Cub Scout Pack 99 had much to be excited about before the 4th of July parade Tuesday in Downers Grove.
The boys had built a giant birthday-cake float they would get to ride through the streets. “It’s the United States’ birthday,” explained Ben Gatewood, 9, earnestly.
And if they were lucky, they might get a turn carrying the flag.
“The carrying of the flag is huge,” said one of the adult leaders of Downers Grove-Fairmount School Pack 99, Jon Dobosenski. “They’ve all been begging to carry the flag.”
A short distance in front of them, there was another group in which carrying the flag had the same kind of appeal, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 503 in Downers Grove.
“I like seeing all generations out here–from babies in their mother’s arms to 95-year-olds–it’s everybody’s country,” said Richard Gualano, 60, a veteran of the Vietnam War, as he prepared the U.S. flag he would carry in the parade.
As the veterans groups walked by, the crowd lining Main Street stood and applauded during the parade, one of many in the Chicago area.
In Evanston, thousands crowded on porches, the occasional rooftop and lawn chairs along Central Street to catch the city’s 85th 4th of July parade. The parade featured staples such as fire engines, pompon squads and waving politicians in classic cars, but the event also had a political flavor.
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Several dozen protesters held signs and chanted slogans calling for an end to the war in Iraq. Along the parade route, the protesters’ message drew a few boos, but it was met mostly with cheers and applause only surpassed by the crowd’s response to the high-flying Jesse White Tumblers acrobatic team.
“This shows that there are many of us that believe that this war needs to end,” said Chicago resident Autumn Frager, 59.
But near the end of the parade route, Robert Jones, 47, lamented that the event had become a political forum.
“It’s good and it’s bad,” he said of the protesters. It’s good to raise awareness of issues, Jones said, “but for the kids, it’s just supposed to be a fun, enjoyable day.”
Along the Downers Grove route, Matthew Schellbach, 3, was honest about why he was there. “The candy,” he said.
Children in the crowd watched for the slightest movement of a hand to a candy bucket. Then they would scramble in the street for every Bottlecap, every Tootsie Roll, every box of Nerds.
Politicians marched by, as did clowns, square dancers, groups in period military costumes, gymnasts, a “little Elvis” and high school bands.
“Grandma, I love those things!” said Kylie, 3, to her grandmother, Nancy Towler, a longtime Downers Grove resident who is a big fan of the marching bands.
Towler explained why she keeps coming to the parade year after year.
“I like the camaraderie of everyone being out here together,” she said.
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