The Newtown Labor Day Parade Committee announced recently that there will not be a parade down Main Street, Glover Avenue, and Queen Street come Monday, September 7.

It was not a huge surprise. There had not been rumblings yet of a parade theme or an announcement for this year’s grand marshal, both of which are usually done by early spring.

Multiple events have fallen off the calendar this year, a continuing response to the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing precautions meant to keep people of all ages safe and healthy.

Newtown Bee readers seemed to take the decision in stride, according to responses on the newspaper’s Facebook page. Within hours of the July 8 announcement, most responses were along the same lines: disappointment but understanding.

Ray Keegan was the first to comment. He pointed out that there is a lot of work to do if a parade is going to be successful.

“They made the only decision that took everything into consideration,” Keegan noted. “It’s a lot of work for the parade committee and they are totally dedicated to bring it off correctly.”

Others praised the committee for making “the right call” (Christina Dolzall Ashurst), said the decision was “not surprising but still a bummer regardless” (Gabe Perna), or agreed that “there is not any choice at this time” (Betty Jane Tennant Pakeltis).

A few also said they, like the committee, were already looking forward to September 2021.

“Just think how joyous the 2021 parade is going to be,” Tim Stan offered.

The Newtown Labor Day Parade would have celebrated its 59th anniversary this year.

Early Coverage

The first Labor Day Parade was covered in the September 7, 1962 issue of The Newtown Bee.

Unlike coverage in recent years, the inaugural event received only two photos along with a 24-inch story.

One photograph was accompanied by the following information: “The smart-stepping girls’ color guard of The Vista, N.Y., Fire Department, shown in the picture above, pass by the reviewing stand for The Newtown Progress Days Labor Day Parade, evidence of the spirit and alertness of the happy occasion.”

The picture below of The Newtown Board of Fire Commissioners’ award-winning float displays, true to life, the injunction of that board: “Save your home — be fire conscious.”

The parade was, the paper continued, “the biggest and best parade in years.”

Unlike subsequent coverage that now focuses solely on the parade — and the presentation of the parade committee’s planned line of march published the week before the parade — the 1962 recap additionally focused on the full weekend of Newtown Progress Days event.

The 1962 parade route began at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, but instead of turning onto Glover Avenue as it currently does, marchers that year continued onto South Main Street, passing Amaral’s Service Station, where the reviewing stand was staged. They continued to Dickinson Park before finishing the day’s walk.

A reported 4,000 onlookers viewed that first parade. Lee Glover served as the grand marshal, when the position meant being on the planning committee as well as riding in a spot of honor on parade day. The Glover-led event featured 41 units, including, as reported by The Newtown Bee, “many floats and spirited bands and marching units, political party candidates, clowns, decorated bicycles, and mounted 4H riding units.”

Early Parade Efforts

In September 2010, a former Newtown resident told The Newtown Bee that it was a conversation between himself, Boy Scout Happy Dickinson, Mrs Fenn Dickinson, and then-First Selectman Charles Terrell that launched the idea of a parade for Labor Day.

Stan Verry said it was during the 1962 Memorial Day flag raising event at Dickinson Park that the idea was hatched. It was too late in the year to plan a Fourth of July parade, so the group decided that a Labor Day event would work.

“The first selectman pointed to me,” Verry told the newspaper ten years ago, “and said ‘You’re it.’”

Tapped to be the chair of that first Labor Day Parade, Verry said he and others “got all of the clubs in town, like the Lions and the Rotary, together and the five fire companies. Each fire company was designated to lead a division of the parade.”

The tradition of fire companies leading a division has continued through the parade’s history. Companies rotate through the line of march, so that different firefighters and apparatus appear in the lead division in different years.

Natalie Gifford spoke with The Newtown Bee in 2009, recalling some of the early planning meetings with firefighters and members of the local Rotary Club in attendance.

“My husband was a volunteer fireman, and he and a representative from each of the five fire companies got together,” she said. “We wrote everything out right in my kitchen.”

After months of planning, on September 3, 1962, the inaugural parade kicked off under clear skies and thousands came out to witness the festivities.

“There were so many people out; the streets were lined. It was wonderful,” Gifford said in 2009. The parade that year was a “doozie,” she said. “The Masons were there in their little cars, there were horses, floats, and drum corps,” she told the paper 11 years ago.

The first parade was such a success that Newtown Rotary Club reportedly decided to make it an annual event, also according to Gifford. It continued to grow in popularity and size, causing the parade route to be changed to its current path.

The 41 units that made up the inaugural parade now regularly average more than 200 units, making Newtown’s the largest Labor Day parade in the state.

Politicians were not part of the first parades. As one of the only parades in the state, however, its timing is perfect for those who want to tie in to Labor Day’s pre-election stage.

Former Labor Day Parade Committee Vice President Steve Bigham told The Newtown Bee in August 2010 that the parade “is a big showcase for politics — locally, statewide, and even nationally.”

Annually, he said, candidates from multiple parties take the time to walk or drive the route, meeting and greeting potential voters. In 2006, the parade made news across the country when political infighting led to a bit of a scuffle near the end of the parade route.

Most political appearances have been more constrained, although a few stand out. In 1979, then-Town Clerk Mae Schmidle rode atop a 1,300-pound elephant whose appearance had been arranged by the local Republican Party.

That same year, Grand Marshal Lee Davenson participated on roller skates while dressed in a gorilla suit.

One constant for the parade has been the Newtown High School Band, which has performed since the 1960s, often opening the line of march.

Newtown Police Department has long had an early location in the line of march, as well. The department’s Honor Color Guard made its public debut in the 50th annual parade in 2011.

‘Herding Cats’

For five years, Beth Caldwell was “one of the hamsters on the treadmill keeping things running,” she told The Newtown Bee in March 2009 after agreeing to step into the role of parade president. Caldwell was recruited to the committee by a friend, she said. She joined the team while Kym Stendahl was president of the committee.

“She certainly energized the Labor Day parade,” Caldwell said of her predecessor. “I think they were getting ready to shut it down when she stepped in. I believe she was then getting ready to take a break” by 2009, she added.

That was the year Caldwell went from being a hamster to a musical conductor.

“You’re the leader of the orchestra,” she said recently. “We have very, very strong people in places to take care of every aspect of the parade. As the president, you’re really the leader of the band.”

She stepped up, she said, “with great support, and we all managed to put it together, and kept it marching.”

Caldwell served as parade committee president for nine years. One of her favorite moments each year happened on parade morning.

“I lived off Route 302, so I would come down Route 302 and turn the corner on Main Street, and the sun would be shining, and the chairs would be set up, and the flag would be blowing, and it was just such a joy.

“It was like ‘Wow, we’ve done this again.’ All these people are coming together to celebrate Newtown,” she added. “It was a good job, and it was going to be another happy day.”

With a parade day that began at 5:30 am, Caldwell needed to be in many places, quickly, for the next eight-plus hours.

Bagels and coffee would be delivered to the street directors (“Those who put up signage for different divisions and help with lineup,” she explained) and other committee members would begin converging at the former Newtown Volunteer Ambulance headquarters at 77 Main Street.

Between getting participants and their vehicles lined up, clearing streets of all vehicle traffic, and other parade day challenges, the morning relied on well-planned coordination.

“Putting the parade together is like herding cats,” Caldwell said recently. “You’ve got all these wonderful, talented people. The challenge is getting them to the right place at the right time.”

One person Caldwell relied on heavily was Robin Buchanan, who handled the line of march for a few years.

“Organizing that thing, Robin was amazing at putting that together,” Caldwell mentioned.

Caldwell and her Vespa quickly became their own fixture in the parade.

Once a parade stepped off, one of her biggest challenges seems fundamental to the success of any parade.

“Just keeping the parade moving,” Caldwell said, “was a constant effort on my part.” Viewers got used to seeing her zipping along the roadside during the parade on her scooter, checking on openings and urging marchers along.

“That was constant effort on my part, which is why the scooter was so important. It could get me from place to place quickly, to find out what was holding things up. It was a big challenge, and a big frustration,” she said.

About a week after the parade, the committee would meet for the final time that year.

“We would always have a wrap-up meeting, to get together and celebrate that we had put together another great year for the community,” Caldwell said.

“We would also talk about what we did right and what we could do better,” she added.

The committee would take a break during the holidays, and then reconvene in February or March, she said.

Being on the committee, Caldwell said, was like giving birth.

“After you have a baby you think ‘Oh my gosh, I could never do that again,’” she said. “And then a couple of years down you think you’d like to do that again.

“We worked on each parade for a full year, and it all came to fruition on that one, beautiful day, just like having a baby.”

By 2017 it was time for a new committee president. That year Newtown resident and local businessman Nick Kopcik went from being a longtime parade committee participant to the new committee lead.

“It’s a daunting task to say the least,” he told The Newtown Bee that year.

“You don’t really have any idea of the amount of work this takes until you start doing it,” Kopcik said, adding that his former responsibilities were restricted to mostly day-of-parade preparation activities. For 20-plus years, Kopcik participated with Masons, Little Leagues, and Newtown Underwater Search And Rescue. He was already in awe of the work done by his predecessors.

“I mean, I know when most people are getting ready for bed, these ladies would be on the phone contacting landscapers and others to provide us with trucks to pull the floats,” he said of Caldwell and Buchanan.