Lee Glover holds the record for serving as grand marshal of a Newtown Labor Day Parade. Glover has served five times, more often than anyone else.

The former Newtown Hook & Ladder Chief carried the honor the first two years a parade marched down Main Street, in 1962 and 1963.

Newtown native Maureen Crick Owen proudly notes that Lee Glover is her uncle.

“I always enjoy watching my uncle march with Newtown Hook & Ladder. At the parade last year, Lee was 90 years old and still going strong marching down the road,” she added.

Glover returned to the lead position in 1967, that year sharing the title with Fire Marshal James Cavanaugh and Sandy Hook Fire Chief Herb Lewis. He was again grand marshal in 1971, when the parade was dedicated “to the firemen of Newtown” — well before women joined the ranks — and then again in 2011, returning for the parade’s golden anniversary.

Crick Owen said her parents, Jim and Joan Crick, “were so honored to be chosen” as grand marshals in 1996.

The first couple to share the honor of grand marshal was Paul and Starr Smith, in 1973. Mr Smith at that time was owner and publisher of Bee Publishing Company. The parade theme that year was “Salute to Town Service Organizations.”

Clifford Maddox and Colonel Gilbert Teal each served in the honorary position for two consecutive years. Maddox, the town’s Civil Defense Director and a member of the 1967 musical and fireworks planning committee, among other career highlights, led in 1965 and 1966. Teal, a retired colonel, held the honor in 1968 and 1969.

While couples shared the honor many times, it wasn’t until 1988, when Sarah Mannix was tapped for the lead position, that a woman had the sole honor of being named grand marshal.

As of 2019, women have served as parade marshal of the Newtown Labor Day Parade 11 times. In addition to Mannix, also enjoying the honor have been Shirley Ferris (1995), Ginny Lathrop (1997), Pat Barkman (2006), Mae Schmidle (2008), Julia Wasserman (2009), Marge Rogers (2010), Sydney Eddison (2014), Ruth Newquist (2015), Lee Paulsen (2017) and Eunice Laverty (2018).

One parade posthumously honored a legendary resident. In 2005, when the town celebrated its tercentennial, the parade honored Newtown Benefactress Mary Elizabeth Hawley. Portrayed by Beth Cluff in period costume and riding in a carriage, Cluff put a face on the 300th anniversary celebration.

In 2013, after agonizing over whether to have a parade in the year following 12/14, the Parade Committee decided to not name a marshal. Instead, that year’s parade honored the entire town with the theme of “We Are Newtown — Marching Strong!”

Crick Owen and her family have always watched the parade from the lawn of the family’s home on Glover Avenue.

“I enjoyed it as a child and now as an adult,” she said. She will miss seeing her uncle — and the thousands of others who would have marched this year had the parade not been canceled — but she joins the ranks of others already looking toward September 6 of next year.

“Let’s hope the parade is back for 2021!” Crick Owen said in closing.

Grand Marshals And Their Themes

While most parades have had themes, which are tied in to the selection of each year’s grand marshal, there have been about a dozen years where the parade did not carry a theme. Most parades without a theme occurred during the first decade of its existence, including the inaugural one in 1962.

2019, “Volunteers Keeping Our Community Strong,” with Bill Halstead as Grand Marshal

2018, “Serving The Community,” Eunice Laverty

2017, “Labor of Love,” Lee Paulsen

2016, “There’s No Place Like Home,” Dr Bob Grossman

2015, “Celebrating the Fine Art of Newtown,” Ruth Newquist

2014, “Write On, Newtown!,” Sydney Eddison

2013, “We Are Newtown — Marching Strong!” The Town of Newtown

2012, “Honoring Ten Years of Caring For Newtown,” Dr Z. Michael & Jocelyn Taweh

2011, “Celebrating the Golden Anniversary of Newtown’s Parade,” Lee Glover

(Note: This was the year the parade was postponed to a Sunday afternoon in October, due to Tropical Storm Irene one week before Labor Day.)

2010, “On Stage in Newtown,” Marge Rogers

2009, “A Passion For Newtown,” Julia Wasserman

2008, “VNA Keeping Newtown Healthy,” Mae Schmidle

2007, “Cyrenius H. Booth Library — Keeping Us Reading For 75 Years,” William Lavery

2006, “Wide Open Spaces,” Patricia Barkman

2005, Mary Hawley (costumed Beth Cluff), “Celebrating Newtown’s Tercentennial”

2004, “Newtown — Fun For All,” Gordon Williams

2003, “Faith In The Future: A Celebration of the Youth of Newtown,” Roseanne Loring and Deborah Richardson

2002, “Proud To Bee An American,” R. Scudder Smith

2001, “Let’s Celebrate Newtown’s Natural Beauty,” Mary Mitchell and Al Goodrich

2000, “History in the Making,” Dan Cruson

1999, “Newtown: A Picture Perfect Town,” David Merrill

1998, “Newtown Celebrates the Flagpole,” David Lydem

1997, “Newtown: Our Town,” Ginny Lathrop

1996, “Newtown: The Place to Be on Labor Day,” Jim and Joan Crick

1995, “Newtown: Tradition Starts Here,” Shirley Ferris

1994, “Newtown: These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things,” Bob and Caroline Stokes

1993, “Newtown: Young & Old Growing Together,” Jim and Betty Lou Osborne

1992, “Let’s Have a Parade,” Stu and Jean Smith

1991, “Newtown: An All-American Town,” The Men & Women of Desert Storm

1990, “Tradition in Newtown,” Merlin Fisk

1989, “Newtown: Fun for All Ages,” Marvi Fast

1988, “Newtown: The Place to Be,” Sarah Mannix

1987, “25th Anniversary of Community Service,” Joseph Chase

1986, “Once Upon a Tradition,” Sam and Arlene Eisenbach

1985, “Newtown: A Town for all Seasons,” Harry and Ann Carey

1984, “Newtown... Naturally,” Art and Mary Scherer

1983, no theme, Gil and Ruth Collins

1982, no theme, Stan and Evelyn Very

1981, “Newtown: It’s the Good Life,” Tom and Lilly Goosman

1980, “Newtown: Getting into Shape for the ’80s,” Bill and Jeanne Honan

1979, “All Roads Lead to Newtown,” Lee Davenson

1978, “Reach for the Stars,” Neil and Irene Walker

1977, “Take Stock in Newtown,” Dr Tom Draper

1976, “Remember When...,” Mr and Mrs Edwin Storrs

1975, no theme, Herbert Cutler

1974, no theme, Mr and Mrs Richard Hibbard

1973, “Salute to Town Service Organizations,” Paul and Starr Smith

1972, no theme, Arthur Bennett, Sr

1971, “Dedicated to the Firemen of Newtown,” Lee Glover

1970, no theme, Al Nichols

1969, no theme, Col Gilbert Teal

1968, no theme, Col Gilbert Teal

1967, no theme, Lee Glover, Herb Lewis and James Cavanaugh

1966, no theme, Clifford Maddox

1965, no theme, Clifford Maddox

1964, no theme, Robert Reiner

1963, “Walk Together, Talk Together,” Lee Glover

1962, no theme, Lee Glover