Dundee parade planner shares tips for smooth rolling
Parades always look so well-planned.
From the first fire truck to the last police car, all the units march or drive in a single line, evenly spaced, and well mannered. Let the units throw candy to the onlookers; they still don't bunch up.
Spend time planning a parade, and you'll see the other side, including all the headaches and the political land mines organizers must tiptoe around.
Dundee Township's Memorial Day parade is a case in point. When it steps off from the Immanuel Lutheran Church parking lot at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 29, it will culminate five months of planning, a bunch of telephone calls and many soothing words to calm frayed nerves.
”Politicians show up at the last minute unannounced and want to be in a certain spot,” said Bobbie Andresen, the parade's organizer. “We have to keep the Republicans away from the Democrats and the Libertarians away from both.”
Organizers must ensure units playing music are kept away from marching bands, so the songs do not drown each other out.
“It's a lot of work, but it's also a lot of planning. We start the process in January,” she said. “By April, we're pretty busy with it. When the end of May comes, it can get tricky.”
The parade is sponsored by the West Dundee VFW Post. It has been held for decades. Even with that much history behind the annual march along east and west Main Street (Route 72), one year is never completely the same.
Andresen, a member of the Post's Ladies' Auxiliary, has been planning the Memorial Day parade for five years. She took it over from DeLoris Doederlein, who had coordinated it since the 1960s. When she assumed the task, Andresen thought it wasn't going to be as much work.
This small-town Memorial Day parade usually has about 40-45 units march it. That's the same number it will have this year.
“I learned the fire trucks must lead off the parade because they have to get through it in case the departments receive a call for service. The police squad car is the last vehicle,” she said.
What and who come in between takes finesse. A good parade coordinator should include every recognizable faction that makes up a community: Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, marching bands, churches, schools and their athletic teams — and of course, veterans and current members of the military.
“We have to make sure that units with pets are not placed together. Some dogs and cats don't get along. We have to make sure that marching bands are not placed close to each other. We want bystanders to hear the music,” she said.
When units show up 10 minutes before the parade starts, they cannot be put at the end of the line. They must be sandwiched between other units appropriately.
Units that are not present should be included as well, she said.
This will be the second year the Dundee parade will not include World War II veterans. Many have died and others are too sick or old to take part.
“I'm thinking about including a car that only has a driver in it, but it will be otherwise empty,” she said. “It would have a sign on its side for World War II vets. We'll have veterans from the Korean (Conflict), Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan, but no World War II vets.”
Anyone knowing a World War II veteran who lives in Dundee Township and wants to be in the march is asked to call VFW at (847) 428-9006. Also, other clubs and politicians that want to be in the march, should call the post.
It's never too soon to plan, she said.
“This parade has always been important for the entire community. It's a lot of work, but it couldn't be possible without all the help that we receive in planning it,” Andresen said. “West Dundee has always been so good about helping us contact (the Illinois Department of Transportation) about closing the (state) road.”
Many East and West Dundee police officers work on their day off to help with traffic, and the local schools, clubs and VFW Post are always eager to help by coordinating the veterans, she said.
“When people watch the parade, they should have an idea of the work and dedication that's involved.”