Marchers will go down 206 from Rider to Notre Dame
By: Lea Kahn
The annual Memorial Day Parade will step off promptly at 10 a.m. Saturday — from the Rider University campus on Route 206/Lawrence Road.
Recreating Gen. George Washington’s route during the American Revolutionary War, the marchers will walk south on Route 206/Lawrence Road to the Notre Dame High School campus.
The state highway between Rider and Notre Dame High School will be closed for the duration of the 90-minute march. The parade route was changed from its traditional path along Princeton Pike to Darrah Lane and Birchwood Knoll into Veterans Park.
“For one year only, we are going to use Lawrence Road (from Rider University to Notre Dame High School) to recreate Gen. Washington’s route from Trenton to Princeton,” said township Superintendent of Recreation Steven Groeger.
This year’s parade will focus on the history of the military. It is designed to recognize and pay tribute to the men who died for the United States during wartime. It will honor soldiers from the Revolutionary War to the present, Mr. Groeger said.
“We want to maintain the purpose of Memorial Day — to honor the soldiers and sailors who died in defending the United States. We want people to see the parade, not just for the organizers, but for the participants,” he said.
Leading Saturday’s parade will be the grand marshals — re-enactor William Sommerfield, who portrays Gen. Washington, retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. Joseph File and retired U.S. Army Gen. Howard Louderback. William Agress, who portrays Col. Edward Hand, will be at the head of the march. Col. File, Gen. Louderback and Mr. Agress are township residents.
The marchers will pause briefly at the Five Mile Run, near Darrah Lane, to unveil a plaque commemorating a Revolutionary War skirmish that occurred at the creek between American and British soldiers on Jan. 2, 1777, Mr. Groeger said.
At the end of the parade, a second plaque will be unveiled at the Shabakunk Creek to commemorate the holding action of Col. Hand’s Pennsylvania riflemen on Jan. 2, 1777. Col. Hand’s tactics delayed the British troops on their way from Princeton to Trenton.
The reviewing stand will be set up at Notre Dame High School, Mr. Groeger said. There will be representatives from each branch of the military — the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Coast Guard. Dignitaries, including the grand marshals, will watch the rest of the parade from the reviewing stand.
After the last marchers reach Notre Dame High School Saturday morning, the annual Memorial Day service will be held. Gen. Washington will be the guest speaker. He will discuss the impact of Lawrence Township and New Jersey on the Revolutionary War.
There will be a 21-gun rifle salute from the U.S. Marine Corps soldiers and also a 21-gun salute fired by 105 mm howitzer cannons, Mr. Groeger said.
Veterans who fought in World War I, World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War and Pearl Harbor survivor Jim Hewitt will march in the parade. The American Legion Post 414 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3022 will participate. Color guards from the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force will march.
The Allentown High School Marching Band, the Gino Mule Band, the Hibernian Bagpipers, the 112th Field Artillery Association and the U.S. Army National Guard’s 119th Core Support Battalion Color Guard will march in the parade.
Community groups, including representatives of the public school system and St. Ann’s School, plan to march. The Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts will march, and there will be representatives from the Lawrence PBA football program and the Lawrence Neighborhood Service Center.
The Garden Gate Garden Club, the Cultural and Heritage Advisory Committee and the Lawrence Historical Society will be represented. Members of the Lawrence senior citizens clubs will take part, also.
Church groups, including the Knights of Columbus, the Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville will participate.
Fire engines from the Slackwood, Lawrence Road and Lawrenceville volunteer fire companies, along with an ambulance from the Lawrence Township First Aid and Rescue Squad, will ride along in the parade.
Following the ceremonies at Notre Dame, representatives of the American Legion and VFW will hold a brief ceremony at the Veterans Memorial in Veterans Park.