Prospect residents turn out for parade, Community Day
PROSPECT — Fifth-grade teacher Emily Namachar braced as her Moraine Elementary School students threatened to dunk her in the massive tank of water she was perched above on Saturday afternoon.
Nearby, firefighters from Portersville Muddy Creek Township Volunteer Fire Department and other area fire companies gathered to show off their hose skills in annual Battle of the Barrels.
The Prospect Borough Memorial Day Parade and Community Day was in full swing Saturday with a crowd eager to enjoys the breaks in the weather and kick off summer.
“It's all fun. It's great to have the community here and mess around with everybody,” said Walt Breidenstein, a volunteer firefighter with the Prospect Volunteer Fire Department. “Plus, it's nozzle time for me. I get to practice for the real thing and have a good time doing it.”
The day kicked off with a Memorial Day parade through the center of town — which Prospect Mayor James Butler touted as the biggest parade in the county. Butler said the event raised around $3,000, all of which goes back into the community to pay for the festivities.
The parade featured the Slippery Rock High School marching band and locals driving their tractors Afterward, people had the opportunity to get their faces painted and play games.
But for many, the biggest draw of the day was being able to tour a LifeFlight helicopter that landed in a nearby field for part of the day.
Meanwhile, the poor throwing skills of Namachar's students continued to delay her dunking destiny.
“We did this to ourselves. Somehow I ended up in it,” laughed Namachar, who teaches fifth-grade special education at the school.
Her fellow teacher, Jessica Parker, led the organization and planning of Saturday's festivities.
“I do this for the community, for the kids,” said Parker, who leads the parade committee. “But I wouldn't be able to do this without the fire departments.”
Parker said the event is also a great money raising opportunity for the fire departments to sell items like T-shirts to supplement their budgets. The winner of the barrel battle won $150, along with a trophy.
“I've grown up here, got married here. I wanted to give something back to the community,” Parker said. “So really, family, community and our friends are a huge thing to me.”
