Sean C. Morgan
The Sweet Home High School cheerleaders edged out the competition in the annual Sportsman’s Holiday parade to win the grand sweepstakes Saturday.
A sizable crowd gathered in the last minutes before starting to watch the parade.
Among the crowd was Jordan Thompson, 7, who was delighted by nearly everything she saw.
“I love parades,” she exclaimed as floats passed by. “That’s what I’m talking about ? Cool donkeys! The horses are cute. Momma, I want a little baby horse.?
“I got to see the horses because horses are my favorite. I like the little mini-cars (driven by Shriners). I liked it when they were throwing candy.”
Jordan happily showed off a little bag full of candy passed out by the fire department, Rep. Jeff Kropf and many others along the parade.
“It went pretty good,” Ozzie Shaw, parade master, said. “I was a little disappointed we didn’t have more floats. There seems to be less and less going and decorating up.”
The parade had some nice floats, Shaw said. He enjoyed A and the Lebanon Strawberry Court float.
“A was, I thought, very good, in tune with the past,” Shaw said. “It’s interesting, and several people commented from other towns, ‘boy, you start your parade right on time.'”
Shaw retired as parade master a few years ago, but he keeps coming back and doing it anyway.
“Once I see the entries, I know just about where I’ll put them,” Shaw said. He has been doing it since just about the time Sportsman’s Holiday started, though he thinks there were a couple years he didn’t do it.
It’s simple now, Shaw said. He has organized the parade for so many years, it’s become a snap.
“It becomes second nature after you’ve done it a couple times,” Shaw said. “I enjoy it. It only takes a couple hours.”
His only concern is about the length of it now. He recalls when the front of the parade reached the end before the end of the parade even started. In those days, it went all the way to Highway 228 before looping around to Main Street. Now it loops around at 10th Avenue, starting at 18th Avenue.
Fewer retail stores get involved now, Shaw said. “White’s Electronics used to have a beautiful float. Without going to the parade, you’d know the grand sweepstakes, but they didn’t even want it.”
Parade winners included the following:
— Grand Sweepstakes: SHHS Cheerleaders.
— Antique Cars: First, Edmund Murray, 1929 Model A Ford; second, Sherman Weld, 1934 Ford truck with 1940 tractor; third, Raymond O’Friend, 1931 Ford.
— Civic and Fraternal Organizations: First, Red Hat Society; second, Sweet Home Squarenaders; third, Class of 1974.
— Classic Cars: First, Dean and Mary Anderson, 1957 Chevrolet; second, Chris Kennedy, pink 1963 Mercury Monterey; third, South Santiam Potato Queens.
— Commercial: First, Wiley Creek Community; second, State Farm Insurance; third, Cedar Shack and A.
— Courts: First, Strawberry Festival Court; second, Sportsman’s Holiday Court.
–Individuals: First, Rodeo Clowns and court; second, Travis Swanson; third, cheerleaders and B-Bop.
— Youth Groups: First, THI baseball team; second, Sharon Stredwick’s softball team; third, Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District baseball team.