Annual event Monday morning in Allentown
By: Frank C. D’Amico
ALLENTOWN — The borough’s annual Memorial Day Parade, sponsored by the Allentown Lions Club, will begin at 10 a.m. Monday.
The parade will begin on North Main Street at Allen Drive before heading south on Main Street through the borough and turning left onto High Street to the Upper Freehold Elementary/Middle School.
The parade’s staging will begin at 8 a.m. and end at 9:55 a.m.
Allentown High School’s Redbird Marching Band will perform several songs. Among the more than 40 participating groups will be six marching bands, a U.S. Air Force Color Guard, antique cars, fire departments, and horseback riders.
Spectators may view the parade from both Main and High streets. The parade will end at the Upper Freehold Regional schools on High Street.
At the conclusion of the parade, all are invited to attend a memorial service to salute the men and women who have given their lives for their country.
The Rev. Patrick McDonnell of St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church will offer the opening prayer and Memorial Day message. Upper Freehold Mayor Richard Osborn and Allentown Mayor Stuart Fierstein also will offer remarks.
The American Legion Post 31 Honor Guard will provide a memorial salute and rifle volley.
Ruth and Sylvio Bertagni are the grand marshals for the parade. Mr. and Mrs. Bertagni have been members of the Allentown First Aid Squad since 1963, when they first met. They married in 1974.
Mr. Bertagni, known as “Syl,” was the borough’s postmaster for 19 years before he retired in 1982. He also served as recreation commissioner. He was involved with the Boy Scouts, Little League and the Lions Club.
Mrs. Bertagni was trained as a nurse and has worked at the Medical Center at Princeton since 1961.
She has been captain of the first aid squad for 18 years and in 1995 was named Woman of the Year by the Allentown Woman’s Association. She received the first Stark & Stark EMS Recognition Award in 1997 and earlier this year received the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Award for Excellence in Community Service.
For rain cancellation information call (609) 529-0300 Monday.