr. The pair from Braintree has participated in the town's parade for the past 30 years and rode in Hingham and Randolph's parades before pulling their Ford Model T's into Duxbury on Tuesday afternoon.
The younger Winters rode in a 1912 Ford Model T his father built from parts he began collecting back in the 1970s at flea markets and swap meets.
"Model T parts are hard to come by now," said the elder Winters, who used pictures of the original car to rebuild the 1912 edition. He added that his son's car named Paddy Wagon featured police car parts for the railings and sirens. The Paddy Wagon's horn was activated by squeezing a bulb. The vehicle's headlights were gas generated and its large wheels placed the car up higher than today's models.
Fourth of July Parade Award Winners
Maxi Floats
First Place: Duxbury Free Library
Second Place: Corner Stone Lodge
Third Place: First Church of Wicca
Fourth Place: Cub Scouts Pack 1776
Fifth Place: Duxbury Middle School
Mini Floats
First Place: Duxbury Newcomers Club
Second Place: Duxbury Student Union
Third Place: Camp Wing
Fourth Place: The Bay Players
Color Guards
Duxbury Police Department
Honor Guards
The American Legion
Bands: Jazz/Rock
First Place: DHS Jazz Band
Second Place: Duxbury Student Union- Sons of the Blues
Third Place: The Infractions
Bands: Traditional
First Place: York Lions Steel Band
Second Place: 103rd Electricians Fife and Drum Band
Third Place: The Crusaders
Marching Groups
First Place: 15th Mass Regiment
Second Place: Plymouth County Sheriffs Department
Walking Groups
Camp Wing
Clowns/Bicycles
The Shirley Family
Source: Dave Robinson, Fourth of July Committee
"The wheels put the cars up higher because the roads were mud and dirt back then," Winters said. "The light from the headlights was gas powered and did not shine very bright. But because of the roads people didn't drive fast back then so you didn't need to see too far in front of you."
While most of the parade's participants were driven or driving down the route to the middle school, there were musicians, color guards and politicians who walked the course. Selectmen Chairwoman Betsy Sullivan strolled down Washington Street for the fifth time while Vice Chairman Andre Martecchini hit the pavement for the tenth year in a row.
"It takes about an hour to walk it," Martecchini said. "Sometimes my daughter walks it with me. It hasn't been rained out yet."
Despite rumbles of thunder and a quick shower, the parade went off without a hitch. Fourth of July Committee Co-Chairwoman Margaret Kearney said she was pleased with the event and residents relayed the same sentiment.
"Most of the people I've heard from were pleased," Kearney said. "There were more floats this year and the bands were good. I appreciate the work of the committee and the police department. The police did an outstanding job with crowd control and directing traffic. All in all, I am very pleased."
Go Back to: 1980 Comuta-Car