It will be a celebration as usual this year in North Hampton as four women step up to the plate to organize the annual parade to honor those who fought and died for our country on Memorial Day weekend.

According to Gary Baker of the Pike Township Fire Association, the real reason that the parade was to be cancelled centered more on the fact that the officers of the Association simply had lost much of their help and volunteers who put on the annual event. As the years roll by, many organizations see members declining in their ability to carry on traditions and this was no exception.

Another contributing factor was the move of the yearly graduation ceremony for Northwestern Local to the Friday before Memorial Day leaving some to wonder if the Class of 2017 would want to participate with the marching band. With graduation parties and other events filling the weekend, organizers were giving the idea of a parade a second thought.

Bobbie Funderburg, Rebecca Briggs, Annie Carter, and Shelby Richardson stepped forward to take on the community tradition and began to assemble the units and make arrangements to step off at 3:00 p.m. as they always have on the Saturday before Memorial Day. The parade will follow the same route as it has for years and everyone can bring out their lawn chairs and wave their flags in the late afternoon.

Folks from the community will also be delighted that the annual Ice Cream Social will be held following the parade at the Pike Township Fire House located along Rt 41.

There are some things you can change about our small towns in Clark County, but you just cannot mess with the success of a time honored tradition of a parade hosted by a local community that includes kids from the high school marching in step, fire trucks and assorted organizations that call North Hampton home.