‘Come As You Are’ Parade Honors Millwood Scope
Even though 13-year-old Amanda Williams lives in Otis Orchards, it didn’t take any arm twisting to get her to ride her horse in the West Valley SCOPE Grand Opening Parade.
“Anything to show off my baby,” said the half-pint girl wearing a 10-gallon hat, perched atop her ebony mare.
Last Saturday’s parade was a celebration not just of the opening of a SCOPE substation at 9411 E. Trent, but also of Millwood community spirit. It wasn’t a huge affair - there were no floats, no marching bands.
There was a menagerie of ordinary folks riding, pedaling, walking or driving along the four-block residential route starting at Millwood Park.
Before show time, paraders lined up along Frederick Street. There were no entry forms, no rules.
“It’s just come as you are, show as you are and bring what you got,” SCOPE chairman Bill Langdon said.
Carolyn Havens brought a glossy red 1966 Mustang convertible. Havens and her husband, Jerry, restore cars as a hobby.
“That’s why it’s a hobby,” Havens said as she got the car ready for its passenger, WV Lilac Princess Michele Weinman.
In the park itself, the grass slowly filled not only with horses but with turkeys, lamas, chickens, ducks, geese and goats owned by Joy Katterfeld of Katterfeld’s Rocking Horse Ranch in Newman Lake.
West Valley High School’s cheerleading advisor, Mary Pat King, led her troop of six new junior-varsity cheerleaders across the green to their spot in the lineup. The varsity girls couldn’t come - they were taking their SATs. The band couldn’t show up, either. The band leader was out of town.
“It’s not just their first parade. It’s their first anything,” King said of the rookie half-dozen.
Trying to fill the void left by the band, the FROG-FM truck arrived, blaring boot-scootin’ anthems. It wasn’t typical marching fare, but the horses seemed to like it.
The parade began. Inside his DARE van, sheriff’s deputy Scott Szoke followed a tough-looking magwheeled DARE Camaro. From behind his mirrored Oakleys, he waved at moms and pops sitting in lawn chairs. Little tykes jumped up for a closer look, one of them yelling “Hey, you’re from DARE!”
Dick Rowe has lived at the corner of Frederick and Maple for 39 years. It’s the spirit of things like this parade, he said, that keeps him there.
“You’re in a small-town neighborhood, but within five minutes you’re out into a city-type area,” Rowe said as he sat in his yard, watching a black 1940 Chevrolet roll by. “I think it’s great.”
Looking a little mismatched in the company of the classic cars was the pedal-mobile belonging to Dr. M.T. Shrink. Yes, that’s his name. The only one you’ll get out him, anyway. He’s a clown.
“This is the most collectible car here,” Doc said. He made it out of a wheelchair, aquarium, TV stand, two bed frames and a garbage can; all welded together under a pie-pan seat.
A swarm of young bicyclists, clad in green SCOPE shirts, buzzed around the clown mobile. Mountain bikes were cool, but this …
After a couple of laps around the neighborhood, the crowd came back to the park. They roasted hot dogs, gave out ID safety badges to children and heard a quick word from the parade’s grand marshal, Millwood Mayor Jeanne Batson.
Asked what her duties entailed, she shrugged. “Not much, really. I just had to ride in my car.” Then off she went, joining the 20 or so others in line for their $1 hot dog with chips.