A Hot Time in Andover for Fourth of July

A clear day between two rainy weeks

July 20, 2013 • Saved under News

Rose Robertson, daughter of Michael and Laura Robertson of Five Oaks Cottage on Highland Lake, poses with Uncle Sam (Charlie Darling) during Andover's Fourth of July parade. Photo: Michael Robertson

Past Lions Club District Governor Bill Leber takes a break from the action at the Andover Lions Club food booth on the Village Green on the Fourth of July, along with Sally George, daughter of Lion members Howard and Ellie George. Photo: Joyce Egge

Mike Haley, bucket in hand, walks in the Andover Fourth of July parade with his daughter Mariah and her two steer, Jay and Dean. Photo: Stephanie Nelson

Trish Demers, her daughter Alissa, and her granddaughter Julia wait for the start of the Children's Parade. Photo: Beth Frost

Olivia Bell, Owen Tupek, Gracie Bailey, and Angel Evans won first place in the Toddler to Three Years Old category in the Children's Parade for their portrayal of the Three Little Pigs. Photo: Beth Frost

Pam Mulder, Kathy Ward, and Marcy Bryant Vierzen were the Children's Parade judges again this year. Photo: Beth Frost

Lohkoah Paye and Tyler Tkaczyk are ready for the Children's Parade to start! Photo: Beth Frost

Grayson and Ella Noyes had their own interpretation of the Three Little Pigs. Photo: Beth Frost

Luke Tkaczyk gets ready for the Children's Parade with help from his parents, Amy and Brent Tkaczyk, and his grandmother, Jan Brennan. Photo: Beth Frost

The Perfect Attendance Bell Ringers at the 10 o'clock ringing were Aidan O'Donnell (6th), Brandon Dukette (3rd), and Miles Hurlbutt (2nd). Brandon's face clearly shows what a hot day it was! Photo: Chuck Will

Andy Guptill, Tiffany Garon, AJ Barton, and Steve Barton, all volunteers from the Andover Fire Department, worked hard on the Fourth of July selling sno-cones. The high temperatures helped in the fundraising efforts of the Andover Fire Department. Photo and caption: Meghan Barton.

Everyone on the Andover Fire Department is very proud that the Andover Lions Club has presented our Fire Chief, Rene Lefebvre (right, waving), with the Granite State Fellow Award for his outstanding contributions to the community. He was recongnized on the Fourth of July with an invitation to ride in the Andover Lions' Concord Coach during the parade. Congratulations, Rene. Our town is very lucky to have you as our Chief. This award is much deserved! Photo and caption: Meghan Barton

By Judy Perreault, Fourth of July Committee

It was a perfect day for the Andover Fourth of July celebration. The super-hot weather didn’t discourage attendees or participants.

The Firecracker 5K racers had to beat the heat as well as the other racers.

An early morning power outage in Andover necessitated the use of generators to run the coffeepots at the Andover Lions Club pancake breakfast. Fortunately, they were cooking with gas, so the delicious flow of pancakes and sausages was not interrupted.

Antique car enthusiasts could participate in the Road Relics Car Show at Pizza Chef before heading off to shop at the flea market on the Village Green. There was a great assortment of merchandise available. I know my family came home with some bargains.

Also on the Village Green, the Boy Scouts raised the new flag. The Girl Scouts had lowered the old flag on Friday evening. This is a tradition for both groups.

As they shopped, folks could enjoy the music of the Kearsage Community Band as well as the beautiful voices of Margo Coolidge and Nancy Tripp singing some of our favorite patriotic songs.

Thanks to the Andover Congregational Church for providing free of charge to children a bouncy house, cookies, water, and a coloring and bubble table. A donation could be made to the Wounded Warriors Project or to the Andover Food Pantry.

The East Andover Village Preschool was on hand selling lemonade and shimmer tattoos.

Folks who had tickets for Barnyard Bingo waited patiently for the goat to do her thing. Adult winners were:

  • First: Katie McKerley
  • Second: Lori McCrillis
  • Third: Martin Fairall

The children winners were:

  • First: Finn Weber
  • Second: Luke Weber
  • Third: Isaac Norris

Local non-profit groups were selling a variety of foods. There were hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, onion rings, and for the sweet tooth, cotton candy, pies, and strawberry shortcake.

The patriotic red, white, and blue quilt made by Rose Tilton and quilted by Linda Barnes of The Constant Quilter was won by Jan Kingsley of East Andover.

Golf enthusiasts could try their skill at the Closest To The Pin contest, which was held at Carr Field.

Promptly at noon the parade began, led by the Franklin American Legion Color Guard, Ladies Auxiliary and the American Legion Post 49 Drill Team. Uncle Sam, the World War II patriotic poster man, lives on (a.k.a. Charlie Darling) and is a welcome sight in our parade.

Marching groups included the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Franklin Legacy Cheer, and the Children’s Parade. We had a number of entries in the latter category. I’m sure the Fairy Tales theme was popular with the children. Sara Tracy and Beth Frost did a wonderful job of organizing the group and making sure they had drinks, prizes, and ribbons. The judges, Kathy Ward and Pam Mulder, had a tough time deciding on the winners:

Toddler to Three Years Old

  • First: Three Little Pigs: Olivia Bell, 3; Owen Tupek, 1; Gracie Bailey, 1; and Angel Evans, 9, who was the wolf
  • Second: Patriotic: Sarah Davis, 3; Emma Davis, 1
  • Third: Patriotic: Julia Demers, 3

Four and Five Years Old

  • First: Patriotic: Tai Ferland, 4

Six to Nine Years Old

  • First: Patriotic: Ella Noyes, 7; Grayson Noyes, 6
  • Second: Patriotic: Olivia Lewis, 8; Emma Lewis, 6
  • Third: Patriotic: Rose Robertson, 7

10 to 14 Years Old

  • Favorite: Patriotic: Luke Tkaczyk, 10

Overall: Most Patriotic

  • First: Tyler Tkaczyk, 8
  • Second: Zigehieh Paye, 2
  • Third: Beatrice Dickinson, 8

Animals are an important part of the parade. Taking first place in this division was Lynn McLaughlin riding Spooner. Second went to Whisper Wind Stable with Delaney Young riding Delaney’s Little Sunflower and Jen Hauser riding Just Plain Andy. Third went to Mary Ann Guaraldi riding Bo Bo. Fourth went to Mariah Haley for her oxen team, Jay and Bean. Our judge was Joyce Egge of Equine Homes.

In our vehicle category, first went to Lois and Bill Porter for their ’56 Ford Thunderbird. Second went to Bill Carpenter for his 1912 Ford. Third went to Lisa and Mike Braley for their 1930 Ford Sport Coupe. Fourth went to Mac Johnston for his 1938 John Deere tractor.

Other entries were Roger Gross, ’59 Corvette; Josie Martin, ’56 Ford 100, Ken Blevins, 1931 Ford Roadster; Eric Johnson, 1976 Mercedes Benz; Will Clark of CC Racing, 2000 Mini Spirit Race Car; Gary Prentice of Nimcor Coating Corp, Truck; Bill Brown, ’53 International Truck; Darlene Craig, Civil Air Patrol Composite Squadron Van; and two of Rusty’s distinctive purple towing trucks. The judge was Lloyd Perreault.

We were very happy to have eight floats entered in this year’s parade. They were all great, and our judges, Julie Cooper and son, found it difficult to choose.

  • First: East Andover Village Preschool: Three Little Pigs
  • Second: Hurlbutt Construction Company: Three Little Pigs
  • Third: Lake Sunapee Bank: Old Woman in a Shoe
  • Fourth: Whisper Wind Stable: Land of Oz

Other entries were:

  • Naughty Nellie’s, famous for their ice cream
  • Camp Wilmot: Go Tell It on the Mountain
  • Andover Fish and Game: Gone Fishin’
  • Tucker Mountain Maple Syrup: Bounty of Mother Nature

Leapin’ Lena wowed the crowd with her antics. Bill Hoyt was driving, with Mary Simmons and Kelly Currier holding down the rear.

Who doesn’t love to see the Concord Coach, with its high-stepping horses Bill and Cody. Inside were Andover Lions Bill Leber and Ron Evans, accompanied by the winners of the prestigious 2013 Granite State Fellow awards for exceptional service to the community: Andover Fire Chief Rene Lefebvre and Andover Lion Judy Evans.

Captain Morrill and Company is such a reminder of past times. We love the boom of the cannon now, but in bygone times it wasn’t such a welcome sound.

What’s a parade without music? We had three great bands, each representing different periods of history. Bluff Point Quohog Diggers Band takes us back to colonial times. The Bektash Drum and Bugle Corps, with its colorful uniforms and resonating drums, are representative of an ancient fraternal organization, the Masons. The delicate, haunting sound of the bagpipes of the New Hampshire Pipes and Drums brings to mind Scotland and its clans. After the parade, this group presented a delightful concert on the Village Green. A young lady also performed some Scottish dances.

The parade isn’t over until the Fire Trucks pass by. Participating this year was Andover, Danbury (with three engines), Franklin, New London, Wilmot, and Salisbury (also with three engines). Salisbury Rescue and Andover EMS were the other emergency vehicles. Andover EMS was busy treating folks affected by the extreme heat. It is nice to know we have all this manpower and equipment in our mutual aid affiliation.

I believe the two softball games were played as scheduled, but I have yet to find out who played or who won. They are the mystery teams.

This year’s program was dedicated to Charlie Darling, in grateful appreciation for all that he does for the Fourth of July Committee, the program, ads, the Beacon tent on the Village Green, and Uncle Sam. He has his finger on the pulse of Andover, with his involvement in the newspaper, cable TV station, and other town activities.

Many thanks to the Andover Fourth of July Committee for all its hard work. It was a year of many changes and a few bumps in the road as we became an official Town committee. Those who participated in the parade were very cooperative with providing insurance and filling out all the paperwork, especially for all children under 18. Thanks also to Bob Hurlbutt for providing and painting more metal trash cans.

In the evening, the children wove interesting patterns as they ran with their various glo-sticks. To top off an exciting and fun-filled day, there was a fantastic display of fireworks by the Atlas Company. The sight of all those colors against the evening sky was spectacular.

As we left the viewing areas, the first drops of rain began to fall, but it was OK. The festivities of another Andover Fourth of July celebration were over.