Social - November 2003

Flair, fun, festivity marks 30th year of community parade

By ALICE SMITH, Staff Writer

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CAT SQUARE — What started out as a small purr at a western Lincoln County crossroads is roaring into its 30th anniversary.

The 30th annual Cat Square Christmas parade will take place at 2 p.m. Dec. 13 and promises to be packed full of flair, fun and festivity.

For many, the parade is a Christmas staple, a holiday tradition.

“It’s like coming home,” said Jamie Houser, one of the organizers. “You go to Cat Square parade, then you put up your tree.”

The parade started in 1974 when the youth group at Trinity Lutheran Church wanted to raise money to support a child overseas. It cost $1 to enter.

“It was probably nothing but chicken trucks, a few floats and the band,” said Gladys Sain, a longtime parade participant and organizer.

After the youth group grew up, residents formed a parade committee and took over the planning.

A thick scrapbook holds years and years of parade memories. Newspaper pictures and articles are pasted to the yellow pages, words carefully printed in thick multi-colored magic markers.

Through the years, the parade has exploded in size and reputation. The hundreds of spectators grew to thousands. A Charlotte couple even reported hearing talk of the parade while on a train in England.

Parade-watchers are just as much a part of the event as are the participants, Houser said.

“You’re either going to be in it or you’re going to watch,” he said. “People take pride in decorating their float or people take pride in finding their favorite parking spot.”

Anyone who attends the parade can see how it stands apart from other parades, organizers said.

The bands and floats and pageant queens are still there. And there are the Shriners, the fire trucks and the horses — lots of horses.

But what makes the parade unique is the hand that community members have in it. Along with the usual entries, families, friends and pets can march down the route.

“I think it’s the cooperation of the community that makes the parade special,” Houser said. “People get together. We can all cooperate for one day.”

Local businesses contribute heavily to the parade, Sain said. And a newly formed Cat Walk raises scholarship money for local students.

Reigning over the Cat Square residents is an unofficially elected mayor. Each year, the community makes nominations and then votes for the mayor at Cat Square Superette.

“I think the mayor has gotten more recognition than the grand marshal,” Sain said.

Residents also choose Little Miss and Miss Cat Square.

Parade organizers are expecting this year’s event to be the best yet. A lot depends on the weather, but that hasn’t been a problem in the past.

“It has never rained,” Sain said, as Houser knocked on wood. “It’s been misty, it’s snowed, it’s been hot as the very devil.”

One frigid year Houser and his son were atop their horses, waiting for the parade to start.

It was 30 degrees and a few snowflakes were falling.

“And he was still just grinning ear to ear — ‘When do we start, daddy? When do we start?’”

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The Cat Square Christmas parade starts at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13. Nominations for mayor will take place this Saturday, and residents can vote Dec. 6.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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