Norwood beats the heat for Fourth of July

Hundreds gathered along Washington Street and the Norwood Town Common for the annual parade to celebrate Independence Day this past Saturday. In a joint celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the parade and associated programming were themed around the occasion, while also drawing in local talent and supporters and groups from outside Massachusetts.

One of the day’s initial activities, The Children’s Bicycle, Tricycle, Doll Carriage and Historical Character Parade, which started at 1 p.m., fed directly into the afternoon event. This earlier event featured 70 children across six different age groups who rode their decorated vehicles or walked dressed as historical figures like George Washington, Betsy Ross or Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The children followed Norwood’s Colonial Boys marching band from The First Congregational Church on Walpole Street down to the Town Common, where parade officials judged their costumes and vehicles as they marched around the bandstand. The top three winners of six age groups were invited to ride on a special float for the parade later that afternoon.

“I always love seeing the children dress up in costumes,” noted parade organizer Maria Henry, who has organized the children’s parade for the last 30 years along with her neighbor Mary Cantarow.

“I love the kids’ enthusiasm,” added Cantarow. Both organizers instructed contest winners to meet them at Coakley Middle School at 4:30 p.m. to prepare for the afternoon parade.

Right before the afternoon parade, spectators lined Washington Street at 5 p.m. for the Norwood Firecraker 5K Road Race. Participants ran down one lane from Washington Street at Nahatan Street before turning around at the halfway point to run back across the finish line. The first runner crossed the finish line at 16 minutes and 25 seconds, while the last runner crossed the finish line at 50 minutes. For one of the last runners, Jessica Pevzner of Weymouth, she said she was proud of herself for completing her first 5K.

“I’m celebrating one year of being sober,” Pevzner noted. She appreciated the proximity of the 5K to her home, and she brought along her daughter and husband, who cheered her on. Also among the spectators were Lucas and Joshua Maltos, two boys from Michigan who were with their aunt Anne, who lives in Norwood. The boys attended their third Norwood Fourth of July parade in a row, and they helped cheer on the runners as they crossed the finish line, with Lucas providing color commentary to nearby spectators. “I love the marathon and the band,” noted Lucas. “I like that people came here all dressed up,” he added.

At 6 p.m., the parade approached the Town Common, as fire trucks from the Eastern Massachusetts Fire Truck Procession blared their sirens and firefighters waved to the crowd, formally starting the parade. Later, the parade’s grand marshal, Jim Schmidt, a 103-year-old World War II Army veteran rode in an SUV to greet the crowd. Schmidt has lived in Norwood for 60 years. He used to write for The Boston Herald, and, as the parade host noted, “turned his personal hobby into a community resource” with the “Norwood Postcard” series of programming for Norwood Community Media in the 1990s, and continues to inspire others in the Norwood Senior Center, according to the host.

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The parade’s music featured Norwood’s Colonial Boys who marched down Washington Street playing their fifes and drums for the second time that day. Afterwards, a variety of musical acts from Massachusetts and as far away as Philadelphia played their songs for the crowd. One of the groups was the New York-based Downbeat Percussion, whose green and black drums helped round out the parade and made an impression on the spectators.

“They were awesome,” noted Norwood resident Louis Bradley. He and his wife Danielle attended Norwood’s parade for the first time since moving to the town three years ago. They hoped to see different floats, and they did, including the one featuring the children’s parade winners. The couple missed the previous two Fourth of July parades, but noted, “it was definitely worth the wait.”