Much Planning and Many Logistics Go into Producing Memorial Day Parade and Ceremonies
By Carol P. Bartold
May 27, 2015: Planning and logistics were the order of the day for Bronxville's 95th annual Memorial Day parade on Monday, May 25.
Village Administrator Jim Palmer, with assistance from Mary Ann Magliato, secretary to the mayor and village administrator, organized the parade, lined up units on wheels and on foot--units making music and units in formation--and moved it all smoothly the six blocks from Leonard Morange Square to The Bronxville School.
Palmer and Magliato walked the Parkway Road staging area early Monday morning directing participants to the proper area to line up according to the order of march and wrangling local dignitaries toward the speakers' podium for the opening ceremony.
"Mike Fix called me in November to start planning the parade," Palmer said. "I thought that was a bit early, but it wasn't."
When Grand Marshal Fr. Peter McGeory, pastor of St. Joseph's Church, issued the order "prepare your units to move out," engines revved, lines in marching units straightened, and drum cadences sounded.
An excited crowd lined Pondfield Road to greet the parade as Fr. McGeory, preceded by a military color guard, led the six-block parade, packed with interesting sounds and sights
A procession of classic automobiles from the 1920s through the 1960s preceded the marching and music units.
The Sword of Light Pipe Band, the Patriot Brass Ensemble and Marching Band, the Boy Scout band, and the X-Factor Drum Line, interspersed among marching units, thundered through the underpass and emerged to delight the crowd with patriotic music and rousing drum rhythms.
Mayor Mary Marvin, along with village trustees Guy Longobardo and Randy Mayer, Eastchester town councilman Glenn Bellitto, and Westchester County legislator Gordon Burrows, walked the parade route and greeted the crowd.
Chief Christopher Satriale led a marching unit of officers from the Bronxville Police Department.
The Chapel School, St. Joseph's Church, Boulder Ledge Garden Club, The Bronxville Historical Conservancy, the Anne Hutchinson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and local Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, and Brownies were among the community groups represented in the parade.
"We're so fortunate to have all the community groups, not-for-profits, and musical groups who want to participate in the parade," Palmer said.
To see photos of the parade, the ceremony, the James E. Kearney Run for Fun, and Bronxville PTA events, click here: Memorial Day 2015.
Pictured here: Front (L to R): Village trustee Randy Mayer, Mayor Mary Marvin, village trustee Guy Longobardo; between Mayor Marvin and Guy Longobardo: Eastchester town councilman Glenn Bellitto.
Photo by N. Bower; photos in link by N. Bower and A. Warner
