Thousands turn out for Joplin parade

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December 6, 2008

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Sat Dec 06, 2008, 11:01 PM CST

By Greg Grisolano

ggrisolano@joplinglobe.com

The highlight for Lydia Osborne at this year’s Joplin Christmas parade was getting a jolly wave from Santa Claus.

“When Santa Claus waved at me” said Osborne, 9, of Joplin. “That was my favorite part.”

The sack full of Christmas candy also made quite an impression on the girl.

“Everything in there is good,” she said.

Thousands lined Joplin’s Main Street Saturday night, sporting knit caps, mittens and scarves to fight off chilly temperatures in the low 40s at the parade’s 5:30 p.m. start. Saturday’s parade marked the 38th time the Joplin Jaycees have hosted the event, according to John Thurman, vice president of the group.

Sitting in chairs on the bed of her pickup parked near the old Bagcraft building at 10th and Main streets, Julie Hanford-Rogers had prime seats to watch the floats and bands go marching by. Bundled up with a blanket, Hanford-Rogers said about 30 members of her extended family were scattered up and down Main Street, filling up on candy and cheer.

“It’s a family tradition,” she said. “We’ve been coming to watch the parade from this same spot for years.”

Other spectators stayed in their cars or watched the parades from shops and restaurants lining Main Street.

Tammy Farmer, whose family owns Joplin Pawn and Purchase at 1204 S. Main, made use of two generators to heat the sidewalk in front of her store for the benefit of about 25 family members and friends from church.

“We’ve done it for the last couple of years actually,” she said. “We just order pizza and have people come over to watch the parade.”

Thurman said this year’s parade featured about 100 entries. He said the number of participants had been hampered by a struggling U.S. economy.

“We did have some challenges with the economy,” he said. “Costs are up, including parade insurance and materials. It’s the same with people. Most of the individuals are dropping out (of making floats) and now it’s pretty much corporations.”

Two years ago, the parade date was moved from a Tuesday night to the first Saturday of December, but Thurman said the Jaycees may consider moving the date again to accommodate more participants and spectators.

“It seems to be our struggle right now is finding a date and time that’s satisfactory for everybody,” he said. “But we’re finding we have less participation on Saturday.”

Parade winners

The following groups took home trophies for their floats and entries at this year’s Joplin Christmas Parade. Judges were Vince Lindstrom, Pam Mense, Stacey Schachtner and Lori Thompson.

Twirlers

1st place — Show Me Stars

2nd place — Joplin Youth Cheer

Military

1st place — Joplin METS Ambulance Service

2nd place — Jasper County Sheriff’s Department

Junior Bands

1st place — Joplin North Middle School

2nd place — Joplin South Middle School

Senior Bands

1st place — Joplin High School

Churches

1st place — Quest Outreach Ministry

2nd place — Calvary Church of the Nazarene

Boy Scouts

1st place — Cub Scout Pack No. 47

2nd place — College Heights Christian School

Girl Scouts

1st place — Frontier Girls

Corporate

1st place — Goodwill Builders

2nd place — Southwest Missouri Bank

Community

1st place — Joplin Future Farmers of America

2nd place — City of Joplin Parks Department

Novelty 1

1st place — Powersports of Joplin

2nd place — D & J Auto Sales

Novelty 2

1st place — Salvation Army

2nd place — Night of Stars

Equestrians

1st place — Paul and Elayne Nelson

2nd place — Historical Murphysburg Preservation Association