Everybody Loves a Parade!

             Young and old line the streets to watch a parade in their local town and Millinocket is no exception! Memorial Day, the 4^th of July, town birthdays, Union groups, the Santa Claus Parade and more…citizens and various town groups have shown up through the years to participate and/or view the parades. With another parade time upon us, it seemed appropriate to check the Millinocket Historical Society collection for parade memorabilia.

 Among the oldest photos in the collection is one of an early Labor Day parade with a large group of men from the International Brotherhood of Stationary Firemen. It shows them marching down Penobscot Avenue and in another photo they are posed on the steps of the Millinocket Opera House

Participating in the Memorial Day parade of 1926 were several groups of soldiers. As the veterans of World War I and others marched along Penobscot Avenue, young boys decked out in 20’s caps, jackets and knickers followed along side the men. Another 1926 parade, probably July 4^th, included a number of children in their Sunday best and a large contingent of decorated baby carriages. Many of the carriages were of the large wicker type and were covered with crepe paper flowers and streamers.

Millinocket’s 50^th birthday was celebrated with a huge parade on July 4, 1951. The museum has several sets of the professional photos taken of the parade by local photographer Ralph Crowell. People were able to select which Crowell photos they wished to have in their personal album. Shown are men and women in period costume, floats representing businesses and organizations, horse drawn carriages and more.

1963 was the occasion for an inpromtu parade when the newly crowned New England basketball champs returned home. Hundreds were at the game in Boston (Millinocket was almost a ghost town that night) and they returned home to welcome the team with a late-night parade through downtown and then a reception at the SHS gym.

In 1976, the United States celebrated its 100^th birthday and Millinocket came out to celebrate in large numbers. People lined the streets from the shopping center to the park in huge numbers and many marching groups and decorative floats were displayed.  

Millinocket’s 100^th birthday celebration (2001) inspired a long parade with many

creative floats, bands, organizational groups, class reunion groups and others. It was a great day! Visit the museum to view the 100^th birthday photo albums and other parade albums in the collection.

  Through the years, there have been a few smaller parades featuring special groups. The Shriners met in Millinocket in 1989 and as part of their convention held a parade through town. The museum has a video of that occasion.

Visitors are welcome to visit the museum and view the various photo albums, share your stories and help identify people in the photos.