Yesterday we looked behind the scenes at political parade participants lining up.
Today we’ll look at what was seen.
Bill Laskey was the Parade Marshall. A high school band director, he created the Heraldry Guard in the 1980’s
City officials were riding on a float near the beginning.
Council members Ellen Brady Mueller and Ralph Dawson were waving my way.
Unfortunately, I was too close to get the whole float.
A car from the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department was in the parade.
A Sheriff’s Deputy waved at the crowd. (Now that I have seen Sheriff Bill Prim’s son Hank driving the squad in the McHenry Parade, I see this is Hank, too, so it is not a deputy.)
The deputy waved this year.
A banner denoted the start of the Mark Kirk marchers.
U.S. Senator Mark Kirk’s contingent was the first overtly political contingent.
Mark Kirk rode in a jeep.
As he did five years ago, Kirk wore a baseball cap–this time for the USS Illinois.
Filming Mark Kirk was this tracker.
A “tracker” from one of Kirk’s Democratic Party opponents was videoing Kirk in the Crystal Lake 4th of July Parade.
More tomorrow.
I spent four years in the CL High School band directed by Mr. Laskey.
We were one of the premier marching bands in the entire state.
Unfortunately he has lost a lot of his hearing in recent years.
I knocked on his door once campaigning and he took me in and showed me a wall full of pictures of the marching bands.
He said the band we had during my tenure was the best he’d ever had (not due to me but to some other very talented people a couple of whom have become full time professional musicians).
“tracker” what using info from a unofficial event to defeat an opponent? How American!
Hank Prim is an unpaid volunteer.
I started the first pep band at Crystal Lake High School.
1965 Graduate.
The cheerleaders came to me.
Mr. Laskey overheard this and decided to let all members of the band to be part of pep band.
It got out of hand but to this day 50 years later there are many members of pep band.
My grand son was part of pep band.
I thought Mr. Laskey was jealous so he took over the pep band 5 piece group from me.
I remember playing charge on trumpet at a basketball game.
Mr Wit the counselor stopped me.
Later colleges across the nation played charge.
I won a talent contest in the US Army on trumpet and played at Roosevelt University Jazz Band. 1966-1969
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