Lewis County residents line the streets of Toledo for the start of the Veterans Day Parade in 2015.
Antique Ford cars roll through the residential streets of Toledo as part of the Veterans Day Parade in 2015
A small dog looks out from its owner’s arms while riding in a patriotically decorated antique car in the Veterans Day Parade in Toledo in 2015.
A mother-daughter team is continuing efforts to ensure veterans receive the recognition they deserve by organizing the seventh annual Lewis County Veterans Parade, which is scheduled to hit the streets of Toledo Nov. 12.
Given that men and women who serve the country still put their uniforms on despite weather conditions, organizer April Pennington said the event will happen rain or shine.
This year, the parade organizers are expecting to have more entries than in the past. Last year, more than 70 entries made their way through Toledo, following the traditional Cheese Days route. With the parade’s popularity increasing every year, Pennington said she can expects more.
The parade will be followed by a short ceremony at Kemp Olson Memorial Park in front of the memorial bearing the names of area veterans who have served.
“It’s just a moving ceremony, free of charge for the public,” Pennington said.
This year, the event will welcome back the Patriot Guard, whose mission is to escort men and women to and from important events. Riding their motorcycles often adorned with various flags and decorations, Pennington said this is the only public parade the riders take part in.
“This is the only one they do and almost every year they escort something or somebody in our parade,” she said. “They are returning this year as long as they don’t have a mission to do on that day, because that’s what they do first and foremost. To see them coming down the hill with their flags on their bikes, it’s a very moving moment.”
The event is the only veterans parade in Lewis County, said Pennington, adding that people from all over the Pacific Northwest and surrounding states attend. Although growth has been slower than Pennington would like, she said it is starting to develop into a destination parade.
“It’s absolutely pulling those people in and I’m very grateful,” she said. “Every year there is something new or somebody else is jumping on board.”
This year, the parade will feature some vehicles decked out in Seahawks gear, something that will be new to the event. Along with the vehicles covered in football memorabilia, there will be numerous military vehicles involved.
For Pennington, and her daughter, LuAnn Briggs, the event is close to their hearts.
Coming from a family of veterans, Pennington said her father inspired her to start the parade, which is now an annual tradition for Toledo.
Pennington attended a veterans parade with her father, who earned a Purple Heart from World War II, when she decided she would begin to host a similar event in Lewis County.
“To see what that meant for my dad, it thrilled me,” she said. “That’s when I said, ‘We’re starting a Veterans Day parade up here,’ because there wasn’t any.”
Dedicating countless hours to pull off a successful parade, the mother-daughter team said it’s all to show veterans that they are appreciated.
“You just never know if it’s a healing moment for them, a gratitude moment, or if it takes them back in time,” Pennington said. “You don’t know what the meaning is for these people, the impacts it has on their lives. It’s important to do that.”
