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Lunch With Ernest

July Fourth parade keeps small-town feel

By ERNEST HOOPER
Published July 7, 2006

Longtime Brandon attorney B. Lee Elam loves to tell a story about the city's annual Fourth of July parade.

Apparently in the early years of the parade, deputies and the Brandon Jaycees would pull over an unsuspecting couple, preferably with an out-of-state license tag and hold them on some trumped-up charge. They would cart the couple over to the kangaroo court at First Baptist Church, where Elam presided as judge. He would sentence the couple to spending the day in Brandon.

From that point, they were honored guests, dining at the annual pancake breakfast, riding in the parade, lunching on hot dogs and judging the children's parade.

The quaint tradition is no more, just one of the many changes the parade has undergone over the years. With State Road 60 more mega highway than Main Street, the parade has moved to smaller streets. Once the sole event to commemorate the Fourth, now the parade shares the stage with a fireworks extravaganza at the mall.

Still, this year's parade had that homey feel, even though Brandon's population has exploded. There were high school bands - Brandon and Bloomingdale set aside their rivalry to combine units - service organizations, firetrucks, veterans groups and clowns.

One man, dressed as Uncle Sam, somehow got his unmanned car to follow him down the parade route. At another point, the New World Celts, dressed in period piece clothing, broke ranks to laugh and joke with Valrico's Todd Marsh.

Marsh caught their attention by yelling, "What's in your old wallet?"

"We come out with friends and family every year to have a good time," said Marsh, accompanied by his wife, Amy, and his young kids, Dalton, 4, and Kenzie, 2.

"Look at all the people. We still have that small-town atmosphere."

Kids lent the most to that atmosphere, enthusiastically calling out for beads, scrambling for candy when it hit the ground and spraying parade entries with water guns.

Chrisalyn Junkert, 6, had the best approach. Along with her brother Sean, 4, they cheered for every politician who came by. At one moment, they were screaming for supporters of Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist. Then it was Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rod Smith receiving adulation.

By my count, the kids switched party affiliations eight times in 15 minutes.

The presence of political candidates did underscore the one sign Brandon isn't quite what it used to be. County Commissioner Ronda Storms, who is vying for the state Senate seat being vacated by Senate president Tom Lee, was joined on the parade route by two protesters.

The pair carried homemade signs on yellow poster board. One said, Ronda Storms is wrong for Hillsborough County, and the other said, Ronda Storms is divisive & toxic; unfit to lead, unfit to serve.

The protesters were booed by some, but largely went unfettered.

Storms appeared undaunted during the march. She continued to smile and throw out beads as she walked in front of her large float, which was teeming with supporters and blaring the Beach Boys' Help Me, Rhonda and Tom Petty's I Won't Back Down.

Far less controversial was Brandon's honorary mayor's race. Brandon & South Shore Times general manager Billie Smith won the annual fundraising campaign, garnering more than $15,000 to beat out local health food store owner Lela Lilyquist, who raised a respectable $7,000.

"I'm very proud to be part of the people in this community who like to do things to help charitable efforts," Smith said. "I hope more people step up to the plate next year."

Smith also spoke highly of Maureen Krzanowski, whose tireless work with the Brandon Presidents Roundtable helped sustain the parade. Krzanowski died on May 6, but her spirit was as much a part of the parade as the floats.

To salute Krzanowski, there was a memorial horse, and the Brandon Lions toted a sign that said, Goodnight Maureen, We Miss You.

Ernest Hooper also writes a column for The Times' Tampa & State edition. He can be reached at 813 226-3406 or hooper@sptimes.com.

[Last modified July 6, 2006, 19:31:44]