Residents jump to claim spot for Arlington Hts. parade

J.P. Keller is a stickler for the rules.

Arlington Heights officials asked people not to reserve spots along the Fourth of July parade route until 7 p.m. Thursday - the night before the parade.

But at 6:15 p.m., public works employees took away the signs telling people about the rule. Once the signs were gone, just about everyone took a quick glance over their shoulders and threw down blankets and the folding chairs.

Everyone but Keller.

Most parade spots were taken before 7 p.m. But for 45 minutes Keller stood along Dunton Avenue with his arms full of blankets and a wagon of concrete bricks next to him. He saved his spot by simply standing on the grass and waiting for 7 p.m. to arrive.

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All around him people set down blankets and chairs.

"I'm waiting to drop, I'm abiding by the rules," Keller said. "It's the Fourth of July. You have to follow the rules on the Fourth of July."

Arlington Heights resident Fred Groth has been going to the Arlington Heights parade for 20 years. He used to wake up at 3 a.m., drop a blanket along Dunton Avenue and return home for coffee and breakfast before heading off to the parade.

On Thursday, he changed his system and saved seats at 7 p.m.

"I like this better. Everything is fair game," Groth said.

Early spot-savers stood by their blankets and chairs until 7 p.m. and then piled back into their cars or walked down to the Frontier Days at Recreation Park. Police motorcycles patrolled the area to avoid a mob scene that never came.

"The signs are gone," said Isaias Galvin as he set down his blanket at 6:45 p.m. "I think the new rule was a good idea. This is my eighth year coming to the parade and things were getting crazy."

Last summer Dunton Avenue was littered with folding chairs and blankets held down by rocks four days before the parade. Some even installed posts and roped off sections to save seats. Most of the blankets and chairs were put on lawn sections between the sidewalk and streets, which is village-owned property.

The Fourth of July parade in Arlington Heights is one of the largest in the Northwest suburbs, with more than 100 units. The parade is one of the big events of Frontier Days at Recreation Park, which typically draws between 100,000 and 150,000 people. In past years, people have stood in crowds up to 12 deep to catch a glimpse of the passing floats and bands.

This year, the parade steps off at 10 a.m. today at Oakton and Dunton streets, travels south on Dunton to Miner and then east to Recreation Park.