Fremont Christmas Parade is a family tradition
By Ty Johnson
Published in News on December 2, 2012 1:50 AM
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News-Argus/MICHAEL BETTS
Chancie Fuller, 6, laughs as a Shriner from the Wayne County Shrine Club rolls by on his mini-rig during the Fremont Christmas Parade on Saturday.
Joe Marm's home at the corner of East Main and North Vance streets in downtown Fremont has been a fixture for more than a century.
The old home has been in his wife's family since 1904, a relic of days gone by, but when he and Debra moved into the house in 1995, the two added a new shine on the family's tradition on that corner by inviting their extended family to watch the Fremont Christmas Parade there.
Saturday was no exception, as uncles, aunts, cousins and Marm's 1-year-old granddaughter, Reagan, were all there -- some in rocking chairs, others on the stoop -- for what has become an annual get-together.
The mild temperatures and blue skies made the reunion even better this year, one cousin said.
"You couldn't ask for a better parade," Connie Yelverton said.
Further up the street, Jeremy Howell and his mother, Terry Howell, waved to Kyleigh, 3, as she passed by on the Fremont Methodist Preschool float.
Howell said he's been coming to the parade his entire life, but it was a bonus to have his daughter in it this year.
"I was in it a long time ago with the Boy Scouts," he said.
A few blocks away, Donovan and Delora Brown of Pikeville stood with four of their children.
Unfazed by the loud fire trucks, their 4-year-old daughter, Hayden, stared up at the parade, silently calling down candy bars and bubble gum.
"They love it because they get candy," Mrs. Brown said.
But while Sienna, 6, Krysten, 7, and Chelsea, 13, scooped up all the candy within sight, Hayden stood still.
"She's picky," Mrs. Brown said. "She likes chocolate."
But that didn't stop her from quickly picking up and chewing a piece of Dubble Bubble when she spied it at her feet.
As Santa Claus came by, signaling the end of the parade except for a dozen or so horses, he showered the young girl with peppermint discs. She barely moved, though, as her siblings picked up the candy from around her.
Hopefully, Santa will take the hint before visiting her house on Christmas morning.