(Griswold) The 138th annual Old Soldier’s Reunion in Griswold is set for July 11th.
Landon Preston, Legion Commander of Post 508, said the theme this year in Hometown Heroes.
“This event holds a lot of meaning for our local veterans and their families, for this reason we decided to continue with the tradition in lieu of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re asking everyone to participate responsibly, we ask that you practice social distancing on your own via your personal preferences, there’ll be plenty of room to spread out down Main Street to watch the parade, we hope that you all will come and enjoy the day’s festivities,” said Preston.
Events for the day include:
Tractor Show on Cass Street from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Legion Auxiliary Membership Drive at the Legion Building from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
The Cass County Historical Museum will be open on Main Street from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The military road march starts at the Creighton Retreat Center in Griswold at 4:15 p.m.
“We actually bring the flag that’s in the color guard down the hill and through Main Street back to where the parade starts. Any veterans or family members are welcome to join us for that and this year our theme is Hometown Heroes so any EMS, Fire, Law Enforcement are welcome to join our road march as well,” said Preston. “It’s a lot of fun, it’s about three miles from the retreat center all the way into town and it’s all downhill and flat and that helps some of the older people that go with us and then when we go down Main Street, that’s all flat as well and that’s one more mile, so it’s a total of four miles, so we take breaks. It’s not too bad, it’s a lot of fun just to be around those people, share stories and just do our thing.”
Those who want to participate in the road march can meet at the Griswold High School north parking lot between 3:30 and 3:45.
The Old Soldiers Reunion Queen Contest is at 4:30 p.m. Landon Preston noted that the Boys State stuff for the Legion got canceled this year, but recognition for them will be held during the Queen Contest.
The lineup for the parade begins at 5:00 p.m. in the Griswold School parking lot. The parade starts at 6:00 p.m. at the High School, goes down Harrison Street and then down Main Street.
“Because of the COVID-19 restrictions of course we are going to ask that people do not throw candy during the parade and during the parade we ask that they socially distance themselves and use appropriate measures to keep themselves in others safe, we want to have fun but we also want to make sure that everybody is safe at the same time,” said Preston.
The gates open for the Street Dance on Montgomery Street next to East of Omaha at 7:00 p.m. The band is Shoot to Thrill, an AC/DC tribute band. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. The band starts at 8:00 p.m. East of Omaha will be open so people can go inside if they need some air conditioning or a cold drink.
