Patriotism and County pride in the heartland

[Tuolumne Lawman]

I know this is off topic, I really felt strongly about sharing this:

As most of you know, I recently moved from California to Jerseyville, a small very rural town in southern Illinois, adjacent the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. My family has lived there since the 1870s. The population of the entire county is 21,668 and it is Square miles: 369.16.  Though it is only an hour from the St Louis metro area, it is an agricultural town.  I now have a little 5 acres farm on a creek two miles outside of town.

This evening, I attended the Jersey County Fair Parade. It was amazing.  One and one half hours of community and patriotic pride!  It was lead by a police car with lights and siren.  Then came the large color guards of both the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion.  Sandwiched between them was a formation of uniformed fighting men from the war of 1812 through Gulf war, with correct uniforms, accouterments, and weapons.  After them was the Marine Corps league with an active duty color guard. What followed was an amazing assortment of farm tractors, floats, pick ups, convertibles with local Miss , Junior Miss , and Little Miss Jersey and , Calhoun (neighboring sister county) candidates and winners past and present, horse groups, 4 H, FFA, every civic organization, SHriners, Rotary, major business, cement trucks, mud racers, utility companies, churches, youth groups, etc, etc. etc. The theme was civic pride, community spirit and patriotism.

This is heartland America.  This is what is forgotten in the hustle and bustle of society today.  This is what the media and politicians ignore.  This is the ground that sends forth its young men and women in harms way. This could have been Oregon, Mississippi, Colorado, Maine, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Georgia, Arizona, or almost any other state.  I found I had trouble keeping my eyes from watering as the parade of Americana passed in review.  As a veteran myself, I doffed my cap and placed it across my chest as the vet carrying the flag for American legion locked eyes and nodded approvingly of my gesture.

I came away with an overwhelming feeling of the greatness of this country of ours, and of its well meaning (though sometimes imperfect) democracy.  As long as there are Jersyvilles, there will be a United States of America.

[Halfway Creek Charlie]

Here in Acton we have a 4th of July parade every year. I have missed them for a few years due to working or being out of town. This year i got to go see our parade. I met a woman soldier and I was able to thank her personally for what she had given up to help keep us free. (she was in Iraq for a year without seeing her little boy). I make a point to shake the hands of the vets, young and old for their sacrifices to keep us free. This was the first Woman in uniform that I have had the pleasure to thank.

Later one of the campgrounds up named Thousand Trails entry in the parade was a salute to our fighting Men and Women. There in uniform from all arms of the services were men and women Marching all in order, file and circumstance. It brought a tear to my eye and I stood and saluted them as a thank you and felt proud to be an American.

We had all the other things , the queens, the old cars the tractors and we were blessed with a flyover of the Stealth fighter. and one of our residents has his own Korean War Jet Fighter, an F 101 I think. And he flew over and made several passes.

I agree that this could have been any small town in any state in the union. We still have the small town attitude even here in the peoples Republik Of Kalifornia.

Not only do we need it, we need very much to keep it.

TL ,
It sounds like you have found Heaven!  I'll look you up when I get back in that part of the woods.

[Yankee Will]

Great stories boys!!  I have walked in many of the local parades over the years.  Probably some of the first were probably in my home town of Linden way back when I was in Cub Scouts.  The last several have been with pro 2nd Amendment elected officials or pro 2nd Amendment people running for office.  My daughter always gets a kick out of walking with me.  She can really pitch the candy out to the kids watching the parade!!